Karen

In summary, they told me they wanted me to write a formal proposal allowing them to use the program for the benefit of any of the other Veterans nationwide. They also asked to see if the program could be modified to help other Veterans suffering from PTSD syndrome. I agreed to check into that idea. And I did check into it.

I came up with a complete package for them. When we had our next meeting four months later I discussed what I had done and what could possibly be accomplished. They all agreed, unanimously that this program could work. Of course we all understood that the success of the program would be limited to the individual Veteran. They offered me X amount of dollars to write and help administer the program. I told them I would get back with them on everything within a week. I also told them to continue using the current program to help whomever it could.

I discussed everything with Karen. She thought it would be a great gift to the Veterans and I couldn't have agreed more. She and I came up with a proposal that we figured would work and the VA would go for. I called my contact and set another meeting. I did ask that their medical administrator to be present during the meeting. A date was set.

Karen and I both went to the next scheduled meeting. We explained that the program to them. Our offer was that the VA provides Karen with a full scholarship for her schooling to be at the VA hospital in Houston. They would supply all the training for her to become a registered nurse and a physical therapist. All proceeds of the program would go to the VA to help offset the cost of the program to those offered treatment to. I would get a token payment in regards to administering the program. We, Karen and I, wanted the Veterans to benefit from the program not some institution or private organization. If and when the program was accepted for use in the general public, it would still be administered through the VA exclusively. There were a few other minor details but, as I say, they were merely legal stuff.

The VA, their attorneys, my attorneys and we, Karen and I, met two weeks later and signed the deal. It was more of our way to help the wounded Veterans of this country than it was a way for anyone to actually make a lot of money. I guess in the medical field when a new procedure is put into place there was always big bucks to be made. Karen and I wanted to make sure no profits could be made by anyone using the program. Our attorneys also set us up with a patent and had the procedure and any alterations of it protected.

Karen started her new career the following January when she attended her first class. She was so excited it bubbled out all over the both of us all weekend. The loving I got and the loving she got could have gone down in recorded history in the Guinness Book of World Records. Who could have guessed a simple chance meeting in an airport in London could have resulted is such a life changing event for possibly thousands of Veterans in our country.

One year into the program and Karen's education another wonderful event happened in our lives. Karen and I were expecting our first child. Both of our parents were ecstatic about the up and coming birth of their first grandchild. Karen and I were overjoyed. Even Kate was happy. Her skepticism at our first meeting in London had turned her into an optimist about her future too.

Only three months later Karen was told there was a complication with her pregnancy. She would have to stop taking classes and stop working until the baby would be born. Three months after that, Mark Daniel McDonald was born healthy and happy. Karen resumed her studies when the next semester started.

It seems like everything in our lives were going better than I could ever have planned. I was still working with the computer company I worked for. I did get public recognition for the program the VA is now using and I gave the company accolades for allowing me the time off for everything I had been doing. Of course they were riding the wave of popularity and it helped their business grow as well. I was offered a salaried position with them which meant more time at home and less time away from my family. Naturally I accepted the position. Karen was doing great in her studies and her work.

Four years later, with a degree as a Registered Nurse and a minor degree in physical therapy, the VA offered her a newly created position allowing her to help with the Wounded Veterans program. She is going to continue her education to eventually become a counselor for those Veterans. Our son Mark is now five years old and is expecting a little brother or sister soon. It seems life can only get better. Tragedy struck before our second child was born.

A Veteran with PTSD had an episode and attacked some of those helping him recover. Karen was injured and we lost the baby. Karen would be OK in a few months, but the mental loss of a child can take its toll on those associated with the parents of the lost child. Karen was only six months along when it happened.

We buried the child in her parent's family cemetery near Tomball. A year later, we had to bury her father and only eight months later we had to bury my mother. Now within just a short period of time we had lost three members of our family. As you might imagine, we were in a funk. We had to do something to help all six remaining members of our family out of that funk. Karen started looking for a family getaway spot for us to attend. Those included my dad, Karen's mom, Kate (she had not married as of yet), me, Karen and Mark. We would take an extended family vacation for two weeks. It had to be somewhere that we could all go and enjoy. Only Kate was involved in helping Karen work on the plans.

The three of us decided to do it on our anniversary week. Karen and I will have been married for ten years now. Our marriage appeared to be one that was made in Heaven. Yes we had our disagreements, but nothing bad enough we could stay upset with one another for longer than a few hours. Nearly all our friends were envious. We still resembled "The Beauty and the Beast". Our love had only grown stronger.

