Amazing Grace,
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found.
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear,
And Grace my fear relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
the hour I first believed.

Those words really speak to me, especially the second stanza. I never knew fear until Grace first had a life-threatening incident. But Grace, being so amazing, pulled through. Every time, she pulls through. She is amazing.

She managed to avoid antibiotics for this most recent finger infection. It never got to the point where she required a hospital stay; this is the first time she’s ever gotten that close and pulled back from the edge without medical intervention. We are not quite out of the woods yet; there is a purple area under her skin that could still necrotize and poison her bloodstream. But, it could also come up through the skin as a scab. Time will tell which way the wound will go. Right now, it looks pretty good, all things considered.

As for her vision, it is getting worse. The other day she couldn’t find her cup in a brightly lit room; it was right in front of her. I gave her verbal directions and eventually she found it through a very blind-seeming groping. It hurts my heart to watch her vision deteriorate; it won’t be long before it’s gone. But, medical science is advancing quickly in vision areas, and there’s a chance she could regain some or all of her eyesight through technology. Was blind, but now I see. I know that verse is metaphorical but it might become literal for her. I hope so.

What I do know is that Gracie is amazing. She continues to defy the odds, to learn the impossible, and to do it with grace and charisma. She is not limited by her disabilities and I should not be, either. How precious has my Grace appeared since the hour I first conceived.