God Watching: Seeing Kevin, Visiting Dad, And Driving 1300 Miles In A Busted Car

Christine's picture shows God was watching over us

Oh, it just feels so good to be home! This past week has been filled with all sorts of emotional ups and downs, but I am glad I was able to be away to be with my family. Thanks for indulging me in my longest absence from the blog since I started it. As you know, we drove 450 miles down to Pensacola, Florida to see my brother Kevin and most of the family I grew up with last Tuesday.

Our original plan was to stay until Tuesday this week, but a telephone call from my stepmother Faye last Thursday changed our plans. That day we learned my father was going to be going in for quintuple heart bypass surgery this week. So we took a detour on Sunday north to Bolivar, Tennessee before coming back home to Spartanburg, South Carolina on Tuesday night. It was quite a memorable week of events.



We had an awesome time seeing my brother Kevin who has been told he only has a few more months to live. In 1999, he suffered a series of heart attacks that basically killed 85% of his heart function. The doctors cut out the majority of his "dead" heart a few years back and he only has one artery functioning now. That artery is 95% blocked and stents don't do any good anymore. He's too high-risk for any surgery and he's pretty much given up on changing his diet at this point.



The thing that struck me about seeing Kevin was how "normal" he looks right now. Yes, he's a very large man weighing about 350 pounds. But he's out and about doing the things he loves the most--playing Texas Hold 'Em, bingo, flirting with the ladies, and singing at the local karaoke bar. We did a little bit of all of that together last week (sans the flirting for me since I already have my woman!). And yet he's on morphine and oxygen for comfort because he's easily out of breath and starts sweating profusely even in a well air-conditioned room. This is Kevin's life right now.



Despite my little "accident" earlier this year on the cruise to Mexico singing karaoke, I ventured back on the stage again to sing "You Are So Beautiful" and Roy Orbison's "You Got It" to my lovely bride Christine while Kevin sang some country music songs that I'd never heard of. It was a lot of fun, although not something I'm accustomed to doing around midnight on a Friday night. :) But I wanted to be there with and for Kevin. We made some great memories together.



We stayed with my beautiful sister Beverly for the week who was a very gracious host making us homemade meals, driving us around everywhere we wanted to go, and just being a good little sister. In fact, Kevin came and stayed with Beverly too during the week. Since we all grew up together as kids, it was pretty neat all being under the same roof again as family. That has been a rarity since we all became adults.



When we went over to mom's house for dinner to watch some Jeff Dunham DVDs together (HILARIOUS if you have never seen this funny ventriloquist--he's the "on a stick" comedian with Walter, Peanut, etc.--Kevin was laughing so hard I was worried about him, but it was great seeing him enjoying himself so much), I took a photo of a picture when all of us kids were young. Beverly was about 3, I was 5, and Kevin was 9 or so in this photo. Don't you just love looking at how dorky you are when you were a kid (no Christine, I don't STILL look dorky today!).



My mom and stepdad Frank surprised me while I was there--they said they started livin' la vida low-carb to lose about 50 pounds each. As you know from my podcast interview with my mom last Fall, mom has struggled keeping her weight off despite having gastric bypass surgery in December 2003. I was so tickled to hear how enthusiastic Frank was about the low-carb lifestyle and his eagerness to be doing it for his weight and health (he cited that study that came out last week because he saw it on the news touting low-carb over low-fat--ummm, I haven't heard of it! LOL!). And they've even got Beverly to join them on this. I suppose this situation with Kevin has caused them to get serious this time around. Here's hoping.



