Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Wayne is home safe and sound from China.

Every time he goes, I'm a little bit worried. This is difficult for me, because I am not a worrier. It's just not in my nature. But....Wayne and China have had a hard time mixing in my brain ever since four years ago.

My Wayne went on his April trip, happy, strong and healthy....and returned 10 days later, a crumpled man.

It was four years ago this day that Wayne crawled off the plane from his China trip. He got a virus "bug" while there. ( To be fair, we don't know if he caught it there, or before he arrived there....viruses are funny that way.)

He couldn't walk upright, couldn't open his eyes, couldn't stop puking, couldn't stand up straight. He was in a lot of pain. It's a miracle he even survived that 14 hour flight or that China let him leave the country and didn't just quarantine him.

Wayne was so sick. While waiting in the Taiwan airport...he had to throw up and they only had squatter toilets. He did his business. Later he touched his chest pocket to make sure his passport was there. It wasn't. He crawled back to the bathroom and went to the squatter, the passport was floating on top of the squatter. He crawled to the sink, washed it with soap and water and blew it dry with the hand dryer. He did this, mostly, with his eyes closed, his world spinning and feeling like he was going to be sick again. It was horrible.

Wayne just kept praying.

He got home, we went to the Emergency room....they told him to open his eyes. That's the only way his eyes would ever help his brain to stop spinning. His skin was literally green.

He spent about 2 weeks in bed. No lights. No sound. World spinning! We went to see a lot of ear and brain specialists. It was a virus that attacked his middle ear ....the "parts" would never be back. Wayne just had to wait for his other senses and brain to adjust.

At the balance center they gave him some skills to help re-train his brain and balance his body again. He had to re learn to stand up straight, walk, and cope.

We just kept praying, asking for a miracle so Wayne could go back to work and life.

It was a long process...but Wayne was/is determined to get back to "normal".

Four years later, Wayne is still dizzy. Most people wouldn't even know. He is happy. He drives his car, even at night. He rides his motorcycle. He goes to work every day....some days he comes home totally exhausted from trying to hold his world still...but he endures.

I'm thankful there haven't been any more "wierd" things happening to my Wayne while in China.

The miracle of this is not that Wayne's dizzyness has gone away. Some days it's worse than others. The miracle is he can move forward in his day.....and carry on.