Welcome to Senior Softball

A WORD OF THANKS - This month I thought that I would use this space to thank all those senior players and friends from all over who have communicated their well wishes and held up my wife, Ann in prayer over the past 16 months. Many also advised that Ann was on their Church's Prayer List. Ann always appreciates everyone's concern and support and it was comforting for her to know that so many people in the sport of softball cared about her well being and were praying for her.

In March Ann had another setback and was hospitalized in our local hospital for a week with a very serious blood infection then had to be moved to a large teaching hospital to seek further treatment from one on the Nation's leading vascular surgeons. She was examined that night by the surgeon and his team of doctors and the conclusion was she needed emergency surgery which was scheduled for the next day. The medical experts assured us that the only resolution was to undergo surgery to remove a graft where the blood infection had settled. That evening on the one-hour drive home late at night I spent the time talking to God and prayed that he would abide with her and give her the strength and will to continue the brave fight she had been having for over a year as she battled multiple medical issues. I felt confident in the physicians but was really worried for how long Ann could stay mentally strong to cope with her issues. You see, the operation the next day would return her to where she started almost a year earlier and then after four operations which had left her with only partial use of her hands, she would be worse off than when she started. God heard our prayers.

The next morning Ann awoke to find her arm healed. The swelling the size of a tennis ball was gone, the bright red color was gone and the high temperature was gone. It was a miracle from God. In just a few short hours the area of her arm where a graft had been inserted two months earlier looked normal again, the medical team was surprised when they came to ready her for the operation and decided to postpone the surgery until the following day. The next day it looked even better and the following day she was released from the hospital. Today Ann is using the graft for dialysis and looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks again for all your prayers.