MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)

Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 33 – In Book, Page 79

Silent Night, 1994, Paper Nativity Set, San Antonio, Texas, With Billy John, Mission Churches Closed, Russians In Port Mansfield, Brown Recluse Spider Bite, Hyperbaric Treatments, Jesse Wallingford Confirmed, 1995 Vacation, Visit To Calgary, Canada With Steph And Family, Banff And Lake Louise

So we had our 1994 Christmas with the members of Abiding Savior and our son, Steve, and his wife, Rebecca. Dick, as always, conducted a very meaningful and impressive Christmas service with the children telling the story of the birth of Jesus, our Savior. Again, each adult was given a candle which he or she lit, and each child held a battery lit candle. Then the lights were turned off during the singing of “Silent Night” by the congregation. And again, Dick said tears came to his eyes as he looked out and saw all those lighted candles being held by the people, with smiling faces, singing about the birth of our Savior. What a joy!

I must tell you about a paper Nativity set which Dick had kept for many years folded up in his file. He had mentioned constructing it to the people in the congregations where we had been, but nothing happened – until he mentioned it to the members of Abiding Savior. One lady, Lila Jones, said, “we’ll do it”, and they did! They got together, cut out the life-size figures, put glue on the back of them, and glued them to the plywood figures which Dr. Bill Hiatt had cut out. His wife, Mary, worked very hard on the figures too. So, the finished Nativity set was put outside in front of Abiding Savior. One of the members, Hans Hovda, brought bales of hay as a backing for the Nativity set. How happy we were to tell the story of Jesus’ birth to the many people who walked by and passed by in cars. The church is located on the corner of Westgate Drive and West 6th Street, a very busy corner.

Dick’s cousin, Bill Laesch, again visited us just after Christmas. We took him to San Antonio, Texas, which was beautifully decorated with Christmas decorations – a huge Christmas tree, a very tall tower, shops all along the Riverwalk, restaurants, etc. There was a Mariachi band playing Christmas carols. We went on the fantastic YANAGUANA CRUISE on the Riverwalk. Also, we went to the Alamo, which was being renovated. There was scaffolding all around it. There is a very tall monument with figures and names of the people (among them Colonel William Barret Travis, and border heroes, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett) who died there fighting General Santa Ana and his Mexican army. Inside the Alamo is a very interesting museum with a lot of information and artifacts from the battle. But, the IMAX theater show about the battle is enthralling! The men on their horses seem to come out right at you from the huge screen. It is unforgettable!

We wanted to see the four very old mission churches in San Antonio, but they were closed. That very day, the United States government had run out of money. All federal buildings, offices, institutions, and museums were shut down. The next day they were open again. What a disappointment for us – and many others who had that day only to spend in San Antonio.

Two Russians, Irine and Michael Poboronchouk, docked their boat, the bow of which had a huge cross on it, and had bright red, blue, and yellow flags flying, at Port Mansfield. Helen Becker and her son, Keith, invited us to come and meet them. We bought a beautifully painted wooden spoon and wooden dolls (four-in-one doll). It was quite an experience to meet them. Irine is an artist, and Michael was planning to write a book about their boat trip. Their trip onward would take them up the Atlantic coast.
 
BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER BITE – May 23, 1995
 
The Beckers invited us to Port Mansfield to go fishing, and eat the fish we caught, cooked deliciously by Helen. We had come back from fishing when Dick spotted a semi-truck parked at their neighbors. When it started coming past their house, he went out and asked the driver if we could see the inside of the truck. I went up into the truck to see it, but Dick leaned his legs against the side of it and looked into it. When we got back into the house, Helen asked, “what is that on your leg, Pastor?” We looked and all of us thought it was a little scratch. She cleaned it, put antiseptic on it, and a Band-Aid. This happened on May 23, 1995. On the 24th I looked at the “scratch”. There were now red blotches. I told Dick that it looked “strange” to me; that we should go to see a doctor. So we did and he told us that it was a Brown Recluse spider bite. Dick had not seen the spider or felt its bite. He thought he had scraped his lower left leg on the truck. The doctor ordered tetanus and cortisone vaccine, told Dick to keep his leg elevated, and sent us home.

We didn’t know anything about a Brown Recluse spider (coming from the north); in fact, we had never heard of it. We had been 15 years in Africa as missionaries, and didn’t get bitten by spiders, snakes, or stung by killer bees, scorpions, etc. – ha! So the next morning (Saturday), we went over to the church as usual. Dick got his preparations ready for Sunday. He had a lot to do to get ready for the two services, Bible Class, communion, and also the Confirmation of a girl, some of her relatives coming from Minnesota. I helped the members put bulletins together, clean, and helped wherever I could.

