Roller Coasters

What a roller coaster of a week! Paul Cardall's Benefit Concert on Monday evening was a rousing success! A sold-out affair! The Silent Auction was, wow, MORE than AMAZING! Tables on end of fabulous gift baskets . We raised a grundle of money for Paul and Lynnette. Thank you for your support and donations! I was touched that Paul was able to muster up the energy to play something on the piano. It's very difficult for him to do anything right now. He and Lynnette have shown so incredible strength and courage through this their difficult trial. I admire their rock-solid faith and unwavering love for each other! I pray daily that Paul will get his transplant heart very soon!

While we were relaxing in sunny St. George last week, we got the sad news that Isaac's Heart Surgeon, Dr. John Hawkins (age 53), had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As of last Friday, he retired and will spend the rest of his days fighting for his life. We have been sickened by the news and are still in a state of shock. Dr. Hawkins has been an incredible asset to Primary's Cardiothoraxic team. How can I even put it into words... he is a treasure trove of incredible skill, knowledge and experience! Irreplaceable! I honestly don't know how PCMC will be able to recruit anyone of his skill and ability. It's hard to describe the personal loss I feel. I think when you experience a life-threatening situation with anyone you love, those people that save lives literally become an extension of your family. This is how we feel about Dr. Hawkins and his nurse, Linda Lambert. They became so near and dear to our hearts and always will be. I will never forget the Sunday evening just prior to Isaac's open heart surgery. He was 5-1/2 months old. Such a sweet, little boy. He looked perfect to us...no sign of a heart problem. John and I were feeling extremely anxious and uncertain about things. The surgical plan for Isaac had changed drastically since learning of a new situation with his heart (our miracle story) and needed some clarification from a surgical standpoint. We left an urgent message for someone from the Cardiology team to call us back. It was Dr. Hawkins, himself, that returned our call. He was reassuring, encouraging and to put it simply...HEAVEN SENT!! He lifted us in a way that I cannot express. Dr. Hawkins has touched the lives of so many. The far-reaching influence of this one, solitary man boggles my mind! I've spilled many tears for Dr. Hawkins and his family this week and can only hope and pray that he will be blessed with an abundance of peace and reassurance for a life well spent!