Pastor Dewey Note: I met Rick and Sandy Stambaugh, pictured above, years ago here in Albuquerque. They touched our hearts so very much. Their marriage preached to me, Sharon and to many others…..so in love with each other and sharing JESUS with everyone! I am blessed to have Rick as one of my best friends ever! I know Rick’s message will preach to your heart, mind and soul. I will never forget Rick traveling with me to FBC in Reserve one Sunday, I preached and he introduced himself to the congregation with his sweet love from them and JESUS! Then a few years later Rick shared his testimony to the folks in Reserve at a Revival we held! Rick is a tremendous ambassador for our Lord as was Sandy! When Rick was manager of the convivence store up the road from us years ago, Buffy and Reno loved to go along to see Rick, as he would come out of ther store to visit with them and give them hugs and kisses!*******************************************************************
May 23rd, 2020 … a day I’ll never forget!
It was a Saturday & around 9 o’clock in the morning I gave my precious wife Sandy a hug & a kiss as well as a wish for them to be careful as I always did as her, our daughter Tiana & our granddaughter Angel were headed out for a girls shopping day together! After completing their day out they were headed to pick up food for our dinner. Shortly before this she mentioned to the girls that she had the most fun out with them than she’d had in quite some time. Shortly before 4:30pm a ‘person’ came from the opposite side of the parkway they were on at a very high rate of speed, jumped the median & literally flew into the front of their car. An officer in the scene stated the combined speed of the vehicles at impact was probably around 110 to 125 mph. Tiana, driving, was already in an ambulance when I arrived at the scene just as Angel was who was sitting in the back seat. I watched from afar as they literally pried Sandy out of the front passenger seat & watched as they put her on an ambulance as well. Not knowing where any of the ambulances had gone I went to the hospital here in Palm Coast & found they had taken Tiana there where she received 36 internal & external stitches for seat belt injuries. After some time I found out they’d taken both Sandy & Angel to the trauma unit in Daytona Beach. After 3 or 4 hours panicking in the ER waiting room I finally got word that Sandy was still in surgery for multiple injuries including several breaks to her leg, 5 fractured ribs, along with unidentified internal bleeding. That’s when I was also informed that Angel was being loaded on another ambulance to the Arnold Palmer children’s hospital in Orlando with a broken back & a broken thumb. Following 8 months & 9 days, mostly in the ICU, Sandy finally succumbed to the multitude of her injuries including the loss of her spleen, incurable injuries to her pancreas & other issues when she passed on to be home with our Lord & savior Jesus! Tiana fortunately recovered fairly well & rather quickly from her injuries for which I praise the Lord for! Angel went into emergency surgery on that following Memorial Day where they fixed her thumb & successfully completed a rather tricky & dangerous surgery on her spine. I was able to bring her home the following Wednesday where after a few months in a back brace she recovered extremely well! And again I praised the Lord for her recovery!
During Sandys adventures between a multitude of hospitals, ICU’s & an endless count of surgeries & procedures infection finally overcame her body which was more than tired at that point in time. During that time I can not recall one single second in which she lost faith in our Lord Jesus regardless of the constant pain she was in & know she’s receiving rewards far beyond our human understanding!!! While obviously heartbroken I can take the greatest pleasure in knowing where she resides today!!! Yet I can’t get past wanting to bring her home one last time, giving her one last hug & one last loving kiss to tell her how much I loved her & how happy she made me in life!
I suppose I write this in some sort of self therapy, I don’t know. But I also write this to ask others to appreciate the things our Lord has shared with us! Don’t part mad, don’t even go to bed mad, and let those you love know it at every opportunity you get! You just never know when it will be the last time you have that opportunity! Enjoy what the Lord has shared with you at every single opportunity you can!!!
God Bless her, Sandy never got to come home following the accident!!! Thank you Jesus for taking your precious daughter home to bask in your love & care, !!! Please give her a hug for me!!!!!!!
May God Bless you each & every one!!!
