Whirlwind Week

The last week and a half has been quite a whirlwind for me and the rest of my family. Last Saturday morning I got a phone call from my mom telling me that my grandpa, who had been in the hospital with pneumonia for a few days, was being moved into intensive care. As the day progressed, the prognosis seemed to be getting worse and worse. By 7:30 on Saturday night, it was clear that my grandpa was probably not going to live for more than a few days so Heather and I immediately began contacting the appropriate people to try and sort out a trip home to see my grandfather before he passed away and be in the States for his viewing and funeral services. We decided I should go at 7:30 at night. By 8:15 Heather and I were on the road to the airport with Ruth and our friend Janet. By 9:00 I was in a line to board a plane to London and from there on to Chicago. While I was in the air and on my way to London, Heather was in charge of working out the details for my flight back to Chicago. After about 28 hours of being in transit, I arrived in Chicago at 12:20 local time (9:20 pm SA time) and was greeted by Dave and Courtney Lehe.

Dave had the unfortunate task of telling me that I had arrived just a few hours too late and my grandfather had actually already passed away earlier that morning. In spite of my late arrival, I was still EXTREMELY grateful to be able to spend some time with my family and encourage them. The week was an incredible blessing to reminisce about Grandpa and the things that made him such a special man.

After a week of family togetherness, reminiscing, tears and laughter, it was time for me to head back to SA. It was sad to say good bye to my family but it was also refreshing to know that my family was in good spirits and thankful that Grandpa is now at home with the Lord.