Another week has passed. Yet, my run of unfortunate circumstances continues. I may be breaking a record. Sadly. The arm is still in excruciating pain. Broken, not mending.

My Shayley is hopefully in heaven running alongside my grandparents, my daddy and some of the best friends my life has ever known.

My financial situation sucks. (And that was putting it mildly.) But God doesn’t drop money in one’s lap. So I don’t foresee any assistance in that situation. And as I reflect on the things I might lose, I need to pause from feeling sorry for myself and take inventory of what I do have. However, that isn’t an easy thing to do, by any means.

I then think about my beautiful cousin, Karen (Carnahan) McAdoo. And I remember everything that she has been through these past seven years. She considers herself to be a modern-day Job. Or Jobi, as she refers to herself. I love her sense of humor. And I realize I need to take my cues from her. We all do.

You see, on Dec. 1, 2017, no one could have ever foreseen what the following day would bring. How her life would never be the same again. Because if they had known, I’m sure there are literally hundreds of people who would have tried to make some kind of a bargain with God. Saying if only He would prevent this turn her life would take … they would give anything.

But we don’t make bargains with God. Instead, we trust in his decisions and believe what he is doing is for the betterment of our lives. Somehow.

Dec. 2, 2017, was an ordinary morning. At first. Her daughter, Melissa was finishing up her midnight shift at Weirton Medical Center. She had recently moved into her own home. Her husband, Kevin, was working at the Sammis Plant. Her youngest, Drew, was at school.

That is when her brain aneurysm occurred. Followed by a seizure. As if God had guided Melissa to a home which wasn’t hers any longer (although our kids can always come home, if they so choose) she decided to stop by for a visit that morning. She called 911 immediately and notified Kevin, who actually beat the ambulance to their house.

Again, this was a wonderfully vibrant, compassionate young woman who had finally found the man she was put here to love. Her world had finally come together — complete with the little white house with flowers and two Australian shepherds, Lilly and Poppy.

But Dec. 2, 2017, would be the last time she would possess the life she had come to love.

Karen was flown by a helicopter to UPMC where doctors gave her a 30 percent chance of living. She had already died twice that first day. Physicians asked their routine questions of her family. But this wasn’t routine for them. Her mother and father, Kevin … they lived their lives by faith. A faith which never wavered.

So when doctors inquired whether they wanted them to try and save Karen’s life, her family voted, “yes.”

Reminding them there was only a 30 percent chance of survival, her mom, my Aunt Nancy, informed hospital personnel they believe in the power of prayer. And the doctors said OK. Karen told me that by the grace of God she stayed alive, because he wanted her to be here.

But her happily ever after wasn’t coming. A month after the aneurysm, in January, 2018, Kevin was taken into surgery. They had found colon cancer. She doesn’t remember how it happened, but the doctors had given them connecting rooms. Kevin didn’t want to leave her side. And he didn’t. Despite what he was having to endure, his thoughts only turned to Karen. That, is what true love looks like. And I am grateful that I had the opportunity to see what that is like in this lifetime. How they loved one another.

Karen would have surgery to have a shunt put in, and an additional 26 brain surgeries. She got through them all. Again, she will tell you by the grace of God, she woke up on Kevin’s 58th birthday — Feb. 11, 2018. After she awoke, she was transferred to Weirton Medical Center for rehabilitation. She was then moved to Sewickley. But the medication she was being given was too much for her body. She couldn’t stay awake. So, she wasn’t permitted to stay any longer and was moved to Gables in Hopedale. More therapy. Another medication was tried. Only she had to go so long without having a seizure for doctors to know what the next steps would be. With one more day to go, Karen suffered a seizure. Then she had to try something else. All the while, Kevin was fighting his own battle with cancer. Yet, he never let a day go by that he didn’t visit her. Not one day. Karen can not recall everything she has undergone. Her mom has kept notebooks of dates for her. Kevin journaled dates and circumstances, too. But although she is unsure how long she was at Gables, she did have the chance to go home but needing 24/7 care.

She thanks her friend, Jennifer Matyas, for creating a schedule for the care she received at home. Through the love and care of her wonderful friends and family, and the city of Toronto, she could once again be in a place that wasn’t some type of medical facility. She explained she was able to stay at home because volunteers gave up their time to be with their families to come and care for her. She is so thankful for each and every one of them. She is grateful to Toronto — for everything that all of the residents did for her.

The Toronto band held their annual spaghetti dinner and drawing on Karen’s behalf. They donated all of their proceeds to her medical needs.

“You can say what you want about our little town but there’s no other place I’d rather live,” Karen told me. “The outpouring of love, prayers and help has made an impact on me for the rest of my life.”

She continued on throughout 2018 being heavily medicated, unable to awake most of the time. She spent her 50th birthday passed out. And not in a fun way. Although she doesn’t remember, Kevin and her friends threw her a small party at their house. Before Dec. 2, 2017, they had planned to go on a trip to Florida. But God had different plans. Her advice to anyone that will listen is to take that trip you’ve been wanting to take. And do it while you are able, because you never really know what tomorrow will bring. The holidays came and went. Karen was still asleep. Unable to participate in any of them. It had been a horrific year. And that grief would only continue, as she would soon learn.

In January 2019, her beloved Kevin went home to be with the Lord. Perhaps one of the saddest moments I can recall is learning she was not aware of his death until six months later, in June. A month after he died, at the age of 50, she was moved into a local nursing home, where she remains today. Six years. Since that time, she has had to relearn the everyday things we take for granted. Things we don’t even contemplate. Ever. She had to learn to talk again. She had to learn how to eat. She had to learn to do a lot more things with just one hand. She is still working on being able to walk again.

Because Kevin was now gone, and she was residing in a nursing home, others stepped in and sold that little white house that once had lots of beautiful flowers. (Sunflowers are her favorite.) Her step-son and his wife moved away, taking her two beloved dogs with them. Her Drew was now a senior in high school — finishing a year that was supposed to be such an exciting time in his and his mom’s life. Drew didn’t go to his prom. Karen was unable to make it to his high school graduation. And when it was time to go off to college, he had to take himself. And that is the moment when Karen’s heart broke. Her parents house caught fire. In December of 2021, her nursing home was struck with COVID. She caught the disease but survived. Unlike many.

That same month, on Dec. 8, 2021, she lost her dad. The man she most admired. The man who had helped teach her that God is first and foremost. She misses him. She says she knows he was a man of God and believes he is in a better place. She said she will see him again, soon. But through it all, she has learned through her favorite scripture — the one she clings to, “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” A few months ago, in December, Karen had to go to Pittsburgh and have surgery on her leg. She had to have a rod put in her leg and screws placed in her kneecap and ankle.

Even today, the nursing home where she lives is going through yet, another COVID outbreak. From 2017 until today, Karen’s journey has been a long one. But through it all, she says that God has never left her side. This is what she tells everyone.

“I feel so blessed by so many people who have given so much for me,” she stated. “And I have learned to trust in God in ways I’ve never had to. I am so glad this happened to me because if it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have sought the Lord like I have. I wouldn’t have gotten to know Him like I did. I know God’s not done yet and that the best is yet to come. He didn’t bring me this far to leave me this far.”

And this is how I know that a broken arm, a broken back, a lost dog and the impending loss of possessions will not break me. In comparison to this modern-day Jobi, which I am so fortunate to be related to, it all seems hardly worth mentioning. And let us be thankful for what we have.

(Stenger is community editor of the Herald-Star and the Weirton Daily Times.)