September 5, 2017, is a day that I will always remember. It was the day that we went to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The day I went there for surgery. The day that I lost my right kidney. The day that I lost my gallbladder. The day that I learned to just how sick my body was. I look at it as being an important date that is part of the journey that led to Charlie 22 Outdoors.
We knew going into the surgery that my gallbladder and kidney were going to be removed. What we didn’t know was just how bad things were. The gallbladder was distended four times the size it was supposed to be. The kidney was so dead that it was like a piece of stone. They couldn’t even cut into it. But what was even more concerning was the aorta and vena cava. They were both calcifying. They had to chip away at the calcium, because they were going to eventually constrict. That would be the end of circulation. And we know what that means. So, leaving it alone was not an option. The concern during the surgery was chipping too far. Too deep. Because that would lead to penetrating one of them. And that results in bleeding out within seconds. This is all information that I learned after I recovered. The 2 1/2 hour surgery ended up being for five hours.
Yesterday, we mentioned not knowing who we are going to meet at certain times. That is exactly what happened here. We first learned how sick I was in July 2017. While we were in the hospital then, we met Dr. Brookover. We didn’t realize the blessing of that meeting until later. He convinced us that we needed to go to Tulsa for the surgery so his teammate could use robotics. Looking back now, God brought us together because of what they found when they were in the middle of surgery. Because it took robotics to chip away at the calcification. And I believe that is what ended up saving my life. Going back weeks earlier to meet Dr. Brookover…lead to going to Tulsa. Which led to surgery with robotics. Amazing how that happens. How God orchestrates things in our lives. Just as he did for me. Knowing that would lead to people serving God, by serving others, through Charlie 22 Outdoors. Ultimately, bringing more people into his glory. And that is awesome.
