My Stroke

More than amazing. More than marvelous. That is how good His grace has been to me. I am a Pastor and a man of faith. So, that will come out some. On Friday night at eight PM we had just finished a late supper and I was standing in my gutted downstairs bathroom admiring my son’s craftsmanship as he explained what he was doing. My vision suddenly went blurry and I had an instant painful headache which subsided to a dull roar. I walked the twenty feet back to the kitchen table with a little bit of a stumble that my wife picked up on right away. As I looked at the computer screen it become quickly obvious that I couldn’t see clearly and could not fully comprehend what I saw. In frustration, I attempted to read aloud and found myself unable to speak the same words as what was on the screen nor did I understand what the words meant. I complained to my wife and she was only partially able to understand what I said or what I meant.
She went upstairs and asked my daughter to come down as she said “I think your dad may be having a stroke”. My daughter did a quick FAST assessment and declared we were loading up and heading for the hospital. I didn’t know it at the time but I was to be told several times over the next couple of days that their quick response “Probably saved your life”. Jamie NASCAR-ed me through the twenty-minute drive to the Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster in under 15 minutes. I walked in with some help and as I attempted to explain why I was there the technician picked up the phone and announce a stroke victim was being wheeled back. They dropped me in a wheelchair, threw me on a gurney, assessed me for two minutes and rushed me back for the first of several CT scans.
They explained a grim prognosis with relief that I had gotten there so quickly. As they worked me over with the blood tests and all that usual emergency room efficiency, they were connecting via robot /CCTV to the regional Stroke center at OSU (THE Ohio State University) which happens to be the premier center in the country. The neurologist detailed what they believed happened and explained the dangers and benefits of the TPA treatment. The team of about ten doctors and nurses were poised to begin as I weighed my options. As soon as I agreed and signed the consent for treatment and the consent for the helicopter ride to OSU, they popped the “Bullet” into my IV and set it in motion. The Bullet is a massive dose of TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator) over 5 minutes followed by an hour of TPA drip.
Within twenty minutes I was in the air to OSU. I arrived to another team of a dozen probing, questioning, skilled folks who attending to the CT scans, MRIs, tests, echocardiogram, etc., etc. The first critical 24 hours passed with no negative effects and my condition almost returned to normal. During all that time, hundreds and then later thousands of people were praying for the best outcome. Over fifty doctors, nurses, and licensed technicians were involved in my care. By Sunday morning the Head neurologist was standing at the foot of my hospital bed grinning from ‘ear to ear’, knowing he had used his knowledge and skill and experience to make a difference in one man’s life, mine.
I thank you for your prayers and well wishes. I thank each one who touched my family this weekend. And I thank The Lord Jesus for not only allowing me to go through this potentially devastating event, but also for hearing and answering the prayers for my complete restoration; which He graciously permitted.