We arrived at the resort. Karen and I paid for everything. We could afford it. My dad and Karen's mom wanted to pay for their rooms. Kate made a token offer to pay for hers, but we wouldn't hear of. The fun we had helped us all to recover mentally over the loss of the different family members. When we returned home, we were all in much better spirits. Life had dealt a blow to us that we had to learn to live with. We were all coping and getting along as one big happy family.

The only unforeseen thing that happened was that during our vacation my dad and Karen's mom had started falling for each other. Both her dad and my mom had been gone for two years now and all us kids encouraged them both to get out. We were met with some resistance from them. Then to my utmost surprise, they started dating. We didn't know they were dating each other until eight months later. Six months later they married. The other unforeseen event was that Karen was pregnant again. Hopefully this time she wouldn't lose the baby. Mark was now almost eight years old when his sister, Molly Dianne McDonald, was born. We had named her after my mom and my grandmother.

I didn't know how life could get any better. But it did! Kate had met someone and was getting serious. They planned an early autumn wedding and Karen was to be the matron of honor. Our son Mark was starting the third grade and was becoming quite the scholar. He also got very active in sports. Karen had been promoted to lead in the Wounded Veterans program at the Houston VA and I was now the Executive Vice President of my company.

My new step mom and Karen's new step dad were playing dual roles of my Karen's mom and my dad. It got funny when we introduced them to other friends. Mark loved the attention he got from everyone, and Molly was growing like a weed. She was starting to more and more like Karen, unfortunately she also had my genes so she just wasn't near as beautiful, but she was still pretty. Mark, at least, got a lot of his mom's looks so he was growing up to become a handsome young man.

As nature took its course our remaining parents eventually passed on due to natural causes. I am still in disbelief that Karen and I ever hooked up at that airport in London. A chance meeting led to a relationship I would never have imagined. We were able to retire in good health. The program I created for the VA had netted us personally over ten million dollars. We immediately donated that money back to the VA to be used to help the less than fortunate Veterans that could not afford their medical bills. We happily donated the money with the expectation that the funds would be used to help those in need. I have no idea how much money the VA was able to charge private hospitals throughout the country, but it was understood that any proceeds were to go to help Veterans.

Karen and I bought a retirement home near Houston so we could go to the VA and just talk and visit with the Veterans there. We made three trips every week. Life was enjoyable for us. We understood that we were able to donate so much of our time that the joy we felt was worth every second. When Mark graduated high school he went to college, graduated with honors and joined the Marine Corps. He made the Marines a career. He would retire as a Lt. Colonel. Molly also went to college and became a physical therapist also working for the VA. There she met and married a doctor.

Karen and I are into our seventies and still in good health. We have had a wonderful marriage. We decided to pick out our own head stones for our grave marker. It was a simple double ring etching with hers and my names on them. Under each of the names in bold letters we chose to have "Beauty" and "Beast" etched on them. It was our last chance for the endearing terms we had for each other for all mankind to have a chuckle when viewing our graves. We also had angels etched on the tombstone. In our wills, we expressed that all further proceeds from the program I wrote would go to the Wounded Veterans program. It was the least we could do. Our love for each other never faltered. I never got over the fact that such a good looking and intelligent woman could actually really love me. I never got over the fact that I initially held a prejudice against those I used to deem undesirable. Many of those "undesirable" people had become close acquaintances of ours. We loved them as family. When those folks passed away we mourned their loss as a personal loss. My ignorance had almost cost me the best gift God has for us as humans. I loved an angel from heaven. She loved her angel also.

In closing this story I'd like to make the following comments. Never, and I mean NEVER, shun someone merely because they are different. Love you wife as much as you can and wives, love your husbands equally. God had a chosen life for you. If you choose to ignore His wishes, you choose to not have the happiness He wants for you. Choose your life's path carefully because what you choose today will affect your life later. Enjoy what life you have. Never have to look over your shoulder for anything. Look ahead for everything.

I have really loved only one woman in my life. Her name was Karen Childs. I will never have known this much happiness if I had chosen to treat her as I have always treated others like her. I have no regrets in my life, with the exception of not learning to love without exception as a younger man. Now I can honestly say I have no preconceived notions. My children also live with that philosophy in life. You never know what can happen when you go into life with an open mind and an open heart.