Safe in the Heart of a Miracle: More True Stories of Medical Miracles Read online

  Five-star reviews from my readers

  For Beyond the Surgeon’s Touch

  I have read most of this author's material and have enjoyed them all, but this touched me personally as what was written is all true. The stories inside Beyond the Surgeon's Touch will touch even the hardest person. I cried, laughed, put my hand over my heart, held the person I love most, and prayed while reading this book. You will turn page after page in wanting to know what comes next and how uplifting each story reads. Don't let this book stay out of your collection!—Cyndiq

  I love this book. It's so down-to-earth yet, spiritual at the same time. Well written and an easy read. Some of the stories really touched me.—TN Reader

  This is a book I found very enjoyable and very hard to lay down. It contains several stories, all of which showing that there is a higher power involved in our lives. All of the stories are interesting just on the merits of Gloria's writing and storytelling ability. She holds the reader's interest with her colorful but serious descriptions and then adds so much to the story by delving into the doctor's, nurse's and caregiver's realization that often there is a higher power involved in the saving of a life other than just the 'surgeon's touch'.—Library Guy

  As a retired paramedic and an RN for 30+ years I can tell you that the author has "been there and done that." These true stories are a testament to the healing powers beyond the scope of our understanding and the human courage and tenacity to survive when all odds are against you. The book often brought me to tears of both sadness and joy. I hope that the author plans to follow up this book with more of these truly inspirational stories.—Pmedic-27

  Beyond the Surgeon's Touch is an artful masterpiece of pain and healing, hope and despair, hopelessness and faith. I ordered this book in the Kindle version and could not put it down. Gloria Teague wraps her reader's emotions up with those of her characters, creating a bond between them. Buy this book. Read it with a box of tissues nearby.—Jim Laughter

  Reviews for

  Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge

  I was transported back to the small town of LaFollette where we both grew up and there are so many parallels between our families. I find that the women in our families may have not had much to say...they just let their men think they were the "boss" when in actuality they were the keepers, the disciplinarians, etc. I think most of our mothers/aunts were very strong women with infinite wisdom...whether it be "book-learned" or "old-wives tales.” I hope we can expect a sequel to this book. The book ended too soon for me and I'd like to know what happened in the later years to all those "wonderful beings" you wrote about. I recognize most of these colorful people just by your descriptions of them. I truly did love the book.—Charlene Oliver

  It is innocence, southern family traditions, love, laughter and straight from the heart values.—Cindy McClellan

  Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge was an enjoyable read for me. It brought back memories of my own childhood. Ms. Teague's portrayal of her close, loving family also reminded me of the closeness of my family: growing up with my cousins and spending lots of time with my grandparents. It's amazing how one little redheaded girl could get into so many predicaments. I enjoyed the story of "Glora Lynn" taking the lemon meringue pie to a neighbor who lived in a spooky old house and had the mean old hen that chased Gloria until she fell face down in the pie. If you’re looking to escape back to the '50's, then Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge is for you.—Mary McCauley

  You took me back to my early years, visiting my Granny in Tazewell, Tennessee and growing up in a small neighborhood in Knoxville. No matter where one is from, this story will resonate with you. Growing up each of us had that favorite grandmother, aunt, uncle, and best friend we loved to fight with. We each had our fears of bugs, snakes, and bumps in the dark. We each had skinned knees, bumps on the head, and trips to the ER to check if it was broken or not. Gloria Teague brings back good memories of growing up before internet, hand-held games, and cell phones. When a kid could be a kid. She even gives you memories you might claim as one of your own, even if it wasn't. Thank you Miss Gloria.—ER Bunch

  With this book, Ms. Teague transported me back to MY childhood in the 1950's. In a small rural town at the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains, she writes about her childhood, a nostalgic account of a time when children went outside to play, doors were left open, keys left in your car (if you had one), radios were the main media, televisions, if your family was fortunate to have one, was black and white with only 2 or 3 channels available. While reading this book, she took me back to the simpler, laid back time of my own childhood. If you can remember when cocoa fudge was cooked on the stove, sometimes eaten with fingers, sometimes with a spoon, but NEVER bought in a store, then this book is for you!!—Library Guy

  Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge is a great feel-good book that transcends the memoir genre. You should read it.—Bob Avey, author of Twisted Perception and Beneath a Buried House

  WOW! This book really hits the nail on the head. The stories told are so vivid that you feel as if you’re over in a corner, watching and listening as it goes along. To me, that’s what makes this such a great collection of stories—the stories between the lines. Gloria Teague opens up her heart and lets the love show for all to see. Some of these chapters must have been hard to recall but she did a great job. After some of the chapters I had to stop and catch my breath and rethink what I had just read. If you're not careful you miss a lot of the feelings that Gloria puts into her characters. If you can keep a dry eye while reading this you have a hole in you soul. I hope there is a sequel soon.—William C. Meadows

