I’m dedicating these few more days before Thanksgiving to as many thing as I can squeeze in that I’m grateful for.

Oh boy am I ever grateful for health and the bodies we have that work so well that we often take for granted.

Think of all the things that go on in that amazing thing we lug around that we aren’t even aware of?

I’m especially grateful for bodies that work since we had a little bit of a miracle the other day.
Dave woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of pouring rain, which put him in a panic realizing the chimney at the new house wasn’t covered properly and that he had recently been warned to cover that thing before any rain came. 

So he got up at 3:30 in the morning and went over to take matters into his own hands and get that thing covered.  
Yes, in a rainstorm.
Yes, in the dark.
He’s been up on that roof a bazillion times with the roofers and solar tube people and by this time he knows that thing like the back of his hand, so in my delirious tired-ness I wasn’t too worried when he took off.
At a little after four he crawled back into our bedroom writhing in pain and told me he had just fallen off the roof.
You heard that right.  He fell right off the roof.  I think that thing is at least 15 feet high.  I still have no idea how he managed to get himself back in the car, get home and get upstairs to me because he was in so much pain.  We rushed to the emergency room and I will tell you what:  I was scared to death.  
Our whole future flashed before me and I just wanted to hold that guy tight and be more grateful than ever for him.   
We sent fervent pleas up to Heaven and my heart filled with peace and pure gratitude.  For the fact that we are healthy and our legs and arms work.  We can run and jump and hug our children.  I was so grateful the x-rays showed his back looked swollen with a partially flattened disc, but ok and whole.  
He is still sore as can be and in pain, but recovering and we are trying to take care of him and hoping and praying that this recovery is smooth, even though we know it will take a while.
Since his fall we have heard of three men who fell off roofs in similar situations and are no longer with us, and one who is completely paralyzed.
Nothing like a crazy rainstorm accident in the middle of the night to make your heart fill up with gratitude like never before.  For your sweet husband.  For our bodies that work.  And for the power of fervent prayer to calm stressful situations and fill your heart with peace.

I’m so grateful for this man who completes all that I do and who understands me better than anyone on earth.

And I’m even more grateful for him after those flashes of future without him.  Life can be taken at any point.  I’m just so grateful that it’s not this week, and that I get to live with him for longer.

I’m also grateful we got to come home and sleep…for a half hour before life hit and our flooring lady called to tell us we had a flood in the new house…on to other issues, but still with such a grateful heart.

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17 Comments

  1. I'm so glad he is ok! What a scary night for you. Prayer is real. Thanks for sharing, how grateful I am for all of those things in my life as well. Get well soon, Dave!

  2. I am glad to hear that he is okay, and the emergency room is a scary place when a loved one is hurt and you are alone with your thoughts and worry.God was watching out for him and your family .

  3. I am so glad to hear that Dave was okay. Like you mentioned in your post, many people become paralyzed after falling off of a roof. I'm so glad that that was not Dave's fate!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

    You're paralyzed friend,
    Heather

  4. How Scary!! So glad he is ok.

    Would like to know more about what you mean by "the power of fervent prayer." Especially since you mentioned it soon after you mentioned men who had been killed or seriously injured. If it is your belief that prayer helped save your husband are you suggesting that the other men/families did not pray hard enough?

  5. Oh Shawni, how agonizing for both of you…..So relieved to hear that Dave is on the mend. The flooding is a major pain–having dealt with that almost 5 years ago; but the repairs will come together…even if your timeline for your move needs adjusting. It's a headache, but it will pass. The important blessing is that your beloved Dave is home–although understandably shaken. Take good care.

  6. Shawni…I usually hesitate to give unsolicited advice, but thought I would share what I do for really bad back pain—just in case it can take the edge off Dave's back pain. A clear homeopathic gel purchased at Whole Foods, repeatedly saves me when my lower back acts up (have disk problems as well as scoliosis and two other degenerative problems). This gel is ARNICARE by BOIRON. Whole Foods charges about $16 for a pack of two tubes. This gel is really fast acting (compared to Traumeel(also a homeopathic product). Aleeve 400-800mgs with food and chewable antacid (instead of Motrin) has also helped. Lastly, my electric heating blanket and an orthopedic belt that has a microwavable gel pad that you can heat up or freeze, depending on what your body needs. If Dave is interested in the belt, I purchased mine at a store in San Francisco called the BACK PLACE on Van Ness Blvd.

  7. I hardly can answer for Shawni, but, I share the LDS faith and what I believe she was referring to was the power of prayer to bring peace to whatever situations in life we go through. I don't believe her husband was saved from paralysis or death because she prayed more fervently than the other families, and I don't think she believes that either! But it certainly isn't wrong to pray that our fates might align with God's will for us. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. In any situation, we can find peace through prayer. It is the gift God offers to us, regardless of the particular trials we go through in life. 🙂

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