Kat's Story, Continued (Part Five)~

We thought the hard times for Kat were finally behind us, but we were wrong. A few days before Christmas, she developed severe upper abdominal cramps. As the hours passed, the cramps got worse: in fact, they were so bad, I decided to drive her to the emergency room; she was clearly suffering. By the time we got to the ER, Kat was doubled over from pain, and they were so bad she eventually collapsed.

That got the attention of the people waiting in the ER as well as the nurse, who was behind the desk. The nurse rushed over to Kat's side, checked her pulse and blood pressure, and called for a gurney, or rolling stretcher bed, while I filled out the admissions form. Kat was taken to a treatment table in the ER while I gave the ER nurse information regarding my fiance' 's medical history.

A few minutes later, the doctor who examined Kat in the ER came up to me. He told me that Kat was now in surgery. Apparently, her appendix had been inflamed, and by the time the surgeons opened her up, the appendix had burst, giving her a nasty case of peritonitis. If Kat survived the surgery (or the weeks following the surgery), it would be a miracle.

***************************************************************

Kat's Story (Part Six [Conclusion])~

Kat was in the hospital for a period of three weeks, fighting for her life. I spent nearly all my time with her: I am sure Aurora, our little Norwegian Forest Cat, was thinking I'd forgotten about her because whenever I stopped by the house (so's to shower, eat some "normal", nonhospital food, check the mail, do a quick load of laundry, and feed the cat), she meowed constantly, and she acted like I was starving her to death. Whenever I fed her, she literally would jump at me, try to knock the bowl of food from my hand. I can't tell you how many times she made a mess on the floor!

Anyway, I spent a lot of time in prayer, which is saying a lot, because I am not normally a religious man. I guess God must have been listening because he brought my Katrina back, back from the brink of death.

Now it is a brand new year, 2007, February, and Katrina is diong quite well. She has been out of the hospital for a little over a month now, almost, and every day she continues to gain needed strength. Her surgical scars are healing nicely, and she gobbles up everything that is placed in front of her.

Kat and myself are looking forward to our approaching wedding, which will be in May. We are getting ready for the "big move"; we are moving to Alaska; we will be living in Alaska after we get married.

I have already handed my business over to Jose' Mineros, who has been with me since the beginning. When I and Kat leave for Alaska, he will take over. I have already bid my friends farewell; there were many tears shed, but I told my friends that we would most definitely return to Tennessee for a spell. After all, Nashville was the city that welcomed my Katrina with open arms, and it was all I could do to repay her. If it were not for Hurricane Katrina, I would have never gotten the chance to meet (and later fall in love with) Katrina Delchamps; now she blew into town (and into my heart) in a big way.

Nothing, not even a little old Catagory 5 hurricane, could ever separate the love that Katrina and I now share. Katrina is mine, forever, and life for her is very good indeed!

The only thing is, Katrina suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She still has nightmares about that awful late August day back in 2005, frequent, scary nightmares that rip me from a sound sleep. She cannot watch any news footage or special programming about Hurricane Katrina without crying. The memories are too painful for her to bear, too fresh; each time she is reminded of Hurricane Katrina, she withdraws into herself; then I have to fight like hell to try to get her out of her shell. Yet I know, with help and the love I feel for her, Kat will eventually learn to heal.

*************************The End.*****************************