Linda was told that she would be lucky to be alive to blow out 20 candles on her birthday cake. Today, she is close to blowing out a 40-candle cake.

The daily insulin shots started when Linda was 6 and diagnosed with diabetes. Doctors thought she might have about 10 years of relatively good health before complications of the disease would set in and multiply.

 “I always wanted to get married and have a family. That was a big deal to me,” says Linda. And though her medical situation appeared to be against the odds of her living that long, God apparently had other plans. In spite of blindness at the age of 18 that led to 17 eye operations, two heart attacks, one kidney transplant, and three strokes she has celebrated seven years of marriage.

Linda says she’s fortunate to have excellent medical attention and a nationally recognized diabetes specialist in charge of her care. To bolster her optimistic outlook, she always found tireless support from her family and her Florida Hospital family that included nurses and doctors. “I can’t tell you what it means to be in a hospital – to be sick and afraid – and to have a nurse come in and say, ‘Would you like for me to pray with you?’ or ‘I will be praying for you when I go home tonight.’ ”