A daughter revisits the ten days that reshaped her family, from surgical hope and ICU turns to the quiet strength of community and faith. Small signs—a snowfall, a vision, a hawk—become anchors that steady grief through holidays and years.

• kidney crisis, surgical plan, and early complications
• ICU vigil, Christmas awakening, and rapid decline
• dialysis strain, December 28 loss, and burial of hopes
• Psalm 91, anxiety imprint, and coping in the body
• empty house, sports memories, and daily absence
• community support, pastoral presence, and generosity
• vision in worship, snow in Savannah, and hawk as sign
• hospice with mom, spiritual thresholds, and farewell
• parenting through grief, teaching in hard places, and gratitude
• remarriage after loss, unanswered prayers, and steady faith
• Christmas hope, Jesus as anchor, and endurance

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We trace Chucky’s fight with the COVID Delta variant—from a beach trip to the ICU, 22 days on a ventilator, and a hard reset in rehab—through fear, faith, and the everyday work of recovery. Sandra shares the caregiver’s view: tracking O2, pushing for transfer, and holding the line when things got dark; all while dealing with her own COVID illness.

• early symptoms, falling oxygen, urgent ER decisions
• ICU isolation, chaplain calls, hallucinations and funeral dreams
• ambulance transfer, high-flow oxygen, ventilator and sedation
• “cheated death” conversation with lead physician
• rehab pivot with Tracy, parallel bars, and nine-day breakthrough
• first meals, cravings, and returning to work in a truck
• long COVID realities, diabetes management, energy peaks and valleys
• gratitude practices, compassion for workers, faith and testimony

Hey listener, before you go, would you please open your podcast app, scroll to Beyond Existing, Beyond the Small Talk, and tap follow and leave a five star rating or a quick review to help this podcast grow
Also, you can go to the episode's description to send me a text if you would like to share how this episode impacted you, or if you would like me to share a message with my guest

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In the words of Sandy, God gets the glory, we share the story. Listen as Sandy shares her unfiltered journey from a 26-hour ER wait and a lymphoma diagnosis to months of failed chemo, hospice care, a second baptism, and a scan with no evidence of disease. The through line is time—how faith reshapes minutes, choices, and what we hold onto when nothing else stands still.

• background in rural nursing and Louisville, Georgia roots
• what follicular lymphoma is and how it erodes immunity
• early symptoms, misreads, and the sepsis scare
• insurance denial tied to COVID vaccination and treatment access
• failed chemo, brutal side effects, and daily losses
• choosing to stop treatment and finding unexpected peace
• hospice as structure, not surrender, amid unrelenting pain
• family reconciliation and shared remission with her brother
• baptism, overnight relief, and a clean PET scan
• a skeptical oncologist’s perspective changed by outcomes
• the clock vision and “While in the Waiting” message
• practical encouragement for patients to keep faith and reorder priorities

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