This story is written from Dee's daily journals as she did her best to navigate
through this COVID journey. Phil had completed a full Ironman triathlon on
Oct 9, 2021, and a month later he began the toughest race of his life. Dee was
by his side making sure he had the best possible care every step of this journey.
Phil was in four hospitals during his 10-month battle, and 7-months of that
time he was on ECMO life support. Each day Dee prayed and listened for God's
direction. When things were the darkest, Dee trusted God for answers to help
her make tough decisions to give Phil the best possible chance of survival. Every
step of this journey, hospitals were reluctant to take Phil at first because they
didn't think he would be a success story, but Dee persisted and told them "He
is an Ironman, and he IS going to get better". One foot in front of the other is
how you get to the finish line.
We saw God's hand through-out this journey, whether it was through prayer
vigils, or timely songs on the radio. In retrospect, we saw God preparing us a
year prior when Phil got laid off from his job, and he received a sizable severance.
We were able to pay off our home and put the rest in savings. What a blessing.
We pray this story will encourage you to know that God still does miracles and
listens to our prayers.