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Three strikes, you're out? When tragedy strikes three times, can you still play the game of life like Sandra-Kay Austin? Not only is she still in the game, she's smiling her way to home plate.

The game began in earnest when Sandy and her husband of two years stepped onto the field in the tiny town of Clearwater, British Columbia. Equipped with love and dreams, they were confident that year in 1970 that they could win the game. Little did they know that Circumstance could be such a vicious opponent. He hurled a curve ball at them immediately that brought them to their knees. Living well below the poverty level, they struggled to stay in the game. They ate oatmeal and pancakes and lived in a small cabin with a new baby until Allan's hard work turned the game their way again. Playing with renewed enthusiasm, they had another baby, built a three-story house together, and served the local community via church and Search and Rescue. By 1982 they were totally enjoying the game: hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and exploring the wilderness around them on cross-country skis and snowshoes. Then Circumstance hit Sandy with a hard fastball! It knocked her to the ground and she couldn't get up. She was pain-wracked, weak and exhausted, and her stiff muscles no longer worked. Experts were called in to try to get her back in the game. Baffled by her symptoms, they medicated her and waited. Finally, she was carried off the field and taken to a hospital in another community. The diagnosis of severe fibromyalgia complicated by other arthritis and environmental factors wasn't good, the prognosis of an invalid's life in a wheelchair even worse. With God's help, she fought back! Battered and bruised, she walked onto the field again. The game was tied. Then, in 1986 Circumstance heaved the ball low and fast. The sawmill where Allan worked went on strike and stayed out. With no other employment in town, they had no choice but to sell their house for a pittance and move away. They prayed and stepped up to the plate again in Richmond: with no money, two young teen-agers, and Sandy's health better but still precarious. Circumstance taunted them, crying out that they should concede the game and curl up in an easy chair. Instead, they established a Federal Charity, a ministry for people in need and crisis who were falling through the cracks. For over eight years they opened their hearts and their home to hurting people. Street people, unwed mothers, rebellious teens, the abused, and recovering addicts and alcoholics became their extended family. Not only were they still in the game, they were helping others return to the field. In 1995, when their grown children left home, they took up quieter positions in the outfield by moving to Vancouver Island. Fourteen years later, God has smiled on them and Sandy is playing her position in the game of life with more passion than ever. They have purchased a small house in a quiet haven on the east coast of the Island and Sandy has cast aside her walking aids. Once again she is enjoying the natural beauty and wild creatures around her that have so often found their way into her poetry, short stories, and books. Currently, she is completing, "The Red-haired Girl's Secret", the sequel to her well-received published book for ten to fourteen year olds, "The Old Man's Secret." Three strikes, you're out? Sandra-Kay Austin says, "No way!

Three strikes, you're out? When tragedy strikes three times, can you still play the game of life like Sandra-Kay Austin? Not only is she still in the game, she's smiling her way to home plate. The game began in earnest when Sandy and her husband of two years stepped onto the field in the tiny town of Clearwater, British Columbia. Equipped with love and dreams, they were confident tha... More