Giving Thanks this Thanksgiving

Detroit Free Press mentions Geeta Dhande of Canton, MI in its November 17th issue under the title "Giving Thanks". Here's how it goes

Geeta mother of two young girls thought she had the flu. It wasn't until she ended up in the hospital with multiple organ shutdown last January, and what doctors thought was a ruptured appendix, that tests showed that she'd been felled by the common strep bacteria. Geeta never got a sore throat. Instead, the strep bacteria had invaded her bloodstream. She was in a coma for 2 1/2 weeks and doctors gave her a 50-50 chance of survival. She was in the hospital for 65 days and relearned how to eat, walk and talk.

What Geeta is thankful for: "The overwhelming amount of love that was shown to us," says Geeta, 35, of Canton. Relatives and friends flew in from all over to help husband Amol care for daughters, Jaya, 6, and Maya, 3. Friends and friends of friends made meals. "I haven't even met these people. I have a huge stack of cards and gifts."

How Geeta shows thanks: "I thank everybody. Just the smallest thing, people helping you in the store. Without them, you wouldn't be able to manage your day."

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Here's why my family is thankful this thanksgiving

Last December my wife was involved in a nasty Automobile Accident (Head on Collision). She suffered multiple fractures from Right Hip, Broken Femur and crushed ankle. After 3 surgeries (the last surgery was late September) she is still learning to walk with walker and crutches.

What my wife is thankful for: The tremendous support from her friends who used to drive in from Canton, Ypsilanti, Oakland Township, Novi, Commerce (to St. Joseph Mercy, Ann Arbor and then to our home in Plymouth) to give her moral support and help with cooking, household chores.

Then we are thankful that her parents could fly in from India to help us out. Then my parents came in to help us out. So all in all we received tremendous support.

Then we are thankful to the Bus Driver from Plymouth/Canton Schools who use to stop in front of our driveway (this was not a designated bus stop) to pick my daughter up. This because my wife could not drive or walk our daughter to the bus stop and I had to be at work.

Overall we are just thankful to be together because it could have been worse. What if my wife had a spinal cord injury or......