What a difference a day makes....

Our week started like any other.  The ending, however, was not so ordinary.  On Friday, Brad and I went to play in a tournament in Longmont.  We had had our first snow of the year, so it was a little slow going to get there.  Had a great time and went to a fabulous BBQ restaurant with our Ft Collins friends.  Did well in the tournament and planned to play again on Sunday.  Saturday morning began like all Saturdays.  We had coffee, read the paper, rehashed some of our bridge hands and discussed our plans for the day.  Carrie wanted me to go run errands with she and the kids and Brad was going to some  small electrical job. We left the house at 9:30 and he said he was going to try to finish up the job so that he could watch Spencer's team play that afternoon.  Meanwhile, Carrie & I and the kids stopped by McDonald's to pick up their soccer trophies and enjoy a cupcake.

We then picked up Meredith and her kids and made our way to Ft Collins with the intention of getting Halloween costumes for Gabi and Elijah.  Our first stop was the Princess Palace where Gabi tried on several outfits and (reluctantly) chose the "buy 1 get 1 free" off the sale rack versus the one she really wanted for $49... We left there and headed to Party City to look at boys costumes.  Corbin got a picture of the store just as we were parking. We had just unloaded everyone, when my cellphone rang with a man on the other end asking if I knew Brad Simmons. 

I was

startled to say the least!  Anyway, he went on to explain that they had found Brad down at the job site unresponsive and were loading him onto an ambulance as we spoke.  In a not-so-calm manner, we all jumped back into the car with Carrie driving (faster than she should have) to get back to Greeley and to determine where the ambulance was taking him.  On arrival at the ER, the staff was trying to calm him down (he was very combative after his second seizure) in order to get an MRI.  The test showed that there was a mass located in his central brain area that was inoperable (due to location).  That was a scary moment!  The neurologist was undecided as to whether he had a stroke or whether the tumor caused the seizures.  He was moved to ICU and my biggest fear that night was that we wasn't going to wake up. He was given sooo many drugs.  On Sunday morning, after a sleepless night, we (the kids and I) went to see him about 7:00.  I leaned over the bed and said "I love you", and praise the Lord, he responded "Love you too".  It was a really happy moment for us all, just knowing that his language wasn't lost.  It was then that we knew with certainty that he'd not had a stroke.  Later that day, the neurologist (Dr Seigel) and the neurosurgeon (Dr Blatt) came in to tell him what had happened.  He responded to all commands and seemed to understand what he was being told, but unfortunately when Monday morning rolled around (after I'd spent the night with him in the room) he had no memory of that conversation.  So, it was left to Carrie and I who were the first present to tell him why he was there.  A very rough time!  He went through a second MRI to see the tumor after the swelling had gone down and a contrast CT for the rest of his body, to rule out any other situations... Both of those came back with no new findings, and so we were sent home.  We both were exhausted and napped for awhile.  He and I had a long talk last night and although our future is uncertain, I (who have never been an overly religious person) see that God  was so involved in the whole series of events.  There seems to be no other explanation, so for now I am grateful for all I have. My children have been more than supportive and wonderful, as have their spouses and children and so many other family and friends.  We are blessed!