The first seven months of 2024 have been nothing short of a wild, crazy, difficult, and amazing ride. Last year (2023) ended with an emergency hospital stay that continued into the new year. By the end of January I had, finally, begun to see signs of full recovery and welcomed with open arms the hope of having my full health restored. Little did I know that my sudden health issues were only just the beginning of what I now call my family's "Journey Towards The Next".

On Saturday, December 23, I woke up in my Chicago hotel ready to return home after a week-long work convention. I got up early and had plenty of time to get ready because my flight wasn’t until 1:40pm that afternoon. My day got off to a great start, I had a nice long Bible and devotional time and began to start packing. At around 9am I noticed that my stomach was tight and felt a bit uncomfortable, so I started drinking more water and laid down for a bit to see if it would pa