It was hard to say goodbye to my family in Florida on Sunday, but I had to be there for my dad and his surgery on Tuesday. We hit the road early that day to be in Bolivar, Tennessee before dark and met up with my half-brother Nathan, his wife Stephanie, and their new son Hunter. As you know, Nathan (or Nat as we called him growing up) was one of my inspirations for starting low-carb since he was so successful on it. Interestingly, he's not doing it now, but he knows it works for him when he does it. It was awesome seeing their new baby. I WANT ONE! :)



We also had a delightful visit with my Aunt Mary Jane while we were there. She told me about how much she enjoys reading my blog (HEY MARY JANE!) and feels like she's been talking with her nephew when she reads it. In fact, my computer illiterate dad finds out more about me through Aunt Mary Jane from the stuff she reads here at my blog and tells him about. That freaks out my old man out when she tells him some of the things I'm up to. He is so 19th Century!



Of course, the reason we went there was to see my dad in support of his heart surgery early on Tuesday morning. We had hoped to spend most of the day Monday with him, but my dear old dad had other plans to "tie up loose ends" and working all day. He has the kind of job where he is a Jack-of-all-trades (or a J.D.-of-all-trades as I call him--J.D. is his name!). And he was up bright and early at 6:00am Monday morning and worked until nearly 9:00pm the day before having his open heart surgery. That's my dad for ya.



We were up obscenely early on Tuesday morning--like 3:00am to get packed up, hit the road up to Jackson, Tennessee, and be there with dad before his surgery. On the way to the hospital, my check engine light started going crazy on me. I noticed when I pressed the gas the engine would struggle. Uh-oh, not NOW! More about that in a moment! Needless to say, we prayed without ceasing for that little Escort to keep going.



Imagine my surprise when less than an hour before he was going in to have his chest cut open here comes about 20 people to be there with my dad to pray and support him during the surgery. In addition to me, Christine, Nathan, and Faye, there was dad's older sister Mary Jane, dad's brother Paul, dad's younger sister Gaylon, and I do believe the entire Sunday School class from dad's church in Middleton, Tennessee as well as the pastor. What a blessing it must have been for dad to see all these people fawning over and sacrificing their time early in the morning just for him. He's not used to this kind of attention. But I know he appreciated it more than he'd ever admit.



That sunset from my dad's front porch is all he is gonna be working on for the next few months as he recovers and heals from the surgery. I had no idea they actually had to break his chest bone to get inside his heart. OUCH! That's gonna be the hardest part whenever dad will want to cough or sneeze (which he is prone to do with his allergies). Don't you know he'll be squeezing a pillow with him a lot? The really GREAT NEWS is he got through the surgery and is now up and alert with no complications. Praise God! THANK YOU so much for your prayers and happy thoughts.



Now, about our car. Our beat-up and nearly broken down 1998 white Ford Escort was literally on its last leg although we didn't know how close it was to dying on us as we traveled through the mountains of Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee on Tuesday--but we kept praying for God to just get us home. After driving 1300 miles in the span of a week to be with family in their time of need, we NEEDED that miracle to happen for us...and it did. The car ran perfectly until I went to the post office on Wednesday morning and that was all she wrote.

When the car started shaking violently and making a loud rickity-rackity noise, I knew it wasn't good. Turns out my timing belt broke and the valves were all shot to you know where. The expense to repair would have been about as much for another vehicle, so we decided to get a new car for us. That car in the picture above is our new 2002 Buick LeSabre with less than 50,000 miles on it--and it cost us less than $10,000. WOO HOO! I couldn't have been happier with that deal. We'll be making payments on it, but at least it's a car we can rely on as we travel around to various places with our business.

I am beyond tired right now and need to get some rest. But I will be back to full-time blogging again starting on Thursday and for the next few weeks until my trip to Nashville, Tennessee in mid-August for former "Biggest Loser" contestant Isabeau Miller's FitCamp where I'll be joining other "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog readers and people wanting to get into shape on a two-week journey to whip themselves into shape. I can't wait to provide daily video updates of this experience for you.

