It was 20 years ago that my wife first started having trouble
breathing. It seemed minor at first, but then it gradually
got worse until one day she collapsed to the floor struggling to breathe. I
rushed her to the hospital and after undergoing a lot of tests, she had laparoscopic
surgery to repair a genetic lung disorder that created “blips” (small tears) in
her lungs.
The surgery seemed to work, but a year later her lung issues came back,
and they came back with a vengeance. I must
have rushed her to the hospital at least 8 times and twice I had to call 911 for
help. Unfortunately, the doctors couldn’t figure out what to do. Finally, in
2002, it got so bad that she ended up at the Mission Hospital ICU. That’s when
our prayers were answered thanks to an older surgeon, Dr. Chino, who said he knew
what to do. After the operation, my wife had to stay in the hospital for at
least two weeks, so it was a super stressful time for us. With 4 children to
take care of and a wife that may or may not recover, I found myself struggling
to cope. But I started praying every day and somehow came up with the idea to
start writing a journal. At first it was about how much I loved my wife, but as
I wrote a story each day, it became life lessons that I could share with my
kids. For 12 straight days I stayed at the hospital, sleeping on the floor next
to her bed, holding her hand, praying for her to recover, and writing stories
to take my mind off my worries. My wife survived thanks to Dr. Chino, my kids
survived thanks to our in-laws, and I survived thanks to my faith and something
that you might now recognize as Monday Messages.
We must embrace trouble and pain…
and
burn them as fuel for our journey.
~ Kenji
Miyazawa
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