The Miracle on 8 Alondra

When many of you were much younger and maybe to young to realise that a true miracle happened at our home. It wouldn't be till many yrs. later just how much of a miracle it was.

I was given our youngest daughter Tiffany Sunshine as the one that I would do service for.

Tiffany was 2 yrs. old at the time, Lani (6) Mitzi (10) Chuck (12) Amy (15) Char (17). now maybe these ages are close but not exactly, but for this purpose they will have to do.

I am sure that some of you will have a different version and I guess that is what is so great about this blog thing is, that you can and I hope any of you that have any thing to add will do so.

It was a Sunday afternoon and Mom and I were in our room taking a nap, well maybe more mom than me. All of a sudden I heard a frantic distress call for Dad and mom.Mom was way more into the nap than I was so I responded as quickly as Long John Silver.At the top of the stairs I looked down and I do not recall who was holding our Little girl in there arms, but at this point I am sure some one out there in blog land will fill us in.I think I took two steps down the stairs to get to her to see just what was wrong. there was some silly story that she had just bounced out the window and really no one really saw her go.The window that she went out of just happened to be on the 2nd floor.

As I recall I was having a hard time getting her to stay awake and look at me. I kept calling to her to stay awake. I don't remember just when Mom came in but I recall that as what normally happens with mom is these kind of thing is she seems to fry, freeze,or just plane lose control. I yelled to some one to call 911.all of this was going on as I am carrying her around ton see I can find out just what happened. With tiff in my arms I went out the front door , walk a short few steps down the walk and I see the screen laying on the ground. I still did not fathom the she had knocked it out and fell to ground from the window above, till I saw the blood in the flower bed and realised that in fact she had.

Now once I REALISED THAT,YES we had problem it seemed that the ambulance was taking for ever to get to us.Now this seems as I write this that this was a long time but it really wasn't. I told some one to run over to Br. Bollards and ask him come quick to help me give her a blessing,because , ........... pause........ I have not told this in this manner except at the time,but I was told by someone not of our sphere to do it and do it quickly.Bill came,and quickly he anointed her and together we gave her a blessing.It was not a long sermon type,but very to the point. I asked my Father in Heaven not to take our Sunshine away from us.

The ambulance came almost as we said amen. They asked what had happened and as I told them that she had fallen out of that window up there, (we were sitting at the spot she had landed).The para medic immediately took out his little light and looked in her eyes and that is when it really hit me. It was in the Lords hands as he turned to the next guy just coming up the walk and said in so many words we need to go now !!and it will be code red.

We went with full sirens blowing even went down Irvine blvd south on the wrong side of the street becuase they did not want to take any extra time to go out and around. From the time we got in the ambulance they were on the radio to find the nearest trauma room that was not full as time would be very crucial.This is where I believe the miracle started to unfold before our very eyes.The doctors that was on duty at this particular hospital was one of the very best.We had Kaiser insurance and should have gone to a kaiser facility but they decided not to take the extra time that it would take to get there so we went to Mission Viejo.

For the next 4, 5 hrs we were on pins and needles and stress to the max. we had to wait for the cat scan to be read and then wait more for the bleeding to stop as you see, she had bleeding into the brain.When that young man looked into her eyes he saw that he knew that was very very bad.

Tiffany only spent a little over a week in the hospital. The doctors had a hard time believing us that she really had fallen out of the 2nd floor window.

I was in the bishopbric at the time and I had to write the message for our wards news letter that month. I recall how I wrote how miracles happen so fast,that if we don't take a moment to ponder and realise what just happened we miss it.

Ten yrs. or so later we had a Kaiser doctor in our ward who confided with us that she had looked at Tiffany's file and she told us that Tiff should have died that day because of the fall.

We also found out more things that the fall had changed in Tiff .Things at the time we could not figure out.With the help of medicine it could help her control some of these things that the bump on her head done .

I want you all to know that We had a miracle on 8 Alondra that day. I am so humbled by how close we are to our Father in Heaven. I am so thankful that I did not have to wait that day to call someone else to give Tiffany Sunshine Gates A blessing. For some reason I was blessed to be worthy to call upon our father in Heaven and ask Please Please don't take her!

Each night that Mom and I pray together one of the things that we are very very thankful for is that all of our Children and our Son's and Daughter in laws are close to our father In Heaven.

Brethern please be prepared to be able to do as I did and be WORTHY to excercise your priesthood,

I testify to you that Tiff is with us today because God granted us "A MIRACLE."

PS. I love you Tiff and I am soooothankful Father In Heaven gave us you and I know that you are going to be a great Mother. Merry Christmas.

For this reason I have chosen High Hopes Head Injury Program as a place to give my service in behalf of Tiffany. I'm sorry I have not completed my service as you will see they are closed for Christmas. I have made an appointment, a good friend of Charise and Bill, to come in and view the program and see how I can serve on the behalf of Tiffany. Picture and story to follow soon. Please check out the website.

This is the same foundation that helped Corbin who lived down the street from us when he had his head injury. One of the programs that they offer is a golf tournament that is hosted by Pat Boone.