Thursday, November 6, 2008

Donald Wayne Wood

My brother-in-law has been involved in a terrible accident. He is in the ICU in Houston and it is touch and go. He may not survive, and if he does, there may be brain damage. Our family is requesting prayers for both Don and his wife Janie and their son Adam. Please, if you are the praying sort, get down on your knees and pray for healing, and pray for strength, and pray for peace and rest for his family.

Don has always been larger than life. Literally. He is 6'6" and is built like a linebacker. He was a star football player in his hometown of Atlanta, TX. My mother-in-law loves to tell stories of how she would come home from work and the yard was FULL of cars, and the house was FULL of girls. He was quite the BMOC. He graduated and got a full-ride football scholarship to Rice. He met and married Janie Laws, and they have one son, Adam whom they have always loved passionately. Don's career has been in sales, and he has sold almost everything you can imagine. He owned a fish store for awhile, he has sold furniture, GPS tracking devices for truckers, telecom, office supplies, you name it, he's dabbled in it. He is an amazing salesperson, and has been extremely successful in his career. One of those "could sell ice cream to the eskimos" kind of guys.

He loves kids. He and Janie wanted to have a houseful of children, but God blessed them with one son, Adam. So, Don has always doted on all of the nieces and nephews in the Wood family. I remember one day when Chase was 3 or so. We were at Divine Hubby's mom's house and I came into the room just in time to see Chase balancing himself on the back edge of the sofa. Well, I freaked out, called him by all three of his names in that mom-voice and asked him what n the name of Jehozephat he thought he was doing. Don sheepishly leaned into my sight and said, "Um, he's jumping to me..." and Chase launched himself off of the sofa into Don's waiting arms. That's the kind of guy he is. He has taken Chase fishing almost every time we have gotten together, just Chase and Uncle Don. He always brings a BB gun, and they go out in the woods together and shoot soda cans off of logs. The last time we saw him, he gave Chase the BB gun, and it is one of Chase's prized possessions.

He is a teaser. He loves to say, in his big booming voice, "Kiss my face." Or, "Go play in the street." Then he swoops whatever kid is around up in his arms and tickles or rough houses with them until the kid can't stand it anymore. 5 seconds later, the kid is back for more. Don can play with kids for hours. He has volunteered his time at the local elementary school to teach Junior Achievement classes on handling money, credit, etc. and the class has a waiting list. Kids LOVE Don.

His wife Janie says that the neighborhood kids come around to ask to play with him. And Don is 50! He'll go out and play basketball for hours, laughing and rough-housing with the neighborhood kids, his big booming voice and laugh echoing down the street.

This big, vibrant man is now fighting for his life, and we are not sure what kind of life it will even be at this point. I ask you to kneel, where you are right now, and say a prayer for Donald Wayne Wood. If you will comment or email and let me know you prayed, I'll tell his wife how many people who don't even know this man, are petitioning God on his behalf. God moves mountains, parts oceans and sends Saviors. I pray He will listen to our prayers and heal this wonderful man whom we love so much. Thank you.

11 comments:

Laura said...

Suzanne,

Just a note to let you know I'm praying for your brother-in-law, Don and his family. What a tough time for all of you. Thinking of you.

Laura Schroeder

Anonymous said...

What a nice tribute to Don. We are praying over here and are so sorry for this tragedy. He sounds like an amazing man. Love, S.I.L.s

Anonymous said...

We join the rest of you in praying for Don's recovery.

Momsoon said...

I must echo s.i.l. and say what a wonderful tribute to your brother-in-law. Count on a prayer from me.

Miz C (and Burton) said...

I'm so sorry to hear of Don's accident. UJ and I will be praying for Don and for all of the family.

Anonymous said...

My brother Don needs prayers and he needs healing. With enough prayers, he'll receive the healing.

What an absolutely amazing tribute from my wife to my brother Don. I am not only very blessed with a wife that is totally amazing, I've had blessings from my family all the way. My brother Don will ALWAYS be my big brother and I'll always be "little Wood". It's a place that I not only like, but makes me feel bigger every day I walk this Earth. Don is 2 years older than me and back in high school I definitely and proudly lived in his shadow. I was only known as Don Wood's little brother, hence the nickname. I was famous because of that and I liked it. It's a time and place I fondly look back on often.

He's one of those people that you can't help but like. He's always the center of the room. Not only is he a big man physically, he's a big man where it counts most - in his heart.

I know those who read Suzanne's blog may not know Don, but I can guarantee he's someone you'd want to know and be glad to have as your friend. Please pray for my brother Don's healing that he'll pull through this tragedy and give people another chance to know this wonderful guy.

Divine Hubby.

Kate said...

So sorry to hear about this, Suzanne and Larry. I will send a prayer from the Bay Area for Don.

Kate

HillRaiser said...

Know we are praying for Don.

Unknown said...

I am praying for Don and his family. Please keep us informed.

Lisa K.

Anonymous said...

I just found this post today, but I prayed on my knees for Don tonight. Please keep us posted on his progress. God speed his recovery!!

Anonymous said...

I´m praying for Don. I just came across this blog. Don and I were college roommates at Rice U, and he was a wonderful, larger-than-life kind of guy. I always think fondly of him. I am seven weeks late in getting this information, so I hope he is already on his way to recovery. God bless Don Wood and his wonderful family.
Jon