Round and round the pasture, weeds I must clear,
I plod along in my faithful John Deere.
The land I was raised on, watered by my sweat and tears.
A dutiful cattle rancher all of these years.
I see the stock tank ahead, tended pasture between.
My house beyond the water, I helped build as a teen.
With my parents now gone, it all belongs to me.
I smile with pride. An indelible Genealogy.
My left leg stops working, and then my left arm.
I'm heading straight for the tank watering the farm.
I can't press the clutch to take it out of gear.
I reach with my right hand, now fighting fear.
I grab the gear shift and shove it up hard,
No use of my foot, I play my last card.
The tractor stops, yards short of disaster,
I grope for my phone, I have to go faster.
Weaker, by the moment I must send a text
My oldest son, Mike, he'll know what to do next.
"Help" is the message sent from me to him,
I sink down and wait as the world starts to swim.
I hear a noise. Could it be help finally arrived?
Bouncing across the pasture, Mike's truck seems alive.
He opens the tractor door, and I fall out in his arms,
He guides me to the ground, safe now from harm.
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Author Notes
A special thanks for the artwork, Island Transport by Brendaartwork18 on FanArtReview.
I realise the picture is not of a John Deere tractor, which is green, but this one is blue and blue is Wayne's favorite color.
You can't imagine how hard this poem was to write, but it needed written.
There are many of you who have suffered loss, and for you my heart hurts.
On Wednesday, part way through the day, I got a call from my step-son, Mike. He had received a text from his father saying, simply, help.
He tried to call him, but Wayne was incoherent. He raced over there as I tried to make my way home with my 3-year-old daughter in tow.
I made it there about the time the helicopter did. They gave me and Kylie a few minutes before they flew off with him.
Within two and a half hours after the stroke, he was in a life saving procedure in Dallas. They were able to completely removed the blood clot from his carotid artery and suction other clots from his brain. The doctor declared the procedure successful and his prognosis good.
The next morning, he took a turn for the worse and they were contemplating putting him on life support. Later in the day, he came fighting back, and by fighting, I mean swinging.
Late morning today, two days out from the stroke, our pastor Glenn's widow came to see him. Glenn's loss had been a devastating blow to Wayne after just losing his mother a few months ago.
She asked him what happened. So far, he's said very little at all that wasn't a repetitive call for help. He certainly didn't speak about what had happened. He would just say he was sick.
But, to Stacy, he told the whole story, bit by bit, detail by detail up until he went in for surgery. One of those times I wished I had my phone out so I could record it for his two sons, one of which showed up a bit behind the other.
He answered all that we've guessed about.
This evening, barely more than 48 hours after the stroke, he's up walking, with help, and projected to be released from Intensive care onto a regular floor tomorrow. He's eating ice and taking crushed up meds in pudding.
He still has ups and downs mentally, occasionally falling back into his repetitive calls for help, but is lucid most of the time. He can walk, talk and gripe. He's on the road to recovery.
Praise the Lord and bless the prayer warriors out there.
Many are asking what specific things to pray for:
Continued healing, building up of strength, clarity and peace of mind. And help with his nicotine addiction that put him in this spot to begin with.
God bless you and thank you for your prayers. They say you can recognize a Master's work because they make it look easy. Lord, you are the Master, because you took something that could have been a disaster and marked it with your signature ease.
Also, a shout out to the Ap life360, because Mike and Brian (his other son) made Wayne download it two weeks ago. With it, they were able to track exactly where their dad was in the pasture and get to him in time!!
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