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When Barbara and Charlie joined the church they spoke of it as being a homecoming. It was time for them to return and it felt good. As they were greeted by others they were smiling and obviously happy.

The next summer Barbara and Charlie were in church. The sermon that morning was from a member of the church, who spoke of breaking bad, destructive habits. The message struck a cord with Barbara, she could certainly identify with it. A couple of days later Barbara was rushed to the emergency room with an apparent heart attack. Neither of them knew how serious the situation was until the doctor spoke with Charlie. He was very matter of fact: the situation was very serious. He was just trying to keep her alive overnight and then in the morning she would be transported to a university hospital in Philadelphia. Barbara's heart was failing. If she was to live she would need a heart transplant.

"The hardest part for me," Barbara later explained, "was seeing terror in the eyes of my sweet Charlie and my three kids as the crash cart was rushed into the room along with at least eight doctors working on me." The next Sunday Barbara was fitted with an artificial heart pump which would keep her alive until a donor heart would be located. Barbara and Charlie were comforted by the fact that she could live on the pump for several months, but were told she probably would have to wait a couple of weeks until a suitable donor heart might be available. Charlie took a leave of absence from work so he could be by Barbara's bedside each day.
Barbara's three adult children visited her in the hospital. It was the first time in years that her whole family was together in one place. Somehow this life and death struggle brought them closer as a family.

The days of waiting quickly turned to weeks. Barbara spoke of her love for her husband and her love for her church. People in the church sent her notes of encouragement as well as gifts to let her know she was in their prayers. Barbara responded by writing notes to the congregation which were read during Sunday morning worship. In her first letter she wrote, "Never take anything for granted." Her letters told of her experience, of waiting, of her love for Charlie, and of her faith in the God who loves her. She would end her letters with "I love you all. God bless you always." Her letters touched the congregation in an unexpected way; people looked forward to hearing additional letters the next week.

Through her ordeal of waiting for a donor heart Barbara was in good spirits with a positive outlook. Repeatedly she placed her faith in God, knowing that God would not desert her in her hour of need. The Heart Failure Unit was on the 21st floor of the hospital. Barbara and Charlie quickly made friends with other patients; some had better prognoses and others were in worse shape. She witnessed to her faith in Christ to other patients. She would walk through the unit, stopping in each room offering a word of hope. With her artificial heart pump beating inside of her, like the ticking of a clock, she was able to offer words of hope to people who seemed to be running out of hope.
The summer wore on, Barbara and Charlie continued waiting. "Maybe this week," Barbara would say to those who called her.

On Labor Day evening Barbara and Charlie received word that a donor heart had been located. Less than an hour later she was wheeled to the operating room. There were complications in the operation. Barbara lost a lot of blood and received several transfusions. She was once again near death. The doctors were able to save her life through heroic actions. She received her new heart. When she awoke her husband was once again beside her. He encouraged her, "Honey, you are going to make it." Several days later, while in the hospital cafeteria, Charlie saw the doctor who had saved his wife's life. He greeted him with a hearty handshake. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he told the doctor, "for saving my wife's life."

Barbara was weak from the operation and less than a week later caught a virus which would send her to the Critical Care Unit. Once again her life hung in the balance.
She became so weak that she was unable to breathe on her own and was hooked up to a ventilator. She was given megadoses of antibodies to fight the infection.
Recovery was painstakingly slow for her. She would remain in the Critical Care Unit for ten days.

A month later she was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital where she would have to learn how to walk again. Barbara was wheeled to the roof one unseasonably warm October afternoon. It was the first time she had been outside for over three months. Later she said, "You would not believe how good it felt to feel the sun on your face." That first day as she sat there the tears flowed. By mid-November Barbara was more than anxious to return home. She also looked forward to returning to church.

Doctors and friends cautioned her about being out in public too soon. She was still very susceptible to colds. But nothing could stop her determination to return to church. With her husband at her side, still having visible trouble walking, she made her way to church in December. She requested that the hymn "Amazing Grace" be sung because that was how she viewed her life and her second chance at life. Tears once again flowed from her eyes. It was an emotional moment in her life and in the life of the congregation.