Sarah's sweet face

We just had a chance to go back into the Intensive Care Unit and see Sarah for the first time since this morning. She is talking to the nurse and moving her hands and feet. She told me her head feels like a bowling ball and they are giving her pain medication to help her sleep and ease the pain. She is talking and recognizes people who come in.

They are limiting visiting, including me, to 10 minutes every two hours. Which is fine because she needs her rest. She has a long road of recovery ahead and the current plan is for her to be in ICU over night and moved to the neuro rooms some time tomorrow.

The purpose of us blogging Sarah's journey is to keep everybody up to speed on how our Sarah is doing. Along with that, right now, I feel impressed to share some feelings with everybody as well. So, I apologize in advance and ask you to please indulge me to share some personal thoughts.

As I walked around the corner and into her room I was so happy to see my Love's sweet face, again. As I held her hand she opened her eyes and said, "hi." It was the moment I had been waiting for all day long. I immediately told her about the tumor and how the surgery went and she smiled a little bit. As I stood there seeing all of the tubes and IV's I felt pretty helpless, but amazingly grateful that she was awake and talking.

For the last 10 years it has been my job to fix things and take care of my family. It still is and always will be. But to see her there was truly humbling to know that I couldn't do anything to make this better or fix it without the help of amazing doctors and nurses doing things beyond my understanding.

I will be very honest, it was hard standing there watching them work on her...to see her in pain and I couldn't do anything.

So, this experience has led me to these thoughts.

Last week, when we first found out about the tumor, we immediately started asking,"What are we supposed to learn from all of this?" And as a dear friend of ours gave Sarah a priesthood blessing, he spoke of how this trial may not just be to help us in some way but others as well. So, over these last few days, I have been thinking about those words.

The last few months since Henry's birth, Sarah and I have been blessed to find a new love for one another. We have loved each other for our entire marriage, but this has been something different and deeper. I can honestly and whole-heartedly say I love her 100 times more now than the day we were married. And if there is anything I have learned from this past week, it is to love those you love with all of your heart and cherish every moment you have because you just never know what the next day might bring.

Now, this may seem trite to some or even old news, but I believe it bears repeating. Cherish your wives and husbands each day. Tell them you love them. Take care of them. Strengthen them and build them up. Pray together and seek God's advice together. Every moment is special and should be treated as such. Now, it won't always be perfect...we are all human after all—me especially. These are the lessons I have learned so far. I have learned my life is empty and nothing without my dear Sarah. She is my best friend. I love her and I am so grateful to be with her forever.

So, tonight or whenever you may read this, please hold on to your loved ones a little longer next time you hug and give your sweetheart a kiss and tell her you love her. Because every kiss is special and every moment together is valuable.