Great goobly-goo!  LOL  Have been meaning to write about what's new with our lives, in particular, my wife, Rachel, and I guess time got away from me.  Sorry about that; such is the life when you're a paramedic.  LOL  You lose all track of time!!

Kendall Smith here.  I have been married to the most fantastic woman since June 2001; she's incredible in so many ways.  My wife's name is Rachel, Rachel Dian, and she's the prettiest thing this side of the Mississippi.

Rachel has been dealing with ramifications stemming from a lightning strike back in 2000.  She was struck while chasing a storm just northeast of here.  She'd gotten out of her pickup to take pictures of the storm cloud; lightning hit some high tension power lines, which fell across her neck and upper back.  She suffered a severe electric shock.

When I'd turned around, so as to check on her, I was horrified to discover her lying on the ground, not moving.  When I went to check on her, I found her not breathing.  She appeared more dead than alive; it scared the living hell out of me. 

I immediately flagged someone down; I told them to call 911 for an ambulance, as my partner was badly injured; I suspected she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning.  I then tended to my friend, begging her to start breathing again, as I performed rescue breathing/CPR on her.  It was one of the worst moments of my life.

The ambulance took Rachel to the hospital, where resuscitation attempts continued, until, finally, they got her back.  They didn't know if she would survive. 

Rachel spent many months in the hospital, recovering from burns, internal injuries, and coma.  It was unknown at this time whether she suffered permanent damage to her brain.

She eventually "came out of it", but not without lasting effects.  She was very spastic in her movements and was in a constant state of severe, unending pain.  She couldn't without assistance for shorter trips; most of the time she used a wheelchair.  She had trouble speaking clearly and problems with short term memory, as well as with balance and hearing. 

I asked Rachel to marry me at the end of 2000; she was scared to say yes, as she was afraid she'd be a burden to me.  I was like, "I don't think so", and she hasn't been.  Taking care of her has been worth everything to me.  To see her smile has been worth it all.

In 2005, after several attempts, Rachel became pregnant.  We became the parents of a bouncing baby boy (11 1/2 pounds!) in which we named Rheese Kendall Smith.  Monster-baby!!  LOL  (Needless to say, because of her tiny frame, Rachel had a C-section; there was no way on God's green earth she could have birthed him naturally!)

Because of her health, I often acted as caretaker for our son.  I also took care of Rachel; when I was at work, my mom, who lived in Dallas, Texas, would come up and help out, which I greatly appreciated.  Or our neighbors would help, too.  Rachel was never alone, and people took interest in her affairs, to try to make her life a little bit easier.

I was delighted to know that our son was perfectly healthy; however, I felt bad in knowing that his very own mother couldn't take care of him a lot of the time because she often didn't feel good or couldn't function.  I acted as both mother and father to little Rheese most days.

In the past several months, we heard about a revolutionary internal pacemaker to control pain.  We decided to try anything after many weeks of tears, long, drawn out discussions, and prayer.  We were both tired of being ruled by pain and uncertainty.

On Wednesday, just three days ago, my beloved went through the surgery.  She was in for four hours, quicker than I expected (doctors said eight hours). 

Rachel had a bit of a problem with her blood pressure being too low after surgery, as well as being very sluggish.  She was in the ICU up until this morning.  She's a little uncomfortable, but she's definitely feeling much better than she has been in a very long time. 

In fact, she has not had anything for pain since the surgery!  It's been nothing short of miraculous!

Tomorrow, to celebrate, we are having our Thanksgiving meal.  A few days late, but hey--at least we're going to have it....LOL

Rheese has been very worried about his mommy.  Every day he prayed to God, to make her better, so she could play with him.  It's been heartbreaking to hear his prayers.  He will be joining us for the celebration, especially since mommy is out of the ICU.

Rachel has been drinking Enlive like it's going out of style; she absolutely LOVES that stuff!  LOL

The doctors told her if she kept it down, she could have real food, starting tomorrow.  (She's been on liquids for the past day and a half; she'd gotten the nose hose taken out Thanksgiving morning, much to her relief.)

I don't know how long Rache will be here in the hospital; but things are definitely improving in ways we could have never imagined!

Now she will always have the spasticity and will need to continue using her wheelchair, but to be free of pain will be worth it all!

This is going to be one Christmas to remember!  My dearest wish of having my wife being free from crippling pain has finally been realized!!