My dad and I got to the hospital bright and early this morning. The nurse came in and took another ultrasound on the area of the pseudoaneurysm. Unfortunately, the gap in the artery re-opened and there was still blood flowing into a “pocket” that had formed. It was decided to do surgery to close the gap. My mom needed to be transported to another hospital that had the capability and staff to do the surgery. My dad rode in the ambulance with her while I drove the car downtown. Upon arrival, we met the vascular surgeon who explained the procedure. We headed down to the pre-op and after getting my mom all prepped, we had a few minutes to pray with the nurses around us and my mom blessed herself with the holy water from Lourdes that I brought with me. Some people came in to meet with another patient and I thought I recognized one of them. Sure enough, it was one of my good friends. We seem to meet in the strangest places. Her sister had an appendix that needed to be removed. We all said good-bye to our loved ones and headed into the waiting room. My sisters and nephew also showed up, so we all had plenty to talk about other than worry about our family members. After a while, the doctor came in and told my friend that her sister was out of surgery and while the appendix had ruptured, she was doing well. Shortly after that, our doctor came out and said that my mom’s surgery was successful and she did very well. The “pocket” that the blood was pooling into was very large and she left it open to drain. We all thanked God and continue to pray for healing and no other complications.

I Found God today in successful surgeries for my mom and my friend’s sister, seeing my friend in a most unusual place, in the companionship of her, my sisters and nephew, and in all the friends who lifted up prayers.