2007 started like any other year with a clean slate and high hopes for the future. My first grandchild was on the way and the year promised to be a slightly less stressful one. Early in March, while away for our annual convention road-show, I received a distressing phone call. My son had been stabbed! Little more information could be given to me at that point as he was with the doctor. After a very sleepless night, and 2 days of convention, I flew back to Durban to see my son. God’s hand was on him – as the knife had missed the carotid by a fraction of a millimeter and by God’s amazing grace he was still alive. The nerves to his arm had been severed, and surgery could only be performed after some healing occurred due to the close proximity to the carotid artery. But most importantly he was alive!
3 weeks later on 23 March my life outlook changed! My first grandson Joshua, was born. In that moment my life seemed to take on a new direction. Everything I had been working on, just didn’t seem as important as this addition to the family. What a blessing grandchildren are!
When I called my Mom to tell her the exciting news, it was amazing to hear her weep with joy as she heard of the birth of her first great-grandchild. Just 2 weeks later she was booked off work and sadly on 17 May we said our goodbyes to our dear mother, grandmother and great grandmother as she left this earth to take her place in heaven. We seldom saw my mother ill growing up and she had remained healthy all her life, so to see her ill and taken so suddenly by end-stage kidney failure was a shock to us all, but she was ready and began to focus her eyes more on her Heavenly Father as she bade us farewell.
However, the worst was yet to come and on 1 August our dear little Samantha, my sister’s daughter, was diagnosed with Leukemia (AML). The family rallied around, were tested for bone marrow matches and prayed more earnestly than ever before, but sadly Sammy did not survive the onslaught and on 9 December she went to live with her grandmother and in the arms of Jesus.
Since there was already a crack in the façade, and emotions ran high as they did in this year, there was little control over emotions even in the workplace. In spite of the trauma, I continued to work under a great deal of pressure, but something had to give.
