Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2023
Luke 2: 10-11
Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.
Our year began with a
visit from our three children to help their father celebrate his 80th
birthday which was February 8th. We had
a delightful few days together talking, playing games, reminiscing and enjoying
each other.
Before February
ended, John awakened me before 5 AM and said we needed to go to the ER. I quickly dressed and drove him there. I dropped him off and parked the car. As I got to his ER room, I noticed nurses
packing his things. I asked about what
they were doing and they told me a Dr. would come in soon to talk to me. When the Dr. arrived, I was told that as soon
as a surgeon arrived, John would be taken to surgery in order to address his urgent
need to find and remove a blockage called Cecal Volvulus. This blockage stops blood flow throughout the
body and time is critical to find and remove the blockage. Dr. Berg, a surgeon we knew, arrived and surgery
began at about 10 AM. Our daughter Sarah
had arrived from San Antonio and was with me.
Dr. Berg felt the surgery went well and now it was just time to wait for
things to “wake up” and start working. That
took two weeks during which John was kept in bed with all nutrition and
medication going into him intravenously. One evening meal was ordered and eaten but
breakfast the next morning did not stay down.
Therefore, it was back to another surgery and 2 weeks of waiting for his
system to begin to work. But this time
he did heal so that eating and therapy could begin to take place. After 8 weeks in the hospital, he was able to
be discharged. He began home health with
all the therapies he needed which lasted for 6 wks. Then he began Out Patient therapy where he
could work with machines we didn’t have at home. He continued to improve as his therapy
continued until the end of September. He
is now able to do everything he was doing before Feb. 26th except
drive. We know that God was answering
the many prayers that were being prayed for him. We are so grateful for those prayers and God’s
healing through the medical people who gave him care and his attention to what
they recommended.
Our daughter, Sarah will be with us for Christmas and will then travel to Richmond, VA to visit her oldest brother, John and his family. Sarah remains the librarian at Ft. Sam Houston Elementary School in San Antonio. She has also added a graduate program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at UTSA. She completed seven courses in this year. Her hard work is being recognized in the high grades she receives.
Thanksgiving was
delightful this year because our son James and his two sons, Cozzie and Felix
came from Detroit for a visit. April
stayed in Detroit with Tirzah who continues to be very limited in her
development because of her TBR1 diagnosis. Ari is in school and reports this: “I will be a certified
phlebotomist in three weeks time and then after that, I am going to nursing
school.” We are delighted to know of her interest in studying for
medical positions. James continues
working at Charlotte Mason Elementary School in Detroit. He is also an active member of Hope Church. James and April have added 3 goats and a barn
to their Quiet Life Farm. 
Our son John continues to live in Richmond, VA and work with Good Feet. John travels many miles in his job as his work requires him to oversee many aspects of opening new stores in a number of different states and locations. His wife, Diane, continues to teach Kindergarten at Veritas School. Their oldest son, Phillip, drives a vehicle which transports patients to and from medical properties. He also has an interest in missions and visited Japan this fall as he considers the work of Navigators there.
Stephen has a job with a business which makes and sells uniforms. His wife, Ariana, is a nurse. They continue to live and work in Richmond VA.
Joanna and Michael Zaronas live in North Carolina. Michael works at a Fitness Center. Joanna has completed her OTA program and will start full time at Duke Hospital on January 7th where she did part of her training.
Lydia continues to love animals and works for the City of Richmond at their animal pound.
John and I continue to live in Kerrville, TX where we have been since 1985. We are very grateful for our home, neighborhood, Trinity Baptist Church and the friends we have here. We have a guest room if you wish to visit us and our TX area. We are thankful that our retirement is comfortable and has all that we need as we continue to serve the Lord in this time in our lives.
With Christmas Joy,
John and Linda Worden
jlworden1966@gmail.com
