07/04/06   One Tough Woman!

Saturday, I went by to see Betty after she was moved into a private room.  Since she's stuck in the hospital over the 4th, I took her a bouquet of flags.

All things considered, she looks great.  Like anyone who has had such a shocking turn of events in her life, she seemed a little bewildered.  Can you imagine what she's been through since Monday a week ago?

To go in for what everyone promises you is a simple procedure (a colonoscopy) and to wind up at death's door the next day with your whole life upended for the next several months would be bewildering for anyone.

As I walked to the hospital with the flag bouquet, I had a bizarre conversation with a nurse who complimented the arrangement.  After explaining my friend would be there for several days, she asked what happened to her.  I told her about the doctor tearing Betty during the colonoscopy.  She said the same thing happened to her sister, but "she passed".  I had to think for a second what she meant because my family would say "she passed away" or "she left us" or "she died".  I asked, "She died?"  The nurse said, "Yes, in two days."  It was very unsettling, to say the least.

What are the odds of talking to the one person who would have had that experience in her family?  It's supposedly a very rare occurrence.  It is even more rare for patients to survive such a catastrophe, but Betty Culbreath is special.

God truly has plans for Betty Culbreath because she is going to be with us for a long time. 

I have a special note of thanks to Kay Copeland and Dwayne Caraway.  Thanks to Kay for checking on Betty and demanding she get to the hospital.  Every hour she delayed would have hurt her survival chances.   Thanks to Dwayne for being there for her and keeping us informed while she was in ICU.

Keep Betty in your prayers because she has a tough recuperation ahead of her, but she has the will and toughness to get through it. 

Betty Culbreath is one of a kind, and we don't have one to spare.

sb