Have just read this thread now. Sorry I was so slow. Yes, he has been added to my prayer list, Ryan, his family and of course you too. Keep us posted on his progress.

 

Ryan & his family will be remembered in our prayers.

Eric

 

Your grandson and your family are in our prayers.

Corey

 

You got it!! Also for you and your family! Glad to hear there was some good news! Please, keep us informed, and rest assured you are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Dennis

 

Bill, this morning at our weekly men's breakfast, when it came time to table prayers, I asked for prayer for Ryan and he was prayed for by this group of Christian men. We had a visitor today, a pastor from a church in Mississippi who was down here on a missions trip and it was him who prayed for Ryan. Of course the rest of the men were in agreement for healing for Ryan.
Please keep us posted on his progress.

 

He is in my prayers as well. I hope to hear good news soon. Hang in there.

 

Good luck to Ryan and prayers to all

 

Bill, any update on Ryan? Time and God are wonderful healers. So don’t give up.

 

The old saying is that when it rains it pours... had a touch of that here.

First Ryan is still not awake. He has had the brain drain removed from his head and is now transferred from NICU to regular ICU. So really he is about the same, but slowly improving, we still do not know what we will have.

Oh yeah the rain... I took a load to Jacksonville Florida, slept in the truck for about three hours with the windows open at the docks on Blount Island. Something bit me on the leg. It infected and put me down, went to emergency at Birmingham Vets Hospital, received massive shots and a perscripction, went home. Tried to make a run and had to bring it home. The infection got Staff infection in it, just got out of a week in the hospital, still down, but now starting to recover, but very painfull.

We never fugured what bit me, the hospital did not find any particular poison through verious tests. I have been on IV antibiotics for one solid week. Veins were giving out and constant burning and discomfort, had seven different IV locations among other holes punched.

Odd in a way, I was only about 200 feet from Ryan. But of course I cannot visit him with the infection. UAB and Vets adjoin with Vets using all UAB doctors. Not often I get put down, this did it easily....

Thank you so much for the prayers for Ryan, looks like we will have a bad time with it although he is pretty much out of the woods for staying alive, the doctors are very hopeful. My Daughter visited me very estatic, he had opened his eyes briefly and seemed to be aware of her and his father, then went back out.

Bill

 

Not good news all around, sorry to hear it.

Wonder if it was a spider bite? Brown Recluse or Black Widow?

 

Thanks for the updates Bill. Sounds like Ryan is gonna be alright. You two obviously are very close. Maybe you're supposed to stick around close-by for a spell longer.
Nat
BTW, you have a PM.

 

Haulin'
I haven't been on in awhile, and just saw this thread today. Know in your heart that my family's prayers are with you and your family.

 

Bill, thanks for the update. I had wondered why you had not replied. Reading this and the replies reminded me of something so have included it FWIW. Sorry it's so long.

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.
There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with those important to him. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr.. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday."
Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over "his side of the fence" as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr.Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time.
The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box? " Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention."Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett.
It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully
unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! * Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time."
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way,
Janet...thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away,"
Send this letter to all the people you care about, if you do so, you will certainly brighten someone's day and might change their perspective on life, ..........for the better.
To everyone I sent this to "Thanks for your time"
Time has a way of getting away from all of us...TAKE THE TIME...NOW..

 

I'll be thinking of him and saying a few prayers for him

Jim

 

Stan you must have read my mind, you run around with all the "important" stuff, and lose the time that should have been spent just being family. Your post is right after what I have been thinking and some corrections will be made. Life is a series of priorities and we all seem to put them in the wrong order. Wish I had taken more time, for there may not be that chance now, sure miss his hugs and the teasing that we used to share.

Bill