DAD'S STORY


On July 22nd I was in route to Washington,
DC for a business trip.
It
was
all so very ordinary, until we landed in
Denver for a plane change.
As I collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an announcement was made for
Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United Customer Service Representative immediately.

I thought nothing of it until I reached the door to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking every
male if he were Mr. Glenn. At this point I knew something was wrong and my
heart sunk.

When I got off the plane a solemn-faced young
man came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn, there is an emergency at your
home. I do not know what the emergency is, or who is involved, but I will
take you to the phone so you can call the hospital." My heart was now
pounding, but the will to be calm took over. Woodenly, I followed this stranger
to the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for the
Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma center where I
learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic
garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was
dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics
had continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital.

By the time of my call, Brian was revived and
they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had
been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that the door had
completely closed on his little sternum right over his heart. He had been
severely crushed. After speaking with the medical staff, my wife sounded
worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness.

The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at
the hospital six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked
into the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my
little son laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and monitors
everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who
stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a
terrible dream. I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded prognosis.
Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated
that his heart was OK, two miracles in and of themselves. But only time
would tell if his brain received any damage.

Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt
that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to her words and faith
like a lifeline. All that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious.
It seemed like forever since I had left for my business trip the day
before.

Finally at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness
and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken. He
said, "Daddy hold me" and he reached for me with his little arms.

[TEAR BREAK..smile]


By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or
physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous
survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine, we took Brian
home, we felt a unique reverence for the life and love of our Heavenly Father
that comes to those who brush death so closely.

In the days that followed there was a special spirit about our
home. Our two older children were much closer to their
little brother. My wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us
were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful pace.
Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier to gain and
maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was truly profound.

The story is not over (smile)!

Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his
afternoon nap and said, "Sit down Mommy. I have something to tell you." At this time
in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say a large sentence
surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed, and he began his sacred
and remarkable story.

"Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well, it
was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to
you, but you couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt
too bad. And then the 'birdies' came."

"The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled.
"Yes," he replied. "The birdies made a
whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me."
"They did?"

"Yes," he said. "One of the birdies came and
got you. She came to tell you
"I got stuck under the door." A sweet
reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong and yet lighter than
air. My wife realized that a three-year-old had no concept of death and
spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to him from beyond as
"birdies" because they were up in the air like birds that fly. "What did the
birdies look like?" she asked.

Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all
white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them had on just white."

"Did they say anything?"

"Yes," he answered. "They told me the baby
would be all right."

"The baby?" my wife asked confused.

Brian answered. "The baby laying on the
garage floor." He went on, "You came out and opened the garage door and ran
to the baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."

My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and
knelt beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest whispered, "Don't
leave us Brian, please stay if you can." As she listened to Brian telling
her the words she had spoken, she realized that the spirit had left
His body and was looking down from above on this little lifeless form. "Then
what happened?" she asked. "We went on a trip," he said, "far, far
away." He grew agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the
words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be
okay. He struggled with wanting to tell something that obviously was
very important to him, but finding the words was difficult. "We flew so
fast up in the air. They're so pretty Mommy," he added.
"And there are lots and lots of birdies." My wife was stunned. Into
her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her
more soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. Brian went on to
tell her that the "birdies" had told him that he had to come back and tell
everyone about the "birdies." He said they brought him back to the house and
that a big fire truck, and an ambulance were there. A man was bringing the
baby out on a white bed and he tried to tell the man that the baby would
be okay. The story went on for an hour.

He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see
them because we look with our eyes and we don't
hear them because we listen with our ears. But they are always there,
you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They
whisper the things to help us to do what is right because
they love us so much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy.
You have a plan. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live
our plan and keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they
love us so much."
In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part
of it, again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were
never changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of
information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased
to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he
talked about his birdies.
Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies." Surprisingly, no

one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they always got a
softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we have not been the same
ever since that day, and I pray we never will be.

You have just been sent an Angel to watch over you. Some people come
into our lives and quickly go...Some people become friends and stay a while...leaving
beautiful footprints on our hearts ... and we are never quite the same
because we have made a good friend!!

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's
why it's called the present! Live and savor every
moment...this is not a dress rehearsal!
THIS IS A SPECIAL GUARDIAN
ANGEL...

YOU MUST PASS THIS ON TO 5 PEOPLE WITHIN THE
HOUR OF RECEIVING
HER...IF
YOU
HAVE PASSED HER ON, SHE'LL WATCH OVER YOU
FOREVER...IF NOT, HER TEARS
WILL
FLOW...

Now don't delete this message, because it
comes from a very special
Angel.