Last August 23rd, 2022, I did a dumb thing. I had just turned 73. I must have been dyslexic, thinking I was 37. I was on an extension ladder with my chain saw, cutting off a very large...

     Last August 23rd, 2022, I did a dumb thing. I had just turned 73. I must have been dyslexic, thinking I was 37. I was on an extension ladder with my chain saw, cutting off a very large diameter dead 30 foot long limb from a dead tree in our side yard. The limb didn’t fall where I thought it would. Instead, it knocked the ladder off of the tree and I was on the ladder. How utterly gauche of the tree limb to do that. I fell 10 feet to the ground, broke my left shin in multiple places and shattered part of the bone. The emergency medical teams and fire fighters were there in 2-3 minutes. I was awake during the whole ordeal but in a lot of pain.

                                                                                      Hospital and Rehab:
There was only one orthopedic surgeon in our area who would operate on it but first he had to put a fixator on it for almost three weeks because it was too swollen to operate on. Between the trauma floor of our local hospital and the rehab facility, I was gone for two months. Every morning, my wife Patti would get Larry and Chad set up to run our small business. Then she would come and spend the entire day with me. She would return home to an empty house, put on her instrumental music, talk with God, relax and go to bed. She did this for two months.

                                                                                             Going Home:     

     When I came home, it was in a wheelchair. Patti had bought me a medical grade recliner that I slept on for two months. If I needed something and it wasn’t within my reach, she had to get it for me. Of course, by the end of the day, she was exhausted. It’s one thing to know she dearly loves me. It’s another thing to experience her selfless love in serving me so completely. Eventually, I graduated to a walker. I have been on multiple medications, which she keeps track of. What a treasure I have in my wife. I thank God for her every day. Proverbs 31:10-11 says “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her…”

                                                                                               Aftermath:   

     I can now walk short distances by myself without any aids. I will be off my medications by the end of September 2023. While my left leg and my balance will never be the same again, and I’ll have to wear a compression sock the rest of my life, at least I wasn’t paralyzed. God has been with both of us thru this whole ordeal. I don’t know what I would have done without Him, my wonderful wife, the many friends and family that came and visited me and the many friends and family that provided meals for us when I got home. Thanks to my wonderful daughter-in-love, Shannon, for scheduling the meals.

     God is not done with me yet as He has made abundantly clear. I look forward to what He has for my wife and I in our future. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

For His Glory,
Dave Maynard

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