The Only Possible Outcome

By Joann Taylor

Some people have all the luck, dont they? Everything good seems to happen to them. They lead a charmed life. They never know what it is like to deal with tragedy. But others arent so lucky. Dark clouds seem to follow their every footstep, and they always seem to be dealing with a difficult problem.

So it was for me I was one of the unlucky ones. But I was indeed fortunate, for I had a force with me that was not going to yield to the temptation that accompanies bad luck. This temptation can make one feel helpless, as though all is lost. But the force can conquer any hopeless feelings that have been conjured by temptation.

Families radiate this force, and this book is a tribute to mine. Through three personal trials, I have experienced their strength and support in my struggle to overcome. It is my fervent hope and prayer that you will find some aspect of my story to relate to in reaching your own only possible outcome.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 8, 2007
• ISBN: 9781465319302

Book preview

Copyright © 2007 by JoAnn Taylor.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Introduction

Part 1

JoAnn’s Story

Part 2

Larissas Story

Part 3

Our Most Recent Challenge

Part 4

It Is What It Is

For my parents, for whom I have a new appreciation;

and my husband, who never ceases to amaze me.

Introduction

I can’t do this again, but somehow I must. This is my thought process every time we are faced with it yet again. It. Sickness in the family. It hurts, feels like a knife in the gut. Yet I know in my heart we’ll get by, for we are together, we are a family.

Families are like glue, tightening up pores between creases in your soul that you thought were so unexposed that you thought nothing would reach. So it is for me; as you read on, I hope you will see that it has been my family that nurtured me and brought me back from spiritual extinction.

But what is a family? For each of us, the word means something different. Let’s look at what Microsoft Encarta (2005) has to say. When we search for the word family in its dictionary tool, we find a total of sixteen different entries (eleven if the word is used as a noun; for the adjective meaning, there are five). In the context I am using, the word points to a noun. The two definitions that seem to embody the idea I entertain when I speak of the notion of family are,

People living together. A group of people living together and functioning as a single household.

AND

Group with something in common. A group whose members are related in origin, characteristics, or occupation.

To me, families are related somehow, live, work, and grieve together as a unit, one that cannot and will not be pulled apart by external circumstances.

* * *

This work details the story of love, sacrifice, and hard work of my two families. For each time one member is afflicted, all members are somehow tested. It is my fervent hope that as you read it, you will find something that will help when you need to cope with your own family crisis. Three times in my life, there has been occasion to band together. The first opportunity for me came when I was living with my original family: Mom, Dad, four brothers, and two sisters. I myself fell victim to encephalitis. The details of my early illness are a mystery to me, and I rely heavily on a diary that my mother kept. Contained within its bindings are glimpses of what their lives must have been at that time. Several years passed and I married. I had a different family to look after and be nurtured by: my husband, Pat; our twin daughters Sabrina and Larissa; and our son Grady. The next part is our precious daughter Larissa’s story, as told from my perspective as her mother. In it I have tried to be as candid as I could possibly be about my feelings and hopes for her future. It ends rather abruptly, as her story is being updated everyday. And I will never finish this work if I don’t limit its contents.

The third section details yet another struggle my current family faced within the year: my husband’s short yet far-reaching episode.

Just as no two apple pies my Aunt Fran baked were the same when they came out of the oven, no two families will have the same constitution. It is for your family to find its own way. In a very real sense, a family is like the fellowship of the ring, for it is bound by a common purpose and seeks its own survival. Like the Fellowship in Tolkien’s classics, we are seeking the only possible outcome for ourselves.

Part 1

JoAnn’s Story

My first family consists of my parents, Henry and Carole; four brothers: Glenn, Jeff, Hank Jr., and Craig; and two sisters, Glenna and Tammy. My parents implanted in their seven children, of whom I am the eldest, a marvelous work ethic, a sense of group loyalty coupled with independence, and a marvelous sense of purpose. We had them as good models of hard work, and they proved that was the way to get ahead. My dad was an educator by trade; my mom held various jobs. For as long as I can remember, they worked extremely hard, sometimes at two jobs each. They modeled the kinds of behaviors that became the foundation for all our future endeavors. We grew to realize that hard work and perseverance, coupled with a sprinkling of stubbornness and tenacity, can accomplish more than wishes and dreams; while they are important, they are but frosting on the cake. A life is judged by what you do and how you do it. Nothing brings results like diligence.

Achievement was of paramount importance to all of us kids. We all started our working careers at an