11:11

OK - here I am - the once a month girl

no excuses though

I had some news to share

and wanted to get it out

3 weeks ago today

my brother was taken to the hospital

he had texted me on Tuesday saying he thought he had bronchitis

while he was at dialysis on Wed, the doctor gave him a prescription

then Saturday he was weak and his cough was bad

texting back and forth that night with his girlfriend

they admitted him, put him right in ICU and on oxygen

he had pneumonia

I did not go in on Sunday as he needed rest more than anything

and I planned to go in after work on Monday

Monday morning I was just leaving the house for work

when the phone rang

it was Stella - Gord's girlfriend - his breathing was bad

they are putting him on a respirator

I rushed to the hospital - scared for him

That first week I spent many hours in ICU

praying - crying - hugging

he was in bad shape - double pneumonia

acute respiratory distress syndrome

and scariest of all - sepsis

with his existing health issues - diabetes, kidney failure and a heart condition

this was not good news

he was so weak - could he fight his way back

all we could do was keep the faith

and pray

we would get good news, then bad news

it has been an emotional roller coaster

prayers pouring in from family and friends

I am thankful for Facebook as I could just post an update

every couple of days

there have been little things happen

they lower the sedation so he opens his eyes when we are there

and he was giving my hand a squeeze

then one night last week I was on my way home

I was feeling down

broken

losing faith

driving in the car - I started talking to Mom

asking her - no telling her - I need you now

I need you to step up - we cannot lose him 

it is not his time - I knew that deep in my heart

feeling what I probably needed was just a good cry

that night I was getting ready for bed

I picked up my phone

it was 11:11

I smiled - looked up and said - ok

you got my message

the next afternoon at work I get a text from Stella

she had met with the doctor

he had said that Gord has just started showing signs of improvement

last night and today

Trev picked my up after work

I said do you really think - was it a coincidence?

no - not a coincidence

we have to believe and keep the faith

I am happy to say that when we went in today

he was awake

we were talking to him and he started to cry

I wiped his tears and told him how proud I was of him

he is a fighter - he fought for his life

and came out the other side

he still has a long road ahead of him

and when he found out the date he could not believe it

I told him I loved him and he mouthed the words back to us

both Trev and I cried in the hall leaving the hospital

but this time they were tears of happiness

a relief that he is coming back to us

with a little help from our angel.

xo