Today is June 21, 2026. Today is Father’s Day, it is the eighteenth anniversary of the day I almost didn’t have any tomorrows.

No tomorrows? What do I mean by this? Well, to make a long story short I told a volunteer where I worked that I was having bilateral neck pain. Subsequently, she drove me to the emergency room of a local hospital. Since neck pain usually indicates heart issues, admission to the hospital for testing was the advised by my primary care physician.

Consequently, testing consisting of a stress test, blood work and blood pressure monitoring revealed nothing indicative of a heart issue. The cardiologist that examined me in the hospital was more fascinated with his fancy, new digital stethoscope. My potential heart issue was inconsequential.

As a result, it was determined that I didn’t have a heart issue home I went. Back to being a wife, mother, and secretary at a Catholic church.

But, flashforward one week later, at my desk working. Then I woke up on the floor with my co-workers and an ambulance crew around me.

An admission to the hospital, again ! A new cardiologist and a diagnosis of an ascending aortic aneurysm won me a helicopter trip to a large hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, an hours long surgery and a several week recovery.

In conclusion, here I am and I am eternally grateful to Father Bill Kiel for his blessing and prayers for healing (God rest his soul), Dr. Floyd Casaday (the 2nd cardiologist), and Dr. Thomas Gleason (thoracic surgeon) and his team for saving me on this day eighteen years ago….the experience was humbling and a wake-up call.

Be thankful for every day of life! On this day, and in the coming weeks, I found out that family and friends mean everything and are essential. They are precious gems not to be discard or disregarded.

This event could have been the end of my story…but by the grace of God, it continues…..