Plus, while we're in Nashville, I'd like to have a get-together meetup with the low-carbers in that area, so let me know if you're interested in coming. I don't have a specific date or time yet, but we're staying in the Franklin, Tennessee area on Murfreesboro Road. Drop me an e-mail if you think you can possibly come in late August at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. Let me again say THANK YOU to everyone who has prayed and thought about us this past week and a half. It really means the world to me that so many people care and love us like family. I gotta tell you I've missed blogging, though, so I'll be back at it hot and heavy in very short order. SEE YA!

My Dad Is Having Emergency Quintuple Heart Bypass Surgery Next Week

Hey everybody! Yes, Christine and I are still in Florida having a GREAT visit with my brother Kevin, sister Beverly and our mom this week on our vacation. We've had a good time together so far spending quality fun time with each other (mostly playing Texas Hold 'Em and we're planning going out for karaoke on Friday night) and I'm so glad we've been able to do this. Kevin looks and sounds great right now (although it's probably the morphine the hospice nurse has stocked him up on!), so it's like nothing is wrong with him. But we know his time could be coming up soon.

THANK YOU to everyone who has prayed for us during this time. Beverly said Kevin is down to just one functioning artery and when it becomes completely clogged, well...you know the rest. While our hearts and emotions about this are heavy, it's good to know we are able to be with Kevin in a joyful way during these potentially final days of his life. He's still the same ole big lug brother I grew up with and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wasn't planning on being online much or at all during my visit to Florida this week, but I just got a telephone call from my stepmother Faye in Tennessee who said my dad is going in for an emergency QUINTUPLE heart bypass surgery next Tuesday. The doctor recently did a heart cath and said three of his arteries are over 90% blocked and the fourth one is 80% blocked. It's not a good situation at all, but they seem to think they can help him. He's had a couple of heart attacks before, so this isn't completely unprecedented. On top of what's happening Kevin, this is a bit much to take right now.

We're deciding whether we are gonna make that trip up to Tennessee and when because we want to be there for him. Our original plan was to drive back home to Spartanburg, South Carolina on Tuesday and we'll probably just go straight to Bolivar, Tennessee from Florida--likely on Sunday. His surgery will be taking place in Jackson, so we may just meet the family there on the day of the surgery on Tuesday. He's expected to be in ICU for several days although he told my stepmom he'd be out in a regular room the next day (YEAH RIGHT--that's my dad!).

I don't know how it's gonna happen with all that's going on right now, but I want to be there for my dad through this. He's only 59 years old which is too young to be dealing with this. But it's a solemn reminder that we just never know when our health is gonna kick us in the tail. Dad and Kevin have both made choices to be in the position they are in right now, but that doesn't make what they are going through any easier to deal with.

Right now, it's unfathomable to think about the worst case scenario of losing both my brother and my dad this year. But I'm hoping for the best in both situations right now and I know that God holds both of these men in my life in His Hands to do as He wills for them. Whatever that is, I'm just thankful for the opportunity to call J.D. my dad and Kevin my brother. They are two remarkable people that I had the privilege of growing up with and loving during my life.

THANKS so much for your prayers for Kevin and my father.

Oh, by the way, I am aware of this July 17, 2008 issue of New England Journal of Medicine with that study that is ALL OVER THE MEDIA right now and I was even interviewed and quoted in this Wall Street Journal column in today's paper. This was awesome POSITIVE coverage for livin' la vida low-carb (although Dr. Dean Ornish got in his digs despite his assertion that we all agree on diet)--I think they purposely planned to release it knowing I was gonna be gone. Just kidding! :)

I'll update again when I get a chance...I appreciate your support!

Please Pray For And Financially Support The Union University Tornado Survivors

Tornadoes ravaged and destroyed Union University in Jackson, TN

Last Tuesday, February 5, 2008 was just another day in the town of Jackson, Tennessee until a tornado decided to touch down on the campus of a small Christian college called Union University and quite literally flatten most of the campus within a few moments. When I heard about this tragedy in the news, I immediately perked up because I went to high school and college in west Tennessee where this happened.

