Life Is Full of Tests

You know that feeling you get when you think about something horrible happening to the ones you love most? You never think that something could actually happen to them because of how much you love them, right? Well, it happened to my father. My father, Ron Stephens, has always been a family oriented man. He does whatever it takes for his family and to pay the bills. Around 2014 he started his own business. 'RJ Stephens Trucking Inc.', where he was hauling logs for local logging companies. So, with that being said... He was gone for sixteen plus hours a day, totally wiped out when he got home, but still had to make time for his kids and wife. And he did. No matter how tired he was. He always pushed to do everything he can and most times he would overdue himself.

So, a couple of years pass and things happen and change so my dad divorced my mother. It was hard for us kids and him, but it was the best for the family. Two years after the divorce, my dad met a woman, Kari Scheese. She is wonderful for him. She eventually moved in with her son, and figured out how to mix two families today. By this time, I had already turned eighteen and moved in with my boyfriend. My dad was happy, and so was I. Shortly after I had moved out, I had found out I was pregnant. I told my dad to come over so I could tell him. I didn't know how to tell him so I handed him the ultrasound photo. He says "What the heck is this, a kidney stone?!" But he knew. He was so happy! So, he and Kari have been good hunting for over a year now, they got engaged so wanted to take the next step; buy a house. And that's what they had done, bought a beautiful house in the Oregon valley with property for his trucks and for their farm. A few months after they had moved into their new forever home, something happened to my father that was unbelievably scary....

I got a call from my aunt Heather saying that my dad was in the hospital and wasn't doing good. I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, he wrecked his truck?! No... It was unknown as to what happened. What happened was my dad was numb. Paralyzed. Hurting so bad that he couldn't move. Had terror in his eyes. I couldn't bring myself to accept that something had happened to my dad so unexpectedly. I was about 26 weeks pregnant at this point so I was already emotional as is. But this tore me apart. I cried every day because I didn't know if he was okay. I called my dad and he told me he has Guillian-Barrè Syndrome. It means that your muscles, reflexes, and nerves all slowly shut down on you. He was having horrible muscle pains and nerve pains. Had a spinal tap, and still couldn't find the right was to cute it. Time has passed and it's day 40 of being in the hospital and he was doing better but just needed to heal at home. Half his face shut down. He had to go to physical therapy for months and had to learn how to eat, walk, grab, pull, stand, everything; as if he were a baby. Thankfully Kari was there by his side taking care of him. And this scared me because I remember the doctor telling me that because this is so serious, it can spread to his face and that's when it becomes fatal. The reason it because fatal is if he loses all feeling in his throat or chest, he may think he's still breathing but he could potentially stop breathing. And once his face got paralyzed, that's when I realized that I might lose my father. And I've never been so emotional in my entire life. The thought of losing someone who raised you is awful.

So, let's fast forward. Now, my dad is back up on the road, driving his truck. He can walk on his own, everything. Still has some troubles but he is recovering. All this occurred in November 2017 and he's still recovering to this day, May 2018. So it's a long healing process. And all that happened to him because he was overdoing himself. Working, stress, all that stuff caused it. Now, he's a wonderful grandfather to my son of four months old. I am so thankful to have my father be here today, in my son's life. I really thought I was going to lose my dad. But he's still here, going through as ever. So please, be thankful. Be understanding that ANYTHING can happen at ANYTIME, whether it's your acquaintance or someone closest to you. It happened to my father, a man I can't live without. But we had hope and we didn't stop until we got answers. And that's because we love him.

So, you are never promised tomorrow.