Day 38 - July 23 - Welcome to Fresno!

I made it to Fresno after a loooooonnnng day of travel. Special thanks to Pete for helping me get here.

I walked out of the airport, stood on sidewalk for about a minute and a half when Eric and mom drove up to get me. Eric and I hugged on the sidewalk and then went straight to the hospital.

When you read the blog from a distance (like I did for Days 1-36) it's hard to picture what the hospital is like, so it was great to get here and see it for myself. Let me tell you, Connor is in a great facility.

But more than getting my bearings in a new space, I've wrestled with things like "what do you say to your nephew who has broken his neck?" As some of you know, I'm a wise-ass that often resorts to stupid jokes when I don't know what to say. This habit makes me double nervous about saying the wrong thing at the wrong time... an art that I seem to have perfected over the years. Add to the fact that I was running on next to zero sleep and you can imagine my state when I walked in to see Connor for the first time.

It's funny the things we worry about... and of course it was all for nought. Within minutes Eric, Connor and I were laughing, goofing off and making the most of the situation we found ourselves in. You know, as I typed that last sentence I realized that for whatever reason, that's one thing that we Williamson's are pretty good at... "making the most of the situation we find ourselves in." Anyhow it was great to see Connor. Now they are making preparations to put him back on the torture rack... the half million dollar bed that holds him face down for 3 out of every 4 hours.

One other note... this morning as we were sitting in the first floor lobby, the elevator doors opened and out walked a sobbing woman. The grief on her face was obvious. Without hesitation Eric hopped up and followed her out of the hospital. It was a chance for him to minister to her. Her grief is over her 15 year old son who was in a car accident. Both of his arms and legs have been broken along with the bones in his face. Eric was able to tell her that he knew how she felt... both parents grieving over their sons. He told her he had only one word to offer her... hope. He shared some scripture, he prayed with her, he cared for her...

That's my brother...

Kent

Here in Fresno at last