I had just completed surgery at the Lahey Clinic, the awake surgery as it is called. I did very well by the grace of God only. The doctor addressed me and then stepped out to tell my wife and daughter that things went well. He told her what he had told me. I was taken up to a room shortly thereafter. I went to the restroom in my room and got into bed. remember, I had no surgical meds in me so I felt great and was busy with my family coming in and out visiting me. I had a tv on the swivel arm it was a whole  new world to me. lol  I know my nephew Stevie when he was in the hospital some time ago told his parents he wanted one for his room at home . Kids are the best!

I ate dinner, and relaxed, I ordered my family to go home 🙂 My wife was exhausted and I felt great. So they agreed and I was left with the tv, it had a radio too lol. My cell phone was sitting on the little table. I got quiet and began to pray and reflect on the day. The doctors and nurses where in and out and there was nothing to report. Everything was hunkey dorey. 🙂 Well my cell rang at around 730 ish, I am guessing it was and My friend who happens to be a Catholic deacon and lives in the big apple said , Danny how are you?  I responded never better, So I told him what had happened that day and he said just amazing, Dan what your telling me is just reinforcing my faith so much. He understands this is not the norm and he works in the medical field.  So, I hung up with my friend and began to pray my rosary once again and I received a text. One thing that I have come to understand is that God is working Spiritually on every one of us literally every second that we are here on Earth. The only requirement on our account is to work at our personal relationship with him. God has perfect timing after all he is the author of life. This next account would give anybody shivers.

So, I am laying their minding my own p and q’s as my mom would say.  I get a text hey danny, how are you ?

I responded hi  how are you ? I am doing great!

she responded can I call ? I said sure

One other point that I would like to share before I continue is that the only reason that my friend at this time had my cell # is that we worked together. I had changed jobs into her department and schedules were staggered for arrival time and I felt bad she was juggling two boys and work. I had offered to come in on all of her 5 am shifts and cover for her, For the record she never took me up on the offer, she gets things done. We also never spoke outside of work. You see God knew that she needed that number for just this moment! So she had it and I had her in my address book, I do not answer calls that I do not recognize.

My phone rang, I answered and she said Danny, did you end up having surgery? I said yes, and  that I was in the hospital overnight . I said, God has it,  I feel great…

Now some background on how I met this person.   Because of the slowing economy one year prior to my diagnosis which would have been  the spring of 2011  I took a job at a local Home Depot part time to close the gap and to try and stay ahead of our monthly expenses here. I would be up at 330am and punch in before 5 am. I would work until 10 am , then go off to my clients homes to complete their work usually working to around 7pm. Speaking as a man, I have always believed that a father has to lead his family by example, so work and sacrafice should be the norm. My father witnessed that to me and is the finest man I know. And finally, by nature of my Catholic Faith, I am called by God to lead my family Spiritually.morally and ethically. God does have a standard. It does not mean that I have always hit that mark but God knows, I do try.

Let me state for the record my wife always lead with me, and when I was at my weakest SHE took everything over ! So women can do exactly what a man does without the ego of course! LOL, I don’t think I’m getting back any of that power back either! So funny! she is small but fiesty. xoxo

Well, during my time at home depot I met so many wonderful people from all walks of life. I met a very nice person ,  I/we value her as a wonderful family friend now. This person worked side by side with me at work for the last  think  about 4- 6 months or so while I was at home Depot prior to my illness. She has/had  a really  protective shell, she is very bright, witty,smart and tough. I am easy going but agreesive in sales and I love to work. My typeA personality really shows up. I honesty love working with people and love to fulfill the clients needs. To give them more than they barganed for so they will build on that relationship with me. You have to be sincere all the times. So, things were tough a lot of people there were having their own worries, doesn’t everybody? I would walk around the building on breaks and connect with others supporting them, offering my prayers. Their we’re lovely people there doing the same for me. 

My friend, foe at that time called me  Danny sunshine or something to that effect. She called me a phony on more than one occasion. I just did notlet it bother me. I was always giving it up for God and would tell everyone offer up the stuff and suffering. She would say to me ,you piss me off. LOL . I would laugh with my co workers and say, you love me, she would snap no, I don’t. You know what, I appreciated that she was /is authentic she said what she felt and that was great, I said God tells me different. So this continued for a few months, I was always hugging everybody, it my nature and way anyway. She saw me with clients in action. You have to practice what you preech, people are watching and listening. As a matter of fact, I feel that if a person is phony with people and proclaim that they are God fearing that this action not only does harm  your relationship with God and our soul but this action can also destroy what people who are searching for God the opportunity of meeting God through you! I believe that we are accountable for our failures of not helping others. We are the fisher of men after all.

