Libby Lehman Update

You absolutely NEVER know what's going to happen.

In 2011, Libby Lehman was in Bettendorf, Iowa...

She was excited about the classes she was going to be teaching at the next Sew Expo...

Libby and I had lunch at a little Italian place. We'd met several times before -- and we had many mutual friends. On that day, we had time for an honest-to-God visit, and we couldn't stop laughing. Libby was funny and irreverent...I knew she was my kind of woman...

At the 2013 Sew Expo -- she was in the Bernina booth -- entertaining all passers-by....

Our Libby -- the friendliest, most gracious, smiling quilter EVER...

One month after these pictures were taken Libby suffered an aneurysm, then a stroke...followed by a virulent MRSA infection...
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It was a sudden and shocking near-death experience, and it was touch and go for a long time.  Libby's recovery has been long and difficult -- but she has never given up. Her wonderful husband and sisters do a great job of updating the Caring Bridge site. Every time I go there, I am struck by how quickly everything changes.  In a heartbeat.  For Libby, her husband, son, sisters...

Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring...

Maybe when you woke up this morning, your biggest problem was a leak under the sink.  Or a fight you had with your mother in law.  Maybe the transmission is going out of your car, or your neighbor's barking dog makes it impossible to sleep....

But what if today is the day? The day an aneurysm bursts in your brain, or your child is diagnosed with cancer, or you have an accident that leaves you paralyzed.

How hard is it to enjoy your life?  Right now....right this minute. To be present. To look around and really SEE where you are standing...and who you are with.  How hard is it to APPRECIATE the good things you have, and to be truly grateful...

Libby is home now.  And, with the help of her family and care-givers, she is going out for lunch, enjoying manicures,  and mall walking.  TWO MILES!!  Her recovery is nothing short of miraculous.  But, of course, she is a different Libby.   And her family will always measure their lives from that MOMENT -- the moment BEFORE and AFTER the aneurysm...

Keep up the good work, Libby...