We all have stories, and it seems 2020 has been full of them for so many. So many individual journeys.

I decided to write about this journey that I am on. 

People are hurting right now in so many ways, and if my journey can help someone learn about Valley Fever or Sweets Syndrome, then that is great!

But more importantly, if my journey can encourage someone in the understanding of the love of God, how real and how personal that love is…then none of my experience has been wasted.

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It started back in September, when I was visiting my children and grandchild in Arizona.  They gifted me a trip for my 60th birthday.  It was a wonderful time and I would not trade it for anything!  

Our one and only grandchild, a granddaughter, is a joy.  She has Cerebral Palsy and is my constant inspiration.

My husband was there for a week.  We had never been to Arizona, and the beauty of its creation mesmerized us, so different from our own at home. We got to visit Sedona, go on a jeep ride and see so many sights.

About the third week I started feeling ill.  I experienced a dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite and actually felt like a train had hit me.  I was concerned that I might not be able to fly home.  There were fires in the area, and I had asthma, thus the cough, or so I thought. I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in December 2019, so I thought I had overdone it, thus the fatigue and pain.

I wasn’t even sure if I could fly home, but I made it.  Once home, I ran a low grade fever, continued with the painful cough and fatigue. I had hives for a short time, then I broke out in something similar to blisters all over my body.  It was like nothing I had ever experienced.

My husband and friend, Amanda convinced me to go to the ER.  I did not want to go, but I knew something was horribly wrong with me.

It was.

My first gift from God was getting to the hospital.  This took a lot of convincing, but the Lord knew I was in desperate need.  I am a rather stubborn woman, so this was His doing for sure! 

After eight hours in the ER, I was finally admitted to a local hospital and then transferred by ambulance to a major hospital in a near-by city, which was two hours away.

It was 3:30 AM, and I went by ambulance. This wasn’t something I had on my bucket-list, but as all suitable Type A people do…I added it so I could cross it off! LOL

Dear ones, look for those gifts from God in the midst of your journey. They are there for all of us.

Next: The Second Gift

~Be Encouraged Today~

Tammy