For those of you that are interested on what happened to me:.

I only post this, in an effort to share my belief and faith in God and Jesus Christ and to inform others about a health risk that you may not be aware of, as I certainly did not think that it would ever happen to me.

I had a wonderful Memorial Day. Watched the start of the Cup Race and when it went to rain delay, decided that was my cue to get out to the Cemetery to pay my respects to Mom and Dad. Got back home and had some dinner and watched the end of the Cup Race. Then just suddenly at about 6:30pm, I got a stomach ache and decided to go lay down in bed. My stomach started to swell and just continued to hurt. I was hoping it was just a case of constipation and was maybe caused by going to Mom and Dads grave site and remembering their cause of death, but that was not the case. I tried taking some Phillips and drinking a glass of water, but in the end, that really only made things worse. By 9:30pm, I could not get off of the floor and the pain was very intense and I told my wife Bobbie, that I needed her to either call an ambulance or try and get me in the truck and take me to the hospital. We decided it would just be quicker if I could get in the truck and somehow, she was able to push me up into the seat and got me to the hospital in 5 minutes time and luckily, the ER was not very crowded and I was able to get in within about 15 minutes.

The pain was getting unbearable. I can usually tolerate a good amount of pain, and this was just overwhelming for me. They started giving me some sort of pain medication, but it seemed to have no effect. They got me in to do a CAT scan and that is when they saw a rupture in my upper colon. So everything from my colon was being released into my abdomen. Including the Phillips and water I had taken a few hours earlier. I remember the ER doctor coming back into the room and saying that I was going to need immediate surgery and I said, "Well, I guess I don't have time to get a 2nd opinion." By 3:00am, a surgeon, anesthesiologist and operating staff was assembled and they were ready to start the procedure know as an Colostomy. They sent Bobbie down to a dark waiting room by herself, where she waited for the next 3 1/2 hours wondering what would happen.

Sometime during the operation, I remember feeling I was ready to give up and I started making my way up into the clouds. I remember the clouds parting and seeing the White Large Pearly Gates of Heaven and I was expecting to see Mom and Dad and all of my old pets welcoming me in. When the clouds parted, all I saw was that the gates were closed and there was a signed that said: CLOSED, GO BACK HOME!

The next thing I remember, I was waking up in recovery and saying, Man, I feel funny. Then as they were rolling me out of recovery, I saw my wife in the hall and was so glad that my number was not up yet.

The next few days were tough and I was very depressed, wondering why do these things happen. Way would God let my Mother and Father be murdered in their own home and now why would this happen to me. I lived on IV's and Ice Chips for 3 days. I was on 4 to 8 mgs of Morphine every two hours for many days and my headaches were getting unbearable and the smells in the hospital were making me even more ill. Bobbie did research and got on the phone with Joyce Riley of The Power Hour and she used to be a heart surgeon and she told Bobbie about Multi Sensitivity to Smells after surgery and Bobbie went on the offensive. She would be by my side and would not let the Nurse's or Nurse's helpers into the room if they were wearing any type of perfumes, which they were not supposed to be wearing any way. At least 3 times, I remember Bobbie chasing them out of the room. They would try to carry in towels or robes and Bobbie would take them and smell them and carry them right back out of the room if they had a smell. We finally went to the Nurse Manager and told her about the smells and she agreed that she had heard of the phrase of Multi Sensitivity to Smells and that they were not supposed to wear perfumes or body sprays and things with a strong fragrance and from then on, only certain nurses were allowed into the room. This really started helping, as it would take a day or two to get the various smells out of my system.

Then on a Thursday morning of the second week in the hospital, a Chaplin came into my room while I was by myself. He had known my Mother and Father and been to their Bible Store many times and I was able to release a lot of built up frustrations to him and talked about how God has given man kind Free Will to do Good and Evil and then we prayed together and it was just 5 minutes after the Chaplin left my room that suddenly, about 75% of my pain was lifted from my body. Now it may have been due to me being able to release some of the built up frustration that was in my head, but that combined with the power of prayer, from all of my friends across the country and this fine Chaplin who just happened to walk into my room that day, but something really special happened that morning, as most of my internal pains left. I was able to get up and did a total of 13 laps around the 3rd floor that day and did the 3 step stairway 15 times. Before this, I was lucky to just be able to walk up and down the hall one time.

So yes, I do believe in the Power of Prayer and still maintain my faith in God and Jesus Christ and will continue to try to be a good person and do something each day to honor my Mother and Father for raising me the way they did.

Thanks to all of my friends and customers who have prayed and shared their concern for my health and my wife's well being. I am truly blessed to have so many people who care.

I am not going to complain. We all face challenges each and everyday and many are much worse than what I have lived through already and I will just try to continue to count my blessings that I have right now, each and every day. I am hopeful that I will make a complete recovery and hope that the next surgery in about 90 days will be successful.

If you would like to learn more about what the actual surgery was and will be in the future, here are some links that talk about it. I had not been to a doctor for over 20 years and felt strong and healthy and never thought that any thing like this could ever happen to me. Well, I was wrong and feel lucky to still be here today.

If you would like to learn more about the procedure or the disease, follow the links below:

Colostomy - Diverticulitis / Diverticulosis

In the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost, AMEN!

Now back to searching the sky for satellite feeds.

Rick and Bobbie Caylor