So Blessed

To say this has been an exhausting week would be an understatement.  My world quickly spun out of control last Monday and I am beyond blessed that it is back to “normal” now.
This is my husband, Andrew.
He is an amazing husband and father and truly the absolute love of my life.  On Sunday, he began having an earache.  By that night, his ear hurt so bad that he couldn’t stand it anymore and drove into the ER at 1:00 am.  They couldn’t see down his ear canal so they irrigated his ear (pushed water into the ear) and sent him home with antibiotics and pain medicine.
The next day, I went to work for a normal Monday.  I came home and he said he thought that maybe he was getting the flu now because he had chills and had been getting sick.  My two girls had gymnastics that evening, so I took them to practice while he stayed home and took a nap.  When we got home around 7:15, my girls started working on their Valentine cards.  I heard Andrew upstairs getting sick, so I decided to go check on him and see if he needed some water.  Thank God I did, because what I found will forever haunt me.  He was laying face up on our bed, aspirating and blue.  I tossed him off the bed so he would be face down.  He was not responding, barely had a pulse, and could not talk or walk.  My daughters came upstairs during this time and unfortunately saw this happening.  I called 911 and he was rushed to the Emergency Room.  Thankfully, my principal lives down the street and when she saw the ambulance lights, she walked down to our house.  She was able to watch my girls so I could leave in the ambulance with Andrew.  While in the ER, they did a CT scan and a spinal tap.  At this point, they believed he had meningitis.  The CT scan found an infection in his mastoid bone (mastoiditis) that was most likely pushed into his body when his ear was irrigated.  The infection quickly spread to his brain and the rest of his body and he became septic, which is a life threatening blood infection.  He was admitted into the ICU and put on very strong antibiotics.  On Wednesday, he went in for ear surgery where they put in a drain and tried to get out the orginal infection.
Thankfully, he recovered pretty quickly and he came home yesterday!!  The doctors and nurses told us that he is extremely lucky to be alive.  Even if he wouldn’t has aspirated, the infection was so severe that it would have killed him in a couple of hours.  Of course, I have been running the “what ifs” through my head since it happened. {What if I wouldn’t have gone and checked on him? What if it would have happened earlier and I wasn’t home?  What if I would have just thought he was sleeping?…}  A friend reminded me to stop thinking of the “What ifs” and start remembering the “Thank God’s!”  This is absolutely true!
It was not a coincidence that I got home when I did.  It was not a coincidence that his brother, a doctor, happened to be at a meeting 5 minutes away and made it to my house shortly after the ambulances.  It was not a coincidence that he aspirated causing me to take action immediately and call 911.  It was not a coincidence that my principal happened to see the lights and was able to help with my daughters and ease their fears.  These were God’s miracles and I could not feel more blessed right now.
My husband still has a long road ahead of him.  He will be on antibiotics for another 3-6 weeks and he still can’t hear from his right ear.  They are hoping that it will slowly improve, but there is no way of knowing for sure.  So make sure that tonight, you hug your loved ones a little tighter and tell them you love them.  Life can change in a split second! 


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60 Comments

  1. Wow, thankful that your husband is on the mend. Love the poster and the reminder of how good God is. Today in Sunday school my kiddos worked on the verse I love You O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1

  2. Not sure if my previous comment went through. I was saying the act of kindness you did for that little girl did not go unnoticed. It came back to you & your family full circle. Those coincidences happened for a reason 🙂

  3. God is good! So thankful that all is well with your husband. Continued prayers for you and your family.

    Karen
    anappleadayinfirstgrade.blogspot.com

  4. WoW! God is definitely amazing! It was not your precious husband's turn to meet our maker. I love how you were able to to turn the what ifs into the thank Gods! I do not believe in coincidence but I know how easy the what ifs can take hold of you. I am praying for a swift recovery for your family. Thank you for sharing your story of blessings!
    -Mo
    More Than Math by Mo

  5. Oh my goodness. I will be praying for Andrew and also for you and your kids! How terrible that must have been for you. God is SO good for putting you, the principal, everyone in the right place at the right time.

  6. Jodi, I have goosebumps on top of goosebumps. Thank the Lord for all of His miracles that we know of, and all the ones that we don't! I'm praying for complete recovery for your husband. God Bless!