So any way this person and I really ended up having a good relationship at work, I loved her for who she was and respected her. She could not figure me out and  thought I was nuts and that too was fine with me. 🙂

God had ordained this situation for us both to learn. And,  back to the account , She calls, and we are speaking about surgery and she broke out in the most beautiful deeply routed tears from her soul, it is called a healing, another miracle as far as I am concerned.. She continued to cry, and said you don’t understand Danny its because of you that I believe in God. You told me that you had to go through this and were not afraid, I can’t believe, well any way that conversation was beautiful and we hung up. I sat there on my bed and said oh, I still have not finished my prayers yet . I said a special prayer for my friend.  With that my cell phone slipped on to the floor so I did what any brain surgery patient would do, I rolled onto my side stretched down to the floor to retreve it. How stupid that was  now that  I am remembering it but, it was for a purpose. after I finished my prayers I thought of my friend and I had a message from God for her, It was now around  after 9:00. I sent a text hey-, I just finished the rosary and before you go to bed tonight say a special prayer to God,The Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother ask them to reveal to you that they are in the moment with you.They will.

She called right back saying OMG. As, I sent the text she was on the knee’s beside her bed asking for God’s presence she had not done this for years, so my text and her action proved that God and heaven were indeed there in that exact moment. Joy burst her heart . and she was on the road again towards the cross. Our God is an Awesome God! He loves us all so much 🙂

Finally believe it or not…..

A man came into my room at around 10 ish,  I was suppose to be in a slumber by now. But, I was still going strong.  I guess you could say that I was God strong. 🙂 He said, hi I hope I am not disturbing you, I said no. He said he was the head Chaplin. I said oh that’s  good could I get the Eucharist please, he apologized and said he was not Catholic, I said okay:) So he said can we speak? I said sure , he grabbed the chair and sat beside me. He said there are a lot of people who are talking. They are upset, patients, staff here etc, can you tell me what happened earlier downstairs, what they had witnessed.  I said nothing, I had surgery and smiled. That is the moment that God through the switch on in my head to realize what  God was truely doing through me. I declared to him that it was God, and we spoke for a few more minutes about the events. He thanked me and gave me a Blessing and he left.

As a side note, a few months later a women approached me in my church who is a eucharistic minister at Lahey and said her boss, the one I was talking to that night had been speaking about my witness to him and she said I know him. You see we are all connected.

I will be  putting a very special psalm onto my blog in the next day or so . God revealed this psalm to me nearly three years ago in writings I had done in the Holy Spirit. It makes all the peices of our lives fall togeather. We really have no worries.

The day after surgery, I got up put the shower cap on to protect my wound and hopped into the shower, all by my onesies, I survived but the nurse said, I should of just let know. oops  That does make since but then again, I felt so well. I was going to be discharged and the bride was coming to get me.lol

I ate my breakfast, watched the news, the team of doctors came in and one was a women she was so lovely her presence was very kind. I am guessing she was assisting the doctor or surgeon the day before in the OR. You know with the gowns , breath masks and hats it is hard to deceifer who is who .lol

What happened next is the gospel truth,

 

The doctors came in and they were assessing me, and I said I don’t think I can go back to what I was doing before. ( meaning work) because, I realized my left side was effected and I said do you think that there might be a job here somewhere for someone like me? I need to make money, and I want to help others, they all looked shocked, I had surgery not 24 hours before but God is hope, God is our protector the Holy Spirit was helping me look forward by his grace to a future and I was not living my diagnosis!

She started to get emotional and said, I told my husband last night what happened in the hospital yesterday. Then she said excuse me and left the room. She came back from her office with some  information that I could look into, she said you can’t think about work right now you have to fight this illness thats what matters. I thanked them , God Blessed them and they departed the room. I sat on the bed my wife was there by my side the whole time. After a short while  the nurse came in with my discharge instructions. He was a very kind person also and after I signed the discharge papers and he hugged me , I thanked him and said God Bless You , he hugged me again and said no one wanted me to leave. What God was doing through my illness was showing his glory. People were not responding to me. What they were responding to was the Spirit of God it is just that simple.

God Bless You All!:)

Danny

p.s, I am taking a couple of days away from the blog to recharge, God’s  time. 

Hillsong: Still