When I typed that prayer I truly felt that was the holy spirit telling me to do. Here way my response in a message back. (had to edit as it had my current phone number in it.) To Tracy:God is the Alpha and Omega, First and Last, One and Only. The ulimate physicians of our lives. What our will is, is not always His but His will is always for the best for us. We may not see it immediatly, a year or ten years but you can bet He knows our hearts and loves us so much. I would love to take credit for the prayer but the Holy spirit lives in me and that is my voice..(well sometimes...the things I say or react are not so Holy spirit like..lol) Today God allowed me to tell you that right when you needed it. To me that is His was of showing you to just trust Him. I hope you have a good day and call me if you need anything.
From that very day because of one friend another friendship started. Tracy and I started facebooking. Then it turned into texting and finally chatting on the phone. Hearing the story truly broke my heart as you could tell Denny (her husband) was a great man. He was a well respected kids softball coach and he loved what he did. A few months prior in July 10 he fell on a contracting job thus breaking his leg. It was a very nasty break and the decision was made to try to save the leg. Over the course of three years Denny has had 17 surgeries, multiple skin graphs etc. Surgery number 18 would be the final closer in the chapter of surgeries but a new chapter in their lives and what I believe a chapter of healing.
As you notice in the paragraph above Tracy and I were in contact with facebook, text messages and phones call....but one thing was missing. We NEVER had met face to face. It seemed every opportunity that came up something kept us from meeting. My husband ran the USAF 2012 that was in Dayton, Ohio (where they live) and got to meet them for a brief second but still I had yet to hug her neck. We moved this past summer to Missouri which still left us about 8 hours from Dayton knowing one day it would be doable to get up there to meet her and Denny. Just was not sure when.
My husband usually runs certain marathons a year but decided to take 2013 off due to some injuries he had etc. He went out on a short run as he always does and came back from this run with a very heavy heart. He proceeded to tell me he was running the USAF marathon, mind you was late in the game as it was just a few short months away and hoping it was not booked up. Wouldn't you know he got in and got to run with about 20 people from where we live know that went up....sorry back to the point. His heart was very heavy for Denny that night. You see a few months back Tracy and Denny told us the news that Denny had decided to have his leg amputated. As I stated before 17 surgeries, graphs etc. It came with so much pain, botched surgeries etc. He was so limited on what he could do. No running, no coaching and no enjoying life. After meeting with a team of doctors etc the date was set for September 19th to have the leg amputated. As I informed Jay of that date months earlier he said okay etc. When he went out to run that day his heart was heavy for Denny and the whole situation that he decided to run that marathon in honor of Denny. He told me what he wanted to do and I called Tracy immediately to chat with her to tell her Jay's plan. We needed her okay, blessing and to be a sneaking girl in this one and keeping it all from Denny for months. They are very private but needed her help in this next step. Not only did Jay want to run it with him but he wanted to go to the hospital after the race and give Denny his finishers medal to make a pack with him that next year they would run whatever marathon length they can at the 2014 USAF marathon. With all that I knew with out a shadow of a doubt I would finally meet Tracy finally....coincidentally (okay so not so coincidence) Denny's surgery was on the 19th of September 2013 and the USAF marathon was on 21st of September 2013 both being located in Dayton, Ohio.
Plans started pulling together, dates where finalized and the plans were made. I booked my plane ticket to go up there on the 18th so I could be with them the day of the surgery etc. On Sept 18th at roughly 6:00 pm just shy of three years to the date I finally hugged my sweet friend Tracy's neck at the airport. I never thought it would take almost three years but God's timing was perfect. The surgery was a huge success with a OUTSTANDING team of doctors, nurses etc. We had prayed in the waiting room that morning with the almost exact prayer from three years earlier. We knew God was he ultimate doctor....we knew his hands would be all over this surgery, we knew he had Denny in the palm of his hand. This surgery would be the hardest but in the end the best I felt for their lives to finally start somewhat fresh.
On September 21st we made our way to the hospital, unbeknownst to Denny what was about to happen, to let those two make a pact. When we got there nerves where all over the place for the three of us. Not sure how Denny would take it. We knew he wanted to run again, coach again etc...so thinking this might give him something to focus on when days get hard, physical therapy begins, etc. As we were walking up the halls I remember texting Tracy we are on our way etc. My stomach was a ball of nerves. We stayed at the hospital for a bit then Jay finally did his thing. He told Denny why he ran and what his reason's where for. My husband is a man of little words but his actions always speak for themselves. Not only was this his personal record time for running a full marathon it felt like a personal win for Denny. As he was telling Denny why he ran, you could see Denny's reaction and not sure what to do. As he took the medal you could see a heart that was so soft, a man that had been somewhat broken have some hope again, and more importantly I knew at that moment we had life long friends. I never doubted that Tracy and I would be life long friends but now our husbands have a bond that no one can break, a understanding that no one else can understand what mentally went on that day, and a peace that surpasses all understanding. We know that Tracy and Denny will have days of doubt on this decision, days of frustration, days of questioning etc....they are human and that comes with the territory and nature of this situation. Once he gets that prosthetic leg on watch out world Denny will be non-stoppable. Their world as they knew it for the past three years is going to change. As I stated before this 18th surgery from a outsider looking in the book of life sees this chapter as a chapter of Hope, healing, and regaining life again.
Denny and Jay Sept 21, 2013
Three years ago it started because someone obeyed God and asked for prayer on facebook. Because of that a friendship started and a bond that (I may have just finally hugged my friends neck for the first time just less than a month ago) truly felt like we had been life long friends.
So today I hope to leave you with this. God gave us a gut instinct for a reason.....use it......go with it.......follow it.
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