  This collection of stories captures the 1950s era superbly. I was enchanted by "Glora Lynn" and amused and delighted with her Mamaw and her infinite wisdom. Gloria Teague got the voice just right as she lets us peek back at small town family living.—Jackie Darrah

  Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge is a collection of charming, down-to-earth stories of family, love, and honest hearts. I felt as if I were reliving these times all over again. This is a good pick-me-up for readers of all ages and perfect to give as a gift. You'll do a lot of smiling while reading these stories—except when you're wiping away a tear. I highly recommend this book.—Jackie King, author of Inconvenient Corpse

  What comes to mind when you think of fudge? Warm, savory, inviting? That's how I feel about the book, Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge. In Gloria's book, she takes us back to the world she grew up in, nestled not so quietly in the foothills of the `50s with characters that are strange and loving and all too familiar. The reader will find that he or she wasn't the only little person to eat the decorations off their mud pies, get chased by a demon bird, wreck your friend's new tricycle, or sneak off to do something that you KNOW your elders would certainly not approve of.

  It was a treat to read this book, each story a tasty morsel. It was almost like eating potato chips: I couldn't read just one chapter; I had to have one more, just one more. Then sadly, it was over.

  In Gloria's stories, there is something for everyone, a person or event that each of us can relate to and you'll find yourself saying, "Oh yeah! I remember when..." you did something silly or painful or just plain stupid or felt the unconditional love that can only come from family. You'll find yourself wanting to hug little ‘Gloria.’ You can even feel Mamaw's arms envelop you and tell you it's going to be okay and tomorrow's going to be a brighter day or another day filled with some new mystery to explore or escape from. Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge shows us how important family is and how those people around us shape our lives and how they will always be a part o
f who we are. I dare you to read this delectable book in public: people WILL stare at you because you'll be smiling really big and even laughing out loud.—C. Branson, Director Mannford Public Library

  I loved this book! I wasn't raised in the "deep south" or in a coal mining town, but I was a child during the same era as Glora Lynn and reading the stories of this child brought back a flood of nostalgia for my own childhood past. I couldn't put the book down until it was done. I had to turn page after page to see what antics little Glora Lynn and her family and friends would be up to next. My only disappointment with this book was that it ended and left me with no more Glora Lynn! LOL I could so envision this book as a movie with Glora Lynn brought to life making you laugh, cry, and sigh just as the book itself did. Excellent work capturing days gone by and describing life events in an entertaining and captivating way. I'm already reading it a second time!—Pamela Reeder

  Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge captured my attention from the very beginning. Anyone raised in the south during this era can relate to this book. But even if you weren't, you can laugh at the humor and cry at the injustices, both of which are sprinkled throughout the book. The characters seemed like family and I sat down with them as they ate fudge and watched the late movie together. I hated to see the book come to an end and hope Gloria Teague writes a sequel very soon!—LaVerne Vinsant

  Safe in the Heart of a Miracle

  Gloria Teague

  DentonTexas

  Cover art by Cindy Robinson MacLellan

  Buoy Up Press

  An imprint of AWOC.COM Publishing

  P.O. Box 2819

  Denton, TX76202

  © 2011 by Gloria Shirley

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  ISBN: 978-1-62016-000-8

  Visit the author’s website: http://www.gloriateague.com

  For Dad, the only father I ever knew:

  For teaching me to love a challenge,

  For helping me see the value of education,

  For never giving me the answers so I had to find them myself, and

  For giving me a wooden teddy bear plaque with these words painted on it:

  Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone, But still miraculously my own.

  Never forget for a single minute,

  You didn’t grow under my heart—but in it.

  ~ Fleur Conkling Heylinger

  Acknowledgements

  My family deserves a big hug for hearing me out, listening to me moan, boosting my morale and ego when it was failing and just for being my all-around loving support. Thank you to the heart of my life: Al, De Anna and Linda.

  And Mom, I miss you every day, but never more than when I finish a story, an article or a book. You were always my biggest fan, even when my work was lousy. Thank you for believing in me.

  I am blessed with friends who listen to me, who read my blogs, my books, my short stories and who, even when they wanted to scream, kept reminding me I am, indeed, a writer. There are too many to list here but the ones who pushed me the hardest, who listened and validated me, my work, I appreciate all of you. A special thanks to Helen, Cindy, Pat, Libby, Earl, Billy, Beth and Diana. And my deep appreciation to Shirley who loaned me a beautiful mountain cabin when I was down to the wire and needed a quiet place to finish this book. The majority of the words written here were born on Beaver Lake.

  I want to thank my publisher, Dan Case, for giving me a chance with the first book and the ones that followed it. I guess I even want to thank him for making me crazy when he’d say, “Gloria, I just checked the stats for this weekend and your book sales are …” No pressure there!

  But most of all, I want to thank God

  Almost a Heavenly Day

  It was too nice a day to die. It was one of those days that when you walked out your front door, you’d never dream it was your last day on Earth. The birds’ song was more melodious, the air smelled sweeter, and the colors were more vivid than on just a regular old workday morning.