But Sunday morning, just before church, Dick’s leg was inflamed, he nearly passed out, but kept telling me, “get my suit, my shirt, my tie. I have to go to the church”. The people were coming to church as I ran from the parsonage to the church. Halfway there, I met the elder who was coming to find out where Pastor was. I told him to come over to the parsonage, which he did. He had been a policeman, and knew that something was very wrong. He said to Dick, “Pastor, either you come with me to the hospital, or I am calling the EMS”. Dick, being the faithful and dedicated pastor that he is determinedly said, “I’m not going with you, I have to go to the church.” So the elder picked up the phone and called the EMS.

The people, as they were coming to church, wondered what was happening at the parsonage. Three of the medics came into the bedroom and watched Dick. Because he was perspiring profusely and his pulse was weak, they took him to the hospital. They stabilized him. Three of our members, two LVN nurses, and our daughter-in-law, Rebecca, who was studying to be an LVN, but hadn’t graduated because she was sick at that time, came to the hospital, got together, and decided that Dick should be transferred to the McAllen, Texas, Memorial Hospital because there they have hyperbaric oxygen therapy units (a tubular contraption that surrounds the body with pressurized oxygen. The oxygen is breathed in, and delivered, via blood vessels to the tissues throughout the body to help in healing, fighting infection, decreasing swelling and spawning new blood vessels or capillaries).

So my husband was transferred on May 28th, and every morning I drove him to McAllen, about 25 miles from Weslaco, for the 2-hour treatments in the hyperbaric chamber. He was in a wheelchair in and out of the house, and slept in his Lazy Boy chair (I slept on the davenport) with his leg elevated – live and learn! His entire leg was swollen, with all of the colors of the rainbow from the black to red range present! Blisters abounded! It is hard to believe that a half-inch spider did it all. He received cortisone, tetanus, antibiotics, heparin, and anti-inflammatory pills (steroids) besides the 20 hyperbaric treatments. His last treatment was June 23, 1995. It had been a month since he had been bitten by the very deadly Brown Recluse spider.

How thankful to God we were that Dick had not lost his leg, which very well could have happened. When we had first gotten to Weslaco, we met a man with one leg. After visiting with him for awhile, Dick asked him how he had lost his leg. He told us that he had gotten bitten by a Brown Recluse spider!

Again, our loving Lord protected us!

Ah, but “you can’t keep a good man down”, as they say. The very next Sunday, June 23, there Dick was at the altar as usual – in a wheelchair – conducting the service with communion, confirming Jesse Wallingford who wasn’t confirmed the Sunday before, and conducting the Bible class! His leg still shows the effects of the spider bite, but God is with us, and he has full use of his left leg as well.

VACATION TO WISCONSIN AND CALGARY, CANADA

We left McAllen, Texas, by plane on July 18, 1995. We visited with all our loved ones in Wisconsin – my mother, Debbie and Glen, Sue and Tim, Sue and Jim, and all their families. What a blessing to be with all of them again. And then we left on July 26th by plane to fly to Calgary, Canada, to visit Steph, Jeff, and their family. What a blessing to be with all of them again too. They met us at the airport, and also we were met by some singers who welcomed us with a “White Hat Welcome” and presented Dick with a white cowboy hat. We became “Honorary Calgarians”. Wow! Calgary! What a dynamic city – with a tall tower, a distinctive landmark which looms 126 feet high over the downtown area! Calgary is the home of the world famous Stampede, a gigantic outdoor rodeo.

The parsonage in Calgary is very comfortable and adequate for a pastor, his wife, and family. After visiting with them for a few days, they took us to see Banff, Canada. a quaint little resort town tucked in the majestic Canadian Rockies, and is at the southeastern end of Banff National Park. There are horse-drawn carriages there. Steph took us on a long scenic walk to a place where there is a magnificent waterfall. Dick had to be pushed in a wheelchair because his leg was still weak from the spider bite. Steph’s sister, Sue, had flown from Wisconsin, so she was with us too to see the beauty of Banff National Park.

Jeff, Mitch, and Sammy had towed their trailer up to Banff for us to stay in a trailer park. We were amused when big elk walked in among the trailers and the people. We went to see beautiful Lake Louise and Mt. Victoria which are perfect settings for Chateau Lake Louise. We did go inside the Chateau which is very nice. However, we were slightly appalled to see a young man in front of us wearing very brief shorts, and no shirt, walking in the lobby of this very exclusive, worldwide, famous, hotel. We ladies couldn’t help “tittering” about it.