Christmas Letter 2022

Hello family and friends! I know it has been quite awhile since I posted here on the blog. Thank you for joining us today! Steve and I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving,

a Merry Christmas, and a joyful New Year. This year has been full and filled with much love and many blessings. We have also had some situations that have stretched and grown us and most importantly, we have been reminded what a blessing it is to be surrounded with the amazing love and support of family and friends. When you finally learn that a person's behavior has more to do with their own internal struggle than it ever had to do with you, you learn grace. We close out this year being grace-filled and looking forward to all God has for us in the coming year.

Since our last Christmas Letter in 2020 (missed last year) we moved to a new home about 25 minutes from our previous house. It was perfect timing and a wonderful blessing. We added additional bedrooms and entertaining space to allow us to accommodate more guests in our home SO please reach out and come see us!! The guest rooms have already seen a lot of use from out of town friends and family and we have a lot of fond memories to look back on!

Last Winter was marked with much joy as we celebrated with several big parties. We celebrated Steve's 50th birthday and also the wedding of a dear friend. Steve was asked to officiate and I was a bridesmaid. The wedding was beautiful and a great reflection of love shared between these two! As winter began to transition into Spring, I developed an infection in the IV port in my chest, developed sepsis, and wound up undergoing emergency surgery to remove the port. During surgery I sustained a nerve impingement

when my neck was hyperextended during the placement of the breathing tube. The injury to the nerve caused severe constant pain and my arm was useless for several weeks as the impingement slowly healed. We were blessed to have my mom fly out to help and reduce the burden on Steve. After a few weeks of immobility, the nerves began to heal and I was able to function independently.

Spring was ushered in with my routine trip to Phoenix to the Mayo Clinic. I underwent two surgeries. One surgery was to place a new tunneled port to replace the one that was removed because of the infection. I am pleased to report that it continues to function well as it is used almost daily for infusions over several hours. My second surgery was the routine replacement of my feeding tube. It has to be replaced every 6 months because the tube deteriorates from constant immersion in stomach and intestinal acid. In April Steve and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary and our 38th year of being best friends. There is no way to describe in this brief letter the blessings that are ours. The Spring also brought a new role for Steve as he was elected President of the Washington State Fire Chiefs Association. The role is an honor and involves additional fire service events, public speaking opportunities, and leadership responsibilities. He continues in his role as Fire Chief of Lacey Fire District 3 and I am continuing in my role as Coordinator of the District's Family Support Program. We have both added roles and undergone training and mentoring as Chaplains for LFD3. We continue to be blessed and know great joy because of the incredible people that make up the Fire District family.

Summer arrived and we hit the trail! Our backpacking days date back to college and much younger backs and bodies! We love hiking and so blessed to live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where the trails are endless. We decided to revive our old backpacking days and just see what we could do. We hadn't done any backpacking for many years because of the uncertainty of my health and now especially due to the medical supplies I use daily to include administering IVs over several hours each day and also due to the daily supplies needed for my feeding tube. We talked to medical professionals, planned, and prepared our gear and began to get excited that restoring this hobby could actually be possible! Summer saw us hiking and backpacking in the mountains of Washington and Montana. Even though medical supplies added weight and took up valuable space in our frame packs, we did it! Steve was amazing as he carried a lot of the supplies. We have some big plans for 2023 and will keep you updated here on the blog. Summer also saw me catch up with Steve and turn the big 50! I was blessed with an incredible celebration with a countless number of friends in attendance. We are both embracing this new milestone in our lives with so much gratitude for all the blessings we have experienced over the years and the incredible people in our lives that we call friends and family.

Autumn came and we transitioned rather quickly to cold weather in the Pacific Northwest so we were glad to make our routine trip to Phoenix for my doctor appointments at Mayo. This trip saw us add two new specialists to my care team and again, we feel grateful for the added expertise. My surgery to replace my GJ tube was uneventful and we wrapped up the trip with a few days poolside.

As Winter settles in and the holiday celebrations commence, we have much to be thankful for. I am writing this 2022 Year in Review letter from back at the Mayo Clinic. I went through an interview process and was selected to participate in Mayo's Pain Rehabilitation Center. It is

an almost four week program with over 120 hours of instruction that focuses on a behavioral and rehabilitative approach to pain management. It focuses on functional restoration of physical and emotional health. It is a whole body (holistic) approach to living with severe, chronic pain. It also includes reduction or elimination of pain medications in a supervised medical setting. I am learning incredible amounts of information that have already resulted in changes in my life and I am only half-way through the program! It is intense, hard work but the curriculum is absolutely amazing. The program is led by a team of 15 doctors and specialists who work with us all day on varying topics. There are seven other individuals in my program and they are a great source of inspiration and encouragement. I am beyond grateful to be selected to be in this life-changing program.

Well, that is a wrap-up of the last year or so. Thanks for joining us on this journey and keeping up with us! Until next post ...

With much love, Lee (and Steve)

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Comments

Steve Braden:

We always love seeing this come up on here. We love you guys and pray you and Steve have a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

sandra henry:

Steve and Lee, it's wonderful to read all your good news. Praying for your continued improvement and lots of fun adventures. Congratulations on your leadership roles. God bless you. Much love, sandi

Ellen Bunch :

Love you Lee Bob and Steve. You are my hero. Someone that has gone through as much as you and Steve have and still gives God all the glory. Keep on keeping on because God has you in His hands. I pray for you daily and I know you are anxious to see your mom. Happy holidays. ❤❤🎈

Kelly Anderson:

Thank you so much for the update! The Lord as been bringing you to mind for prayer and so it is great to hear how you two are doing. Good job investing in this training program and I pray that you continue to gain advances in your pain management. I miss you and would love to connect for coffee when you are home! Congratulations Steve, you deserve all the honors you receive as an amazing husband and Fire Chief! Love you both!

Jane Levin:

All I can say is, WOW! God has gone behind and before you, and placed His hand on both of you!! (Psalm

139:5) We are continuing to pray for healing and health for you both. Much love, Jane and Andy

Mark Colavecchio:

I always love getting your updates, Lee. Thank you! Les and I continue to pray for your healing in all areas. You are such an inspiration when it comes to pressing on and pressing into Jesus. It was SO great to see Steve at church yesterday. As I was walking through the lobby, a big group of people surrounded him, and I asked someone who was in the middle of that group. They said, "Chief Brooks," and it all made sense. The only thing that could have made it better was to see you there too. I know that day is coming and until then, we'll continue to pray and contend for your healing. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Sandy Temple:

What an eventful year! Thank you for sharing it with us. I always say it, but you and Steve continue to inspire me. Much, much love to you both!🙏❤