  7. WOW! I am sure you were scared out of your mind. I would have been. I am so glad he is doing better and you are correct there are no coincidences with God. People have told me that I am lucky to be having our baby in the summer, but most of them have no idea that my husband and I tried for this baby for several years and we would have been perfectly happy whenever it came along. I will be praying for you and your family. I hope that things continue to improve!
    Joni
    KinderKids Fun8

  8. Sending prayers to your family and wishing your hubbt a speedy recovery. It was not his time (thank God!). He still has 2 girls to raise and a loving wife to enjoy life with. Thank goodness you did not hesitate! Wishing you a better week! Hugs to all of you! Life is precious!

    ~Judy~

  9. I have the quote "Let us be silent so we may hear the whispers of God" in my scrapbook/craft room as I have had times in my life, where I truly believe I heard the whispers and then I didn't have the what if's ….((((HUGS)))) to you and your family….

  10. Oh Jodi, your post really made me stop and think tonight. Yes, life can be changed in an instant. I am so glad your husband is doing better. I hope this week is full of continued blessings and recovery. You have a lovely family!

  11. Wow, Jodi. I am so grateful for you that your story has a blessed ending, and that you are able to see God's fingerprints along the way. Thanks for all the reminders that family is indeed our greatest blessing.

  12. Oh my goodness – I have chills after reading that. Wow! Happy to hear that your husband is recovering and ok. You are so right about God's miracles. Reading something like this just reminds me how much God helps us everyday. Sending prayers your way!!!

    Melissa
    First Grade Smiles

  13. bless your heart, his, and your girls and all of your family. so very thankful that his life was spared and that just means that God has more great things in store for him and all of you. thank you for sharing this with your blogging friends as another testament as to what God can do in our lives! Prayers for your husband's continued recovery and for you and all of your family.

  14. Jodi, I'm so sorry to hear this news, but even happier to know that everyone is home safe and sound. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers for sure. I saw a miracle in my life recently and it just reminded me of how ever-present God is in our lives. Your story just reminded me of that so thank you for sharing. Here's to a much better week and a speedy recovery. Take care!

  15. Oh my goodness, that must have been terrifying. I am so thankful that God protect you, your husband, and your family. I hope and pray that he will get well soon and that you can find peace after such a traumatic experience. Thank and praise the Lord for his protection!

    Becky
    Compassionate Teacher

  16. How scary! I had a relative pass away from a septic infection. She thought she had the flu. She was a single mom and her young daughter ended up finding her passed away on the couch. Very tragic. You are so very blessed. Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

  17. Jodi- I am so glad that everything is okay and I had tears reading this story. That is so scary and so fast how everything happened. I had never heard of something like that before. I had a similar experience with my husband (who has a heart condition) when he passed out and turned blue due to a blood clot. It was the most terrifying experience ever and it has impacted me to this day. I thank God my husband, and now your husband, are home and ok:)Thinking of you all.
    ~Hope Blumenthal

  18. In tears with the chills right now Jodi. What an unbelievable story which, fortunately, has a happy ending. Cannot even imagine what it must have been like. Nothing random about the Lord watching over you. Huge blessings and prayers being sent to you and your family. Makes us all pause for a moment, squeeze our loved ones, and makes us realize just how precious life truly is.
    Hugs to you Jodi!

    ~Christy & Tammy
    Fluttering Through First Grade

  19. Holy moly, I'm crying. So happy for you hubby is well. I just went through a scary situation a month ago with my son, skull fracture, our hospital not making a good choice for him… thankfully we got sent to Arnold Palmer Children's hospital and he is expected to make a full recovery. Now we are still on the mend, but when he gives me the teenager "lip" I say I love you! now quit being a brat 🙂 and yeah, I love you…
    Hugs and prayers 🙂

  20. Jody—

    Wishing you a couple of relaxing nights and some space to breathe and get back to family life. I will be praying for you !

    Hugs and prayers,
    Wendy

  21. Jody, I am so glad that your husband is going to be okay. Thank you for sharing his amazing story and for the gentle reminder to love and appreciate family. Hugs and Hope and Prayers.

  22. My thoughts and prayers go out to your entire family. Thanks for the gentle reminder to appreciate what is most important in our lives. Keep up the positive attitude.

  23. We have our neighborhood Bible study tomorrow night. I will be sure to add your husband to our prayer list. May God give you peace and your husband complete healing.

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