Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Allowed - Aloud (01/05/23)
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TITLE: I Don’t Know About Tomorrow-Episode 1 | Previous Challenge Entry
By Bonnie Kronberger
01/12/23 -
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My married children and grandkids live near my wife and me in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. I’ve been retired for a while and love it. We have a log cabin in the mountains a couple hours away. The kids and grandkids love both winter and summer activities, whether it’s skiing the slopes, rafting the river, or boating on the lake. So we spend quality time together. I also have some great buddies I hang out with regularly, playing basketball or tennis. My wife and I have different interests, so we frequently go our separate ways.
My daughter and son-in-law had joined me for this mountain hike. My shout of praise may have startled them, but they soon joined in with their own shouts, as we took our last glimpse at the magnificent summit view before heading back. I was leading and feeling strong, grateful to share this experience with them. One foot in front of the other, step by step, we began the descent. Without warning, the toe of my boot caught a wayward root, causing me to lose my balance. The fall didn’t happen in slow motion, yet my mind had time to take in the reality that I was about to hit the ground and it would be painful. The jarring impact took my breath away as I slammed face first into a mud puddle. When I didn’t move my kids rolled me over, wiping the slush from my face.
“Dad, are you alright?”
I didn’t know if I was or not. I intended to sit up, but as my mind attempted it, my body did not respond. Again, I tried to move, but my injury did not allow my body to move. I soon recognized I was having trouble breathing. I mustered the strength to whisper, “I can’t move. I can’t breathe.” Their shocked faces told me they’d heard.
Thus began an hour-long wait for rescue to arrive. I can’t tell you what it was like for my kids. I’m sure they tried to comfort me, but I was giving every ounce of strength to breathing. There was a certainty in my mind that I was paralyzed, but my whole focus was to keep breathing. My soul cried out, “God, are you here?”
It’s difficult to explain the journey down. As the rescue team attended to me and placed me on the stretcher, my struggled breathing took my focus. A few men carried the stretcher down a narrow trail of rough terrain, as family followed. I remember it being a time of fear and helplessness. I wondered how much longer I could survive. Eventually we reached the parking lot and an ambulance raced me to the hospital. Once in the hospital, they must have drugged me, because I have no recollection of events.
The hum of machines greeted me when I awoke. I struggled to open my eyes. The piercing light sent stabs of pain as I blinked. Voices in the distance faded as a nearby voice whispered, “Daddy.”
The faces of my family peered at me, one by one, looking haggard and worried. A nurse’s entrance caused them to back away as she took over, doing a myriad of things, none of which made any sense to me. Eventually she left, allowing my family to speak to me. That’s when I realized I could not speak.
The doctors don’t know if I will regain any movement or feeling. A machine breathes for me. For now, my mind is all I have control of. Family is nearby, offering love and support. I see on their faces the questions which they don’t ask aloud. I have the same questions. “You allowed this to happen, Lord. Why? What happens next? How bad is it?”
I think I’m grateful to be alive, but wonder what God intends to do with all this.
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