Nope, Junior Deaton ain't dead. Nope, Junior Deaton didn’t have a heart attack and was not flown anywhere. Yep, Junior Deaton is dealing with a health problem, and no doubt I might slow down somewhat, but I surely wanted to write a column and show some appreciation for all the kindness and expert medical care that I got from everybody at the ARH Hospital.

I tell you right now that you don’t know just how blessed you are to have the love and care at our hospital until you have experienced a stay there. A patient like me is a lot of trouble and aggravation to them, but they surely handled the problems as just another job. It’s not just the nurses, but also the aides that are faced with dirty problems that happen to the patients. I asked how they do so great with us people and was told that they work together. Even the administrative personnel all came around for a visit of respect, and that really ups your ego. Dawn Nunez was thinking of me while in the gift shop and spotted three little displays that she thought just suited me and the words on them were, LOVE, FAMILY and FAITH. I like that because it is so true.

Our new CEO, Dan Stone, didn’t know me but paid a visit, along with Mark Bell, Janice Lawson, Sarah Hobbs and many others. Mark even brought a gift that I will cherish.

I didn’t remind Mr. Stone that he is now employed with a hospital that is equipped with the very best of nursing care, but like I say, you don’t really realize it until you have experienced it firsthand. Usually, anywhere you go to a hospital, you will find a bad one that is snobby, but if we got any, I’ll have to find them later, because I sure didn’t find one this time. We also are blessed with a great surgical doctor, and I like what I learned about him. I could hear nurses talk about preparing patients for him and would comment on how everything should be done to suit him. Anyway, I started asking nurses about how strict he is, and they agreed with me that this is good for all — the patient, the nurses and the doctors. Dr. Dahhan was there every day for my needs in his category.

I thank the Lord for giving me the sound mind that I had during the nurses strike in publicly supporting their cause, and wish I could have done more. If everybody knew them as I do, everybody would have supported them.

At the time of the strike, I had no idea of being in the hospital a little later, but I sure was paid back for my support. If a hospital can be blessed with nursing care like we have and a great supervisor like Debbie Caldwell, they need to keep them happy, and if you want to keep them happy, pay them beyond their asking.

I have heard a lot of rumors about me having a heart attack, etc., but I will explain what did happen to me. I have not been well recently, so we were just in the process of finding the trouble, so nothing wouldn’t hurt bad enough to pinpoint the trouble.

But, on a Tuesday night, I felt like going to the emergency room, and sure enough the X-rays showed a ruptured appendix and a lymphoma tumor on the colon. They had to remove 12 inches of the colon, and although not considered a dangerous cancer, I will need chemo to cure it. I also have an open incision that has to be carefully treated and dressed every day, and I also wear a colostomy bag right now. I consider all these problems temporary and depend on the power of prayer, of which I have received many, and they are so appreciated.

I am also blessed with the care of HARH Home Health, and you just wouldn’t believe the nursing care you get from them. They all seem to love the job, and that is so good. They will give you all the care that Medicare will let them give. I can’t really say enough about all these people, but in time I will cover everything. Maybe all these good things were why the hospital was rated in the Top 100 in the nation twice in 10 years.

Pray for me, and certainly pray for our soldiers.