  David stepped softly behind Theresa, bending his head to kiss the back of her neck as she flipped the eggs in the hot skillet.

  “Oh, you better be careful there, lover boy, if you still want your eggs over-easy. Kissing my neck is a sure way to get scrambled eggs.”

  David leaned around until their noses touched, he grinned at her and said, “You know, Mrs. Green, I never mind getting scrambled up with you.” She chuckled as she flipped the dish towel at him, shooing him away. The snap it made was loud in the quiet kitchen.

  Theresa placed his plate in front of him, then leaned her hip against his shoulder as he sat at the table. She ruffled his hair and he reached up, pushed her hand away. “I have you to know that I worked hard on my hair-do this morning. Now kindly leave me to my supposed eggs over-easy.”

  Her grin was infectious. “I don’t think you’re the only Green boy getting into a scrambled mess this morning.” David lifted his eyebrows and his grin widened. “Your little brother forgot his anniversary yesterday.”

  David laughed out loud but lowered it to a chuckle after he saw his wife’s expression.

  “I’m warning you, David Green, if you ever forget our anniversary …” He didn’t for a minute fall for her faux severity but he went along with the game.

  He raised his left hand and crossed his heart. Her face relaxed into a loving smile. “I know you wouldn’t honey but, just in case, I’m giving you fair warning now!”

  They savored a cup of coffee together before he put on his work shoes and headed out the door.

  David held his face up to the sunlight as he walked to the car. He heard his wife, standing in the door behind him, chuckling. “You’re going to walk right into a tree, David Green. What are you doing?”

  He turned around to grin back at her. “Just thinking it’s a great day to be alive.”

  Arriving right on time at his assigned job location, David was pleasantly surprised to see his younger brother pulling his own work equipment from his truck.

  “Hey, how’d I got so lucky to be saddled with my rotten baby brother today?”

  Jim’s mock sneer didn’t fool David. “As you said, just lucky I guess. But it looks like we’re both having the same kind of luck today, though. I mean, I’m stuck with a lousy old brother.”

  “Uh, just older; not old, alright? Okay, my slightly younger brother, we might as well get it over with. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we don’t have to look at each other.” They both laughed; clapped each other on the back and bumped fists.

  “Yeah, let’s hit it, Dave.”

  It was an early September morning filled with warmth. The sky was blue, with voluminous ivory clouds drifting lazily overhead. As the men balanced on the hydraulic-powered platform the sun reflected back to them from the dirt-smudged windows they’d been hired to clean. They manipulated the scaffolding higher and higher as the morning wore on. Both of their wives had commented often how fortunate it was they weren’t afraid of heights.

  In the distance the noon whistle sounded at the foundry down the street. As they frequently did, the brothers sat on the edge of the platform, eating lunch and teasing each other as brothers have a tendency to do.

  “I heard you’ve been singing the white rabbit’s song from ‘Alice in Wonderland.’”

  Jim’s brows formed peaks over his eyes. “Huh? I don’t remember that one.”

  David chuckled. “Sure you have. Remember ‘I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date?’”

  The younger man hung his head then turned to look into his brother’s laughing face.

  “You’re in the doghouse now, huh, Jimbo? Man, your tenth wedding anniversary. How mad is Suze? Though I gue
ss a better question would be: how long is she going to be mad?”

  “Oh, that is so not funny! Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s a big one, alright. Ten years is one that should’ve been important enough to remember, right? And it’s not like she didn’t remind me e-v-e-r-y single day, right up to the day before. Maybe I forgot just so I could tune out being reminded so often. Hey, you think she’d buy that?”

  “I think you’re in for an early freeze and you’re going to be wearing your winter coat long before the first snowfall, brother. That house is going to get mighty cold before the forgiving thaw.”

  “Aw man, you’re probably right, David. I’m an idiot. I deserve whatever she throws at me since I’m such a dope.”

  “Hey, now that she might buy!”

  “Again, not funny, Dave; not funny at all.”

  “Aw, sure it is; it’s a little funny.”

  Jim stood up, throwing his apple back into the brown paper sack with such force it punched through the bottom of the bag. Both men leaned over the side of the aluminum railing to watch the apple sail 15 stories toward the ground, barely missing a businessman walking briskly along the sidewalk. As with most people, he was wearing a 21st century accessory, a cell phone at his ear. He was so intent on his conversation he never even noticed the fruited missile that barely missed him. The brothers laughed nervously.

  “Whew, way to go, Jim. Compound your bad day by missing an anniversary and knocking a stranger out with an apple.”

  “Oh, shut up. If you’re done stuffing your face, big brother, let’s get back to work. I’m ready for this day to end. Come on, let’s get our harnesses back on and get these windows done.”

  It was as both men held the harnesses in their hands, just seconds before they would’ve been safely tethered, they heard the cable snap. The only thing they had time to do was to look at each other and see the reflection of their own heart-stopping fear.