by Vicki Brown

Created on: October 08, 2010

Have you ever read the poem Footprints? It talks about times when there are two footprints which means that God was carrying you through a difficult time. I’ve always wondered when, if ever, God had carried me?

I know that God is always with me. He cries when I cry. He laughs when I laugh. And he chuckles when he sees me with my dogs. He didn’t cause any of the things that have happened in my life. He is not punishing me by loading me up with health problems. It’s an imperfect world and he gave us free will. So, “stuff” happens.

Now I know when he was carrying me. I know when I could never have survived a situation without God’s help.

My husband has always been extremely healthy. He’s only had sports injuries. Two years ago he was diagnosed with, first, prostate cancer and then kidney cancer. Neither had spread. He had surgery and recovered and that was that.

Then in July while visiting his brother, he couldn’t run more than a few steps without having to stop to catch his breath. He said he could feel his heart racing in his chest. A neighbor who is a doctor told him to see his doctor as soon as he got home.

He put it off and tried desperately to find a non-medical reason for his shortness of breath and racing heartbeat. He finally gave in and went to the ER. He said, “I’m having shortness of breath and my heart is racing.” He was put in a wheelchair and taken back to a cubicle.

He was hooked up to monitors, given an IV, and watched like a hawk. Eventually, he was diagnosed with an atrial fibbulation. His heart was beating irregularly. He was admitted and had surgery the next day. The procedure went smoothly. He was back in his room in no time and felt better than he did after his other surgeries.

He was shivering and I got a warm blanket for him and tucked it around his shoulders. This is a man who has an intense dislike for anyone fussing over him. While he was tucked in, he asked for the pudding on his tray. I got it and a spoon and he let me feed it to him. My son and my husband’s brother were there and they were as shocked as I was that David let me feed him.

In the days that followed, he continued to allow me to care for him. The image of the Grinch’s heart growing and breaking the box kept flashing in my mind. The surgeons burned a part of his heart and it seemed like it had made his heart more feeling and caring.

He recovered quickly and we went ahead with plans for a long

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