A Life in Parts

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Image of A Life in Parts
Author(s): 
Release Date: 
October 8, 2012
Publisher/Imprint: 
Stonebrook Publishing
Pages: 
240
Reviewed by: 

“. . . a testament to a brave and courageous woman who will not give up.”

Loretta Goebel, an ordinary wife and mother living in Illinois, always dedicates her life to her husband, Wally, and her children, nine-year-old Mitch and seven-year-old Alyssa. She loves being in charge of every detail of her family’s life, especially during the Christmas holiday where she goes all out with cooking and decorating.

On December 11, 2001, Loretta is busily wrapping Christmas gifts in the basement when her doorbell rings. She runs to answer it and knocks her hand on the banister, but thinks nothing of it.

Before long, she starts having intense pain in her right hand and arm plus several other symptoms. Thinking it is the flu, she brushes it off, but when the pain becomes too intense, she summons Wally to take her to the emergency room in the middle of a cold December night.

Wally is very worried, for Loretta never let health problems hinder her from doing things, and with her pleas to go the hospital, he realizes something is seriously wrong.

The diagnosis is grim: a severe strep infection that has put her in toxic shock. Wally gathers the family together, and they all pray for Loretta’s recovery. In order to have any chance of pulling through, the doctors administer massive doses of a potent drug to keep her vital organs from shutting down. If she pulls through—and this is a big IF—she can possibly lose her extremities. He also warns that only about 10% percent of patients with this diagnosis survive.

Loretta loves life and her children and fights hard to beat the odds.

Included in the book are a foreword written by Heather Mills, a list of symptoms of Strep Toxic Shock Syndrome, a reference guide for amputees, and several engaging photos.

A truly moving account of one woman’s misfortune, this story is heartbreakingly inspirational. A Life in Parts is a testament to a brave and courageous woman who will not give up.