Jackson is a growing city about 120 miles northeast of Memphis and 180 miles southwest of Nashville, but I knew all about Jackson very well from my teenage years. When we wanted to see a movie or just hang out, Jackson was the place to go. I graduated high school from a smaller town called Bolivar, Tennessee about 25 miles south of Jackson and often drove to and through Jackson to get to all points north of my hometown.

In fact, Christine and I traveled through Jackson in December when we went to visit my dad and family for Christmas. I commented to my wife how much the town had changed and grown since I lived there and it was good to see Jackson thriving so well. So imagine my shock when I heard about the tornado that ripped through that familiar city.

Making it hit closer to home was the fact that Union University was hit the hardest. I was very familiar with Union and even considered going there for my undergraduate studies before deciding on attending the University of Tennessee at Martin just 100 miles north of Jackson. But on my trips from Bolivar to Martin and back, I can vividly remember driving right by Union University on my trips. I even befriended several of the students there in the early 1990s when I was a member of the Baptist Student Union at Martin. We'd have regional meetings and occasionally met at Union for get-togethers and events.


The devastation was severe as rescuers worked all night

Although it isn't a large university, Union has always been highly-respected for turning out students equipped with a Christ-centered education with Biblical leadership principles and teachings that would impact the world for Jesus Christ. It was and is the purpose of that little campus in Jackson, Tennessee which makes this that much more difficult to hear about. But to their credit, Union has responded with a strong faith and hope that God had a purpose and a plan for this.

The grace of God covered the students and faculty on the Union University campus when the tornadoes hit because of the 1200 people there at the time, only 51 were injured and there were no fatalities. That is utterly amazing considering the significant damage that was done. In case you haven't seen the photos from this disaster, I found an awesome YouTube video that shows the devastation with an inspiring song from Casting Crowns called "Praise You In This Storm" that should remind everyone of Who is ultimately in control of tornadoes and the storms of life:



In all, of the 42 buildings on campus there was major damage to 19 buildings, minor damage to 12 buildings, and no damage to 11 buildings. And again, amazingly nobody died from this which is a testimony to God's providential and protective Hand over this body of believers who trusted Him in their time of need. I thank the Lord for sparing the lives of these students and proving to them that they are in His care during this developing time in their lives spiritually.


Union University President David S. Dockery

Believe it or not, classes are expected to resume back again starting next Wednesday, February 20, 2008, including the first campus event featuring the men's and women's basketball teams playing crosstown rival Freed-Hardeman University. Union University President David S. Dockery is thrilled to see the resilience of the students and their willingness to finish up this Spring semester despite this unexpected chain of events.

"It is absolutely amazing to think that we will be able to start classes within two weeks of this devastating story," Dockery said. "We are so excited about seeing our students return to class. I can't say enough about our faculty and staff and the amazing work they have done to enable us to be ready to move forward with the spring semester schedule."

Now the major rebuilding has begun and efforts are underway to help this campus return to some semblance of normalcy in the coming weeks. A special Union University Recovery blog has been set up to help students stay informed about what is happening with the campus since the server for the official Union University web site was destroyed by the tornadoes. Additionally, if you would like to make a donation to the Union University Disaster Relief Fund, then please give generously by clicking here.

May God continue to watch over and bless the students, faculty, and all those impacted by the storm of February 2008 at Union University and in Jackson, Tennessee.

Contacted By The Man Who Inspired My Weight Loss With His Low-Carb Success

For those of you who bought a copy of my autobiographical book about my low-carb weight loss experience called Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey from Flabby Fat to Sensationally Skinny In One Year, you may recall the name Keith Jackson from Chapter 5 on motivation.

Here's what I wrote about Keith on page 67 of my book:

"Keith and I were in the same high school class at Bolivar Central High School in Bolivar, TN in the late 1980s. Like me, Keith was overweight when he was in high school. But I could not believe my eyes at my 10-year high school class reunion in 1999 when somebody told me that skinny man with the goatee I inquired about was none other than Keith Jackson himself. I remember staring at him for what seemed like an eternity completely mesmerized by his incredibly radical change in appearance. This former chubby classmate of mine had dropped a considerable amount of his weight and restored his health by implementing a low-carb program. Although I was still skeptical of the low-carb lifestyle at the time, I never forgot the dramatic change in Keith's physical appearance."

