She's Feeling Good!

Cathy made it through her first reconstruction surgery and she is home recovering.  The surgery went very well and she is not in a lot of pain, which is great!  She sounds happy and energetic and looking forward to continuous improvement.  Cathy, I wish I could be there with you to make you some soup or a dinner, or to just 'hang out' with you and talk.  However, we are miles apart.  Your local friends and family have been so wonderful to you that I know you are well taken care of.  They are bringing comfort and nourishment to you as you heal from the surgery.  If you visit with Cathy, please give her a hug from me!
Love, Linda

Cathy's Message to Her Wonderful Co-Workers

To my GANT Family,

I want to personally thank Janice Wilson for the beautiful comfort shawl that she made for me.  Friday afternoon, Janice and Kathy M. came by to present this to me and read the prayer to me.  I was so moved!  The outpouring of love and prayers continues even though it has already been six months since my accident. (The Prayer is attached below)

I want to acknowledge my entire GANT family as well.  I deeply appreciate all of you.  You have been supporting me through this entire ordeal.  I know the doctors know this, but I want to extend my gratitude to all of you as well for allowing me to work part-time when I am able and for saving my job for me.  I have a deep loyalty to GANT as I have been a part of it for so many years.  Returning to work in January was one of my main goals, and because of all of you, I definitely accomplished that goal.  I plan to continue my road to recovery starting today as I am about to undergo my first surgery.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Love, 

Cathy

Prayer For Comfort © 2010 All rights reserved

By: Cathleen O'Meara Murtha, DW www.shawlministry.com
As you wrap yourself in the prayer shawl of comfort...
May the Mother of Mercy, the Father of Faithfulness and the Spirit of Compassion
wrap you in their all-encompassing love this day.

May you find comfort
   from all that appears too much to bear at this moment
   from all that feels as if it might be the breaking point
   from all that seems to threaten your peace of heart.

May this prayer shawl be
   a shelter for time of overwhelming grief
   a shade in times of sorrow too deep for words
   a shield from times of unimaginable loss.

May you be comforted
   by the presence of those who love and support you
   by faith in the eternal Loving One
   by the memories of what you hold most dear.

May you be strengthened
   in your daily comings and goings
   in your tentative new beginnings
   in your unfolding new memories.

Blessings of the Angel of Comfort be with you and all you love now and forevermore.

Cathy's Beautiful Letter to Me

Cathy wrote this beautiful letter to me and asked me to post it for all of you to see.  It brought tears to my eyes!

March 7, 2010

Dear Linda,

How can I thank you for all that you have done for me since my accident?   You have always been there for me and my family, through thick and thin, good times and bad times, and every moment in between since the day we met in December 1980.   We have been friends now for almost 30 years!  Unbelievable.  I remember when you and Ira were our new friends.  Having the pleasure of helping welcome Renee and Eliza into the world was such a wonderful experience.  We became your “family” during that period of time you all lived here in Fort Worth.  Renee and Eliza are Texans, so their roots will always be from Texas.  Remember the quote, “Friends are the family you choose for yourselves.”  (I still have the t-shirt you made for me in my closet!)  Linda, you, Ira, Renee, Philip, Eliza, Rich, and of course, little Asher are our family.  Look how far we have come! 

You really stepped up to the plate the minute you found out about my horrible accident in Cabo in September.  I wished that I had been able to visit with you and see you when you first came.  Unfortunately, I had no idea of what had happened due to my condition and medications, etc.  I couldn’t believe you were with me, and I didn’t even know it.  Thank you so much for coming to help comfort Lenny and my family.  Though I wasn’t “there,” mentally, I know your presence and strength made a huge difference in helping them cope with the situation. 

The blog that you started, Cathy’s Climb to Recovery, was such a blessing for Lenny, Steven, Lisa, Kaje, Bari, but mostly for me.  As I woke up and was able to understand, Steven read the blog to me every day which gave me continued hope and strength.  Every day, I would ask him to please read me what you wrote.  And going back and reading the entire thing has helped me to better understand the seriousness of the situation and helped me to see just how far I have progressed since that awful day in September.  I was occasionally disappointed if you skipped a day as I looked forward to hearing your comforting words each day.  I think the entire community of Fort Worth, Steven’s friends in Austin, our friends and family in other cities, and even people I barely knew read the blog and kept up with my progress through it.  In such a serious accident and long recovery period, people hesitate calling and sometimes don’t really know what to do.  But so many people told me they followed the blog on a regular basis; in fact, I am still hearing from some that they wondered if there would be any more entries on the blog.  They miss your kind words, strength, and positive outlook.  I do too!  Many times, I heard from others how lucky I was to have a friend like you, doing such a wonderful thing by writing and keeping up the blog. 

You and Ira’s visit in December meant so much to me!   I couldn’t wait to actually get to see you this time.  We had a few wonderful days together.  Thank God, I was doing so well that we could have a great visit.  I can’t wait to see you again, hopefully soon.

Many of us in a lifetime do not find a friendship such as ours.  I have felt blessed and extremely fortunate to have met you and to have been such special friends to each other.  I am blessed that God spared me and has given me the chance to continue living my life.  Lenny and I look forward to sharing many more good times with you and Ira and the rest of your family in the years to come.  When you, Ira, Renee, and newborn Eliza left Fort Worth so many years ago, I was so afraid that our friendship wouldn’t stand the test of time.  But Linda, you promised me that we would always be friends.  And you were right!!   Your many moves over the years hasn’t changed anything, except bringing us closer.  Family is family no matter what, and that is how we feel about you!   The Basses and Herzfelds have a special bond which will last a lifetime. 

Linda, you are so special to me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for always being my friend, always being just a phone call away, and always having words of comfort, strength, and love for me, especially when I needed them the most.  I thank God that you came into my life, as my life would have never been the same if you hadn’t touched it. 

I love you.

Love, 

Cathy

A Letter from Cathy

Dear Family and Friends,

After many months of reading this blog written so beautifully by Linda as well as reading your many comments and good wishes, it is now time for me to “talk” to all of you. 

My life changed in an instant back in September in Cabo when I had my horrible accident.  I had no idea what had happened until 2½ weeks later when I “woke up” at John Peter Smith Hospital ICU and was told what had happened.  I was so drugged and out of it that I don’t think I really comprehended the seriousness of the situation.  As days rolled by, I asked lots of questions and got answers, some of which were terribly frightening and upsetting as well as some funny answers (like when I wanted something to eat, and they told me I couldn’t have anything, and I tried to bite Steven’s hand! – sorry Steven, you know when I am hungry, I want food!) 

You all know what has been going on with me, thanks to the wonderful blog that my special friend, Linda, started and continued during my recovery.  The last entry was in January back at work and functioning quite well considering it had only been 3½ months since that dreadful day. 

My recovery has gone well but is about to start a new chapter.  I have seen many doctors over the past few months and have found Dr. Ducic, who is a craniofacial, ENT, and plastic surgeon here in Fort Worth.  Lenny and I were very comfortable with him the minute we met him, and we are very confident that he can help me get back to being “normal” again.  I have quite a bit of damage to my face including my right eye and nose and some fractured areas that need to be corrected.  I will be facing several surgeries beginning next Monday, March 15, and continuing for about a year.  The first surgery will be to correct my eye by adding a custom implant to shift the eye to the correct position and some corrective work with bone grafts to the right orbit.  This is scheduled as an outpatient for which I am very thankful.  We are still thinking positive that with the surgeries, my right eye vision will improve and maybe I can someday see normal again.  I am still having the double vision with lots of blurriness as my right eye has severe damage. 

My second surgery is scheduled for April 19.  This will be reconstruction and repair of my nose as Dr. Ducic said it was “unhealthy” and will not function properly for the long term.  I showed him a photo of myself before the accident, and he said my nose wasn’t pretty; can you imagine that?!  I asked him to make my new nose pretty.  We’ll see when the time comes. 

After recovering from surgeries 1 & 2, we will proceed to schedule more surgeries, one at a time, until he says I am in good shape.  Don’t know the progression, but will keep you updated via the blog when I have answers. 

I am somewhat apprehensive about the road on which I am about to embark.  However, I thank God every day that I have been given a second chance.  I have tried to stay positive, though at times, it is very difficult to do.  The support of my family and friends has gotten me to this point, and I know you will continue to support me and pray for me throughout my journey. 

I have learned many lessons over the course of the last six months.  I now appreciate things and people I took for granted.  We get so busy in our lives that we often forget what is important.  Lenny is the best husband ever, and I could have never made it this far without his love and support.  He truly is my “Superman.”   I am truly the luckiest woman in the world to have such a wonderful husband, and my love for him gets stronger every day.  Steven, Lisa, and Kaje are the best children.  They all have such a special place in my heart and know how much I love each of them.  And of course, my granddaughter, Audrey – she is the light of my life.  She has been and continues to be so loving and caring for me, and I thank God again for allowing me to be in her life.  My sister, Bari, spent lots of time with me and my family during my hospitalization and recovery, and I realize how lucky I am to have her for a sister.  Thanks to Bari, Jason, and Ethan for your support and love as well as all my family and friends for caring so much. 

I think that God has a purpose for all of us.  I feel that he is using me as a tool to help other people in times of need.  Many have told me that I have been an inspiration to them through my recovery.  I want this accident and road to recovery to have meaning, and I pray that in the future, I can look back at this time in my life and know what my purpose is.  I know I have the strength to face each day, one day at a time, and I will strive to keep a positive outlook for myself, my family, and my friends. 

I have depended on the Serenity Prayer which has helped me with my life.  It gives me comfort and helps me through each day.  I will share it with all of you.

God grant us the Serenity to accept the things we cannot change

The Courage to change the things we can, and

The Wisdom to know the difference. 

I pray that I will continue to maintain the strength I so very much need in the coming months.  With all the continued prayers, support, and love from my family and friends, I will fully recover and get back to a “normal” life.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 

Love,

Cathy