So today, was one day I will never forget and would love to never have to revisit in my life. I was playing Bob the Builder in my kitchen….meaning I was building a 3 ft tall wall (with help from the neighbor…dubbed as Uncle Joe) and needed some drywall screws, so we went over to his house, and he asked if my knees were alright,cause he had been cutting wood all day. He said that cause one of us had to climb up in the boat, which is stored in his garage, to pickup the items we needed to finish the wall (stored on a shelf, and the boat was not movie) . As i am standing in the boat, I get a phone call, from a number that I always love to see appear on my phone. The number was that of my hero, my closest guy that I call friend, someone who just said they were proud of me yesterday….although this time, it was not him…but a friend of his named Harlan! Tug he says….yes…. First of all, your brother is ok, however he is in the hospital and they think he may have had a heart attack! So many thoughts went through my head…anger, disbelief, this cannot be happening….why, is he ok, what caused this, to just flat out…..feeling like my own heart was ripped out. We talk for a few minutes and he does a great job of comforting. However, I break down after getting off the phone, walk back over to the house, tell Angie…the pick up the phone and call my dad. When I call dad, i am wondering how he is gonna take it…and I called dad first, cause while this is happening…my mom is in Africa! Dad should we go down, they are saying probable heart attack by this point….I get in the car…go pick him up and we head down to Columbus…shocked…as my brother is only 34……happy…cause my brother is still alive….curious as to what the result is going to be…. The whole way down…just hoping that someone does not post this on Facebook or what have you, and my mom would find out through the grapevine that her son has had a heart attack….. Dad and I walk into the hospital, up to the CCU floor and walk into a room full of people from Sanctuary Church….immediately loving on me and dad, as if they knew exactly what we needed….We talked, and listened and relied on them for the information as to what happened. My brother’s pastor had a drawing of a heart, and showed us which artery was blocked, and by this time there had already been a stent put in…the artery, was the Widow Maker…the one on the front of your heart on the left side. Reading up on this artery, there is not much room for time…and if this would not have been caught…it is more than likely that this would not have a happy ending. So I walk back into the room, not knowing how I am gonna react when I see in my eyes…and immortal person….someone I could never live without. I walk in, and just want to jump back to when we were little, and shared a bed, and to be comforted I had to have my foot touch his…I always had to know where he was, and that he protected me. So he is there, and talking as if it never happened, when he could have possibly have been gone! We pray, I break down and realize one thing….mileage has never separated what my brother means to me….nor has age. You would think at 32….you would know that he was ok, and be ok. I am praying for him, and he starts rubbing my finger like I am glad you are here, or Tug I am gonna be alright. HE was sooooooooo strong, so much stronger than I would have ever been in his shoes. But then again, he is my hero! So an hour passes, they show us the heart attack on the graph…then the time comes when it is almost 7:30am in Africa….and have prayed that mom would jump online and call…after I have sent her a few messages…The worst pain I have almost ever encountered was watching my mom find out via Skype and a phone from a different continent that her boy had a heart attack! Gabe kept saying…mom…I am fine….you stay where you are at! I wish you could have seen the love that my mom has for her sons…something that cannot be taken away! We try and calm mom, but can understand how she is feeling…cause we hurt, but have each other to lean on! I talked with dad and said…we better head home so Gabe can get some rest, and the whole way home…..we just kept saying….God spared my brother….God spared my son…. I do not know the outlook….but one thing I know …is that GABE AND TUG ARE STILL BROTHERS ON THIS EARTH!! I AM BEYOND THANKFUL FOR A GOD THAT SAW IT IN MY BROTHER THAT HIS TIME WAS NOT UP!!! Gabe…if you read this….PLEASE KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO SEE YOU HURT, and TO KNOW WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH IS NOT SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE COULD, but I CANNOT THANK YOU, MARLA, and YOUR CHURCH and our SAVIOR enough for getting to the hospital…….because I would never want to know what life was like without YOU! You mean more to me…than ever before…and I wish that I could just have squeezed the crap out of you…..but I am so thankful for you still being here….YOU ARE WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR THIS THANKSGIVING!!!

For you that read this…..here are some pics of me and my brother

GOD—— I CANNOT PRAISE YOU ENOUGH FOR ALLOWING ME TO HAVE MORE MEMORIES WITH MY BROTHER….and FOR ALLOWING HIM TO CONTINUE TO RAISE HIS BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS. Please KEEP HIM COMFORTABLE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND BE WITH MOM AS SHE IS IN AFRICA!

GABE- i LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU WOULD EVER KNOW… THANK YOU FOR BEING SOMEONE I CAN LOOK UP TO, and love well!YOU ARE GONNA BE JUST FINE!!!  I AM SOOOOO THANKFUL FOR YOUR CHURCH, YOUR WIFE, and SO THANKFUL THAT GOD HAS KEPT US TOGETHER!!

DAD and MOM – THANKS FOR LOVING US SOOOOOOO MUCH!

When i got home, at 3 am…my son was waiting up on me and jumped in my arms….I cannot imagine how painful it was for dad and mom when this became a reality!  I  just squeezed TANNER soooooo CLOSE!!

Next step – Gabe will be monitored at the Hospital til at least TUESDAY!!!