I never got a chance to personally thank Keith for the impact he made on my life, but I was hoping to do so at my 20-year high school class reunion in 2009. But, as fate would have it, I didn't have to wait that long because Keith himself found my blog on Monday and stumbled upon this blog post where I had written about his influence on my life.

Quoting from that post, here's what I said about Keith Jackson:

"I have another one of my high school classmates to thank for being an inspiration to me to begin livin' la vida low-carb and he may not even realize it...My fellow classmate Keith Jackson showed up at a social we had at the high school on the Friday night before our reunion and everyone looked at him with their jaws on the floor. Keith Jackson, who had been a rather hefty young man, was...well, SKINNY! He was merely a shadow of his former self and certainly amazed most of us who knew him when he was 'bigger.' When he said he did it on the Atkins diet, I was skeptical about the method he chose. As you know, I chose to go on a low-fat diet that year and did well on it, but couldn't keep the weight off. The image of Keith Jackson was indelibly burned into my memory and he was one of my personal inspirations to start my Atkins diet on January 1, 2004. I hope to have the opportunity to shake Keith's hand at our upcoming reunion to THANK him for helping me change my life. And he probably has no idea he did anything!"

After reading what I had written, Keith was moved to e-mail me back:

Jimmy,

Congratulations on your weight loss!!!!! Words cannot express the emotions I had when I read your blog. You were right I had NO idea that I had been an "inspiration" to anyone about anything, and still would not have known had I not by some fluke Googled my own name.

I really think that saying I was "hefty" was very kind of you. As I recall I was just downright FAT! LOL! Having that in my history, I am always proud when someone loses weight whether it is great or small.

I applaud you for what you are doing to help so many people with a problem that without help is not easily solved. Up to this point in my life, I could have only hoped that I would have had an impact on someone's life for the better. Now after reading your blog I feel that if I do nothing else in my life I have accomplished this goal.

Needless to say, I will definitely go get your book. That is the least I can do for someone that is going to make me famous. LOL!

I wish you the best of luck. Keep in touch!

Keith Jackson

That's the power of a life that's been changed. If you have been positively impacted by my nearly 200-pound low-carb weight loss success story, then you have Keith Jackson in part to thank for that. Don't ever underestimate how even a brief encounter with someone in your life who needs to lose weight can result in the motivation and inspiration for them to really do it.

That 15 or so minutes when I saw Keith in 1999 changed my life forever. It wasn't instantaneous, but the seed was planted and came to fruition in 2004 when I DID IT! And I'll never be the same again. THANK YOU Keith!

He sent me a follow-up e-mail about another one of our "big" classmates who had also lost a lot of weight on low-carb and now runs 10 miles several times a week and competes in marathons. Think of the biggest kid in your high school class being able to run marathons and that's how amazing this story is. The neat thing is that guy is an honestly "good" person who always tried to make people laugh. I'm so thrilled to hear he has improved his weight and health so much by livin' la vida low-carb!

I called Keith on the telephone and spoke with him about 30 minutes on Monday night. I told him that I would love to feature his weight loss story on my blog if he would be willing. He seemed interested in doing that, so stay tuned. I asked if he had any contact information on the other classmate who lost weight on low-carb and Keith said he would try to get that for me so possibly I could post his success story as well.

The Internet and blogging has made this a small world, hasn't it? I'm grateful in this week of Thanksgiving that my high school friend Keith Jackson was able to know just how much he changed my life for the better. That's something I will never, ever be able to adequately repay him except by continuing to share with others what livin' la vida low-carb has done for me. You bet your sweet bippy I'll keep doing that! :)