True love conquers all for Register family

SENATH, Mo. -- The old saying "True love conquers all" is believed to be a fact, at least with the Register family.

Ron and Loretta Register, owners of SEMO Drug Store at Senath, are a symbol of what true love can do for a family, according to friends of the family.

Janie Renfrow has known Ron and Loretta since they first bought the downtown drug store in 1972. "They have always done for one another," Renfrow said. "But just a few years back their love was put to the test," she said.

Renfrow was talking about when Loretta had to learn how to say good-bye to the man who not only became her husband, but the man who also was her best friend.

"About two-years-ago my dad was working in the garage and he bent over to pick up a box, when he grabbed his abdomen and said "something isn't right," Cory Register, the Register's youngest child said.

Cory said his mother rushed his father to the Paragould, Ark. hospital when doctors determined Ron must have had a blood clot in his right leg, since the entire limb was white.

"Without any tests or anything, they cut his leg open to try and get to the clot," Cory said. "They didn't find it in that leg so they cut open his other, and needless to say, it wasn't in that leg either," Cory said.

"Finally they determined it must be in his heart, which it was," Cory said. "After that, things just began to happen so fast."

After finding the clot in Ron's heart, he had to undergo immediate heart surgery, which took approximately four hours. As Ron's wife and four adult children paced the floor, they were greeted with some terrible news.

"We were told that Dad wasn't going to make," Cory said. "They said he was brain dead and that nothing could be done."

Cory said the family was given a choice, they could either keep Ron at Paragould or they could have him flown to Memphis on hope and a prayer.

"Something is better than nothing," Cory said, "so we had him flown to Memphis."

Cory said once at Memphis, his father was taken into surgery for the second time, this one lasting more than 12 hours.

"Again, we were told that they had done everything they could to save him and that the only thing keeping him alive was the life support," Cory said.

After much heart-felt discussion, the Register family decided to take Ron off the machines. "He had been on life support for about five days when we decided to not put him through that," Cory said. "The neurologists had assured us that there was no brain activity, so we were left with wondering what he would want us to do."

The Register's decided to go ahead and contact the funeral home back home and begin making arrangements. "We were headed out of the hospital when a nurse called for my older brother to come back and sign some papers," Cory said, "when out of nowhere, this doctor came up and asked what we were doing and when we told him, he asked us not to. "He said we should give it a little longer and at that moment we decided to wait on pulling the plug."

That last minute change of mind would be the most important life changing decision the Register family would ever make.

Within days of deciding not to go ahead with taking Ron off the life support machines, he began to move a little.

"Although we were all hopeful, we didn't know what to expect," Cory said. "But after about five days, Dad opened his eyes."

From that moment on things were appearing to look up for the Register family.

According to Renfrow, Loretta was by her husband's side through all he encountered from that day forward. Although Ron is blind as a result of the aneurysm, he has beaten the odds.

"She has really been by his side," Renfrow said. "But that is right where she wants to be."

Although life hasn't been a walk in the park for Ron Register, he has accomplished a lot, even learning to walk again.

But in his spare time, Ron decided to take a minute to express his gratitude to his wife for her love, her beauty, and for all the special things she has shown him. He did so by writing her a poem last Valentine's Day. He wrote:

Fragrances: Some time ago I went among the many bouquets of this garden and picked a very special flower, which over the years has seeded and brought forth a new bouquet with different , but pleasant little flowers, which are similar, yet distinctly different.

The sparkle, beauty and fresh-tone of the leaves, stems and pedals were radiant, yet my choice of this flower was not dependent solely on these features. These were the physical attractions that stimulated my awareness of the flower. I was most impressed by the fragrance of the flower, for I knew that with time the appearance, freshness and crispness would alter, yet I'd still have a beautiful potpourri.

This flower which I deeply love also pleases others by her presence. Thus I say, Lucky is that man which stumbles long enough in life to find a flower with a delightful and lasting fragrance. That man has been blessed and touched by the creator, for no greater gift does he offer in his love.