For years my spine has been playing havoc with the rest of my body. You know the one about the hip bone’s connected to the leg bone and the leg bone’s connected to the knee bone, etc. Well, the spine bone was suffering from scoliosis, which suffers adversities from both gravity and the pull, when the discs start to deteriorate. Years ago, my doctors in DC said that ‘wait and see’ was safest, since there were not any viable choices for correction at that time. So, the wait and see stretched into 10 years! Wow! How time does fly when you’re having fun!

A few asides, I feel, are necessary here. Since 10 years ago, the discs had deteriorated so that my spine was bone-on-bone. In addition there was a shift in the spine that had jutted out of the back and no manipulation could relieve that deformity. Fast forward to today and the intense pain I had been experiencing back then had required a shift of back, hip and glute to alleviate the pain and therefore accommodate everyday activities. Enough description here! The decision had to be made to do something or end up wheeling from place to place. At least I had a choice!

Add to the mix that while, back then, I was a person who believed in One God but had not yet been saved, I am, today, a believer.

There are very few (3) doctors within the Austin area that would attempt just such a complicated surgery which requires a surgeon trained in both chronic spinal orthopedic surgery (as opposed to sport produced injury) and neurosurgery. Not an easy find.

Can you imagine the surprise when the Orthopedic Surgeon, whom we investigated, as a second opinion, said, “Only one guy to do this,” and named our first choice. We knew, then, that the Lord was guiding us!

The surgery lasted over 6 hours…much more debilitating for those in the waiting room than for me…pleasantly sawing logs, as they turned and twisted me inside-out and setting in new discs and sawing off old arthritic bone growth. I must have done a bang-up job sawing logs, because I awakened in the recovery room, with a smile on my face. And although I have no recollection of what I’d said, I do know I was incredibly witty!

As I was wheeled into the ICU room, I could see him there. He was standing under the cock on the wall opposite me, I discerned his profile. A very handsome, very large, masculine figure, he was dressed in graceful robes. He had long brown flowing hair that ended at his shoulder blades. His wings were white and billowy and touched the floor.

He was concentrating on his writings, which were appearing on a tablet in front of him, I felt totally secure and smiled at his lack of cognizance that I was watching.

While I watched him I had no pain and I dozed back off to sleep. But not before I thanked this one, one of my guardian angels, for visiting me that night, for watching over me, and for letting me know that he was simply passing on the good news that one more of the Lord’s anointed was going to make it through the night.

Of course, we know that the Lord, because of His Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnibenevelence, already know of the blessings that day.

Thank you all for your prayers. He does hear our prayers!