Rurodens: Community came through during tough time

As I sit here trying to figure out the right words that will convey the enormity of our heartfelt gratitude we’d like to extend to every single one of you that has contributed to this journey God has chosen for us, I am taking a moment to reflect back on my earliest Facebook posts from what we can now look back upon as one of the scariest days of our lives. What started out as a normal day, filled with the promise of celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary with friends, ended up being an extraordinary day that altered our ordinary lives in the crack of a bat.

As many of you know, Danny awoke for the third day that week with an excruciating headache, complaining the pain had moved directly behind his left eye. He took some Tylenol and went about his busy Saturday morning, first attending our daughter’s softball game and then taking a young boy he mentors to his first soccer practice at the YMCA. Many of you talked to my husband this particular morning and have told me you never knew anything was bothering him. He called me once soccer was over and told me after he dropped the little guy off at home he was going to drive himself to the emergency room as the pain in his head was so intense he couldn’t stand it and he felt like he was losing sight in his left eye. To make a long story short, he arrived safely at the Austin Medical Center where he was assessed in the ER. Upon a quick review of the head CT, we were compassionately informed he had a clot on his brain that was leaking blood and Mayo One was on their way to fly him to St. Mary’s in Rochester. I’m not sure that any of us in that ER room realized the severity of the situation taking place before us. I kept saying over and over to myself, “This can’t be happening! God, why us? You can’t take my husband now – please, you just can’t have him right now!” Saying our good-byes and watching them wheel Danny away was the hardest farewell any of us have ever encountered. The fear of the unknown weighed heavy in our hearts as we made the drive to Rochester.

Throughout the next 12 days, we placed our faith in the miraculous fingers of the doctors and nurses and put it all in God’s hands to carry us through, knowing full-well that He had his arms wrapped tightly around our family. On the second day of Danny’s stay in the Neuro ICU, it was determined that he needed to have immediate surgery to hopefully remove the clots in his veins and alleviate the swelling in his brain. I was continually reassured of His strength by the presence of our pastor, Dave Simerson of Cornerstone Church, who kept appearing at what seemed to be my weakest moments. The power of prayer is the most incredibly amazing thing to witness firsthand. Although our road to recovery may be long, my husband has the sheer will and determination to give it his all every single minute of every single day in order to get back to his old self as soon as he can. We’ve been instructed that time is the greatest healer so for now “one day at a time” has a whole new meaning for our family. Each day Danny keeps getting better and better. God is giving us a strength we never knew we had.

The outpouring of friendship, love and support was and has continued to be so astonishing. Our united family of four has unanimously decided that tackling our recovery journey together is the easy part … the hard part is figuring out how to adequately express our gratitude for everything the community is doing to help us along the way. There is rarely a day that goes by that one or all of us are not brought to tears by the pure graciousness of all the people that bless our lives with their selfless acts of kindness. It gives me so much pride to witness the many lives Danny has touched by his great ability to see everyone for the potential he knows they hold, not for the mistakes they have made. I am continually amazed at how much of an influence he is to those around him. His million-dollar smile can cheer you up even on your darkest days. Please know that although we may not have personally acknowledged the numerous gifts we continue to receive, we are eternally thankful for the many blessings being bestowed upon us during our journey. A simple “thank you” can’t even being to explain the enormity of our gratefulness.

The beauty of humanity is so remarkable! My aunt Marie posted, “The two of you and your children are amazing and an inspiration to us all. You are strong individually and stronger still together.” I think this applies not only to our family, but to our community as well. May this letter serve in some small way as a token of our thanks for all of the generous monetary gifts we are receiving, for all the food and gift cards we are getting, for all the T-shirt orders being sold, for covering all the extra work created by our absence from our jobs, for all the random acts of kindness bestowed upon us and for every prayer being said in our name. May God bless you always.

Danny, Marni, Brandi & Garett Ruroden,

Austin