Story about Stephany

It is late December.  I cannot get Stephany out of my mind.  She was a beautiful lady that I only knew for short time but she made such an impact.

On a Sunday in October I noticed a couple sitting toward the front of the church on the opposite side of where I was sitting.  After the service I went over to introduce myself to them and welcome them.  Stephany and Steve.  They were from California and were only living in Pittsburgh temporally. Stephany was here for a multi-organ transplant at UPMC.

It seems that in this short conversation I got so much information.  They wanted to know where a good Italian restaurant was and I told them what we liked.  Later on, after talking to Frank I called and suggested that we take them to the restaurant since they were not familiar with the South Hills.  They were very agreeable to this idea but decided that we would wait until after the holidays.

Stephany had suffered many years from a blood disorder that caused clotting in her liver.  She had been to Florida in July for a liver transplant but they found that the damage was greater than thought and she needed multiple organs.  This had to be done in Pittsburgh.

Steff and Steve were not able to make it to church every Sunday because of Steff's illness.  Sometimes she was too sick, or even in the hospital.  Thankfully they were able to come to church for Thanksgiving dinner.  Our pastor and his family provide Thanksgiving for anyone who wants to come.  Frank and I had decided to spend our day there.  We sat with these delightful people and talked of California, her family and her love of horses.

One exciting thing that was to happen soon was that her son and family were coming for a visit.  She had a new grandchild born in July and had never seen him.  She was excited for this visit.  Putting my thoughts in her place, I asked her if we could help decorate her home for Christmas.  I figured that they wouldn't have anything and it would be hard to purchase all that was needed.  So with the help of our wonderful ladies at church, I collected a nice variety of things.

We made plans one day to take the decorations to their apartment at the Waterfront.  When we got there, there was a sadness in the air.  Steve had just gotten word that his father was ill.  He had skin cancer a year ago but it returned and was growing internally in his neck.  They were not sure of the course of treatment but Steve was torn because he knew he couldn't leave Stephany to be with his father at this time.

The kids came and had a wonderful visit.  As I said before, Steff had to go to the hospital often.  Actually, she had to go to the clinic every day now.  In mid December while she was at the clinic, they informed her that the organs were available and she would be prepped for surgery.  Just like that - all of a sudden everything changed.

Stephany had been writing a blog. That is one way I really got know her.  She loved the Lord and was depending on Him through this whole process.  She wrote about Pittsburgh.  They were growing to love this city and described it in a  way you don't see when you live here.  Steve added one last entry to this blog that shows his great love for his wife. You can see it at: http://www.steffsgreatadventure.blogspot.com/.

Steve called to ask for prayer for the operation.  I was able to put it out on our prayer chain.  It was exciting.  I called our assistant pastor, Brian, to tell him because he worked in Oakland and I thought maybe he could go give Steve some support while he waited.  Later that night, Brian called me with the news that Stephany was now home with the Lord!

Tears still flow even as I write this.  Such excitement and anticipation.  It is hard to understand.  In our finite world, it wan't suppose to happen like this.  We want our storybook ending - happily ever after - all the time.  Total organ rejection, not the right ending!

Steve is back in California, the Christmas decorations have been put away and everything back to normal.  But it really isn't.  I am different.  I can't explain it.  I am so grateful to God for putting Steve and Stephany in my life for this short time.  Steve and his family remain in our prayers and hopefully we will meet again.

What in the world is a blog?

I am not sure what I am doing about having a blog other than I feel like there are things I would like to say and no where to say them.  I wanted a place to log our travels and experiences - some old and some new.  So we picked the title Our Voyage - because that is what life is.  A voyage on this earth until we get to our permanent home.

I am including Frank as part of this blog because he is part of everything I do, email, Facebook, Twitter - whatever.  All these sites are set up for a single person use.  We don't operate like that. Just our thing.

I am learning how to use this site and I am sure I will get better at it as time passes and I have more interesting things to say.