Thursday, August 20, 2015

Learning to Trust When Life Goes Bust


Please allow me to share my tale of woe.

The past five years have been tough for the Smith family. Lots of unpleasant things have happened to us.

Forgive me if it sounds like I am looking for sympathy...that is not my intent.  But I do believe that this true account of our season of trials provides a great excuse to brag on the Lord a little.

March 2011 – I had my second heart attack (see Another Routine Day in the ER) which maxed out our health insurance out-of-pocket expenses for 2011. (Out-of-pocket maximums that have more than doubled since the implementation of Obamacare, but don’t even get me started on that!)

Summer of 2012 – a dear friend of mine, a very sweet woman whom I had worked with for 12 years, became gravely ill with cancer and had to undergo a year’s worth of chemo, radiation and surgery.

November 2012 – I had emergency gall bladder surgery right after Thanksgiving. I was one sick little puppy before and after that procedure! (See My Birthday Trip to the Emergency Room.)

December 2012 – I had another surgery right before Christmas to remove a small cancerous tumor from my bladder. This surgery was followed by check-ups every three months with an urologist who used a “not-slender-enough-to-suit-me” scope to inspect my bladder and search for any recurrence of the cancer. (I will leave the unpleasant details of these inspection procedures to your imagination.)

Needless to say, we again maxed out our out-of-pocket medical expenses for 2012!


January 2013 – My wife Peggy slipped on some ice and broke her right ankle. It was a compound fratcure that laid her up for over six months. It was a stressful time…loss of half her wages, hospital bed in the living room, multiple surgeries and follow-up visits (in the winter)…you get the picture. She was in a lot of pain during most of this time, and her ankle will never be the same. Arthritis has set in, and her cartilage is gone.
The x-ray of Peggy's right ankle upon arrival at the Emergency Room.