UPDATE on dad:
First of all, we wanted to thank you for all the support we were shown through phone calls, emails, visits, food, prayers, etc. God, in his provision, prepares the way for all situations-good or bad. We have experienced such great love from our friends and family in the good times but during the lowest points, we were shown a love like no other. Thank you so much for being God's comfort to us!
What happened:
On Thursday night, I had fallen asleep while putting Ava to bed.Mike Lee, was downstairs working on his sermon when he heard my dad calling for me. He went upstairs and found my dad on the floor of his bedroom. My dad had lost all ability to use both his legs and his left arm and had fallen on his way to the bathroom. At this point, Mike woke me up and told me that there was something terribly wrong. Even though my dad had lost use of his limbs, he wanted to take tylenol and sleep it off thinking he was just tired. Thankfully, a good friend of ours advised us to call 911. Dad was taken to Northwest Community hospital where a CAT scan showed that he had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, otherwise known as a bleeding stroke. A blood vessel had ruptured in his brain. His blood pressure was also very high which was dangerous because it could cause another rupture or force more blood into the brain. When the doctors assessed him that night, he was paralyzed on his left side and we were told that only time could tell what the damage was.
The great news is, by this morning, my dad is moving his left arm and leg and is regaining sensation in his limbs! My prayer throughout this whole time was that God would make a way, if it was his will, for my dad to recover in such a way that the doctors would be amazed! Sure enough, his neurosurgeon and neurologist couldn't believe the progress he had made in the few short days since the stroke. Praise God! We are hopeful that he will make a full recovery, all glory to God!
We're still in shock at the fact that
1) he had a stroke and
2) he is recovering so quickly.
It's almost unreal that all of this is happening. We've been running on little sleep and pure adrenaline, but we're thankful for the experiences we've gone through as a family.
What if:
Of course, as we look back a the entire situation, we see how God's hand was on us the whole time. Here's how in just 3 ways:
1) Mike wanted to go to sleep at 10:00 but he had taken a nap earlier that day and decided to work a bit longer.
If Mike had fallen asleep early, no one would have heard my dad calling. My dad would probably have woken up Gwen and because we are in the midst of sleep training her, she would have masked his voice even more. Because his blood pressure was so high, the rupture would probably have bled more which would have been fatal.
2) When my dad told us that he would rather sleep off the pain than to go to the hospital, we called an ambulance instead.
If we listened to my dad and let him "sleep it off," his high blood pressure would have caused more bleeding which would have led to death or severe damage to his brain.
3) When my dad asked me for tylenol, I went to the pantry and grabbed the first pain med I found which happened to be Ibuprofen and not Aspirin which is what we usually have.
If I had grabbed the Aspirin instead of the Ibuprofen, it would have caused him to bleed more because it is a blood thinning medication. Again, this would have been devastating.
Although we don't live life thinking of what could be, I'm reminded that God is in control of our lives and each breath we breathe is not without his knowledge and providence.
*My dad will be transferring to Alexian Brothers Rehabilitation hospital to begin therapy in a few days. If you could please pray that he would continue to make great progress during the next weeks as the window of opportunity for optimal recovery happens within the first 3 months of a stroke. Thank you again for your support in the form of prayers and acts of service and love. We are blessed. Truly.
Although we were all running around like crazies the past few days, the ones that were affected the most were probably the kids. A and G were carted around, left with babysitters, told to "shush" at the hospital, etc., etc. G was inconsolable when she wasn't with me and A was grieving in her own way. She was distracted by unexpected visitors like her uncles (Dave and Nehemiah) but she must have felt the tension in the air because when it was time to drop her off at school today, she was a crying mess. She normally sings the whole way to school out of excitement but today she sobbed. I could hardly detach her from my body when it was time for her to go inside. Just like how an animal can usually sniff out danger, it seemed like A was on high alert. Finally, her teacher was able to distract her enough for me to slip out. When I looked back, I saw that she was still crying...
I'm a tiger mom in many ways, but one thing that breaks me is when I see A crying. I have a hard time walking away from her when she's sad. I know. I know. I have to learn to let her figure things out on her own but I'm not sure why her (sad) tears causes my, other-wise, tough mommy exterior to crumble.
Perhaps it's because I think she's cried enough for a life time from all of the medical hurdles she's had to jump in her short life.
Perhaps it's because she is so undemanding, agreeable, and positive that when I see (sad) tears, it must be bad. (Notice I keep saying "sad" tears. The other kinds of tears she produces are usually ignored or simply shown the "no sympathy" face).
Anyway, I walked back to my car feeling uneasy.
Fast forward 1.5 hours later and we were on our way to pick A up from school. (Her school day is very short and it is very inconvenient because that amount of time allows absolutely no room to do anything. Sometimes I'll just sit in my car and wait. Very, very inconvenient.)
M and I both got out of the car and met A as she ran up to hug us. She was in a great mood! We buckled her in and asked her how her day was. The conversation went like this:
M: Did you cry the whole time?
A: No, just in the beginning.
M: How did you stop crying? Did the Lord help you?
A: Yes.
M: How did he help you?
A: He changed my story.
"He changed my story." What an absolute profound truth uttered from the lips of my child. Her faith allows her to see God with an unadulterated lens. He is a game changer. "God can do anything," she often reminds us. And here, again, was proof that she was relying on Him in ways that are still hard for me to do after 20 or so years of faith.
Indeed, He has changed our story. Not just in the miraculous way my dad survived his stroke with minimal impairment, but the way God changes the life story of every believer.
We are no longer lost, but are found.
We are no longer dead, but alive.
We are no longer sinners, but saints.
We are no longer sad, but we rejoice.
We are no longer hopeless, but filled with hope.
We are no longer orphans, but adopted and loved.
Our story is no longer tragic, but it is a testimony of faith, hope, and love.
Thank you for reminding me of this truth today, A. Your sensitive spirit and wisdom speak to my heart in powerful ways. I continue to treasure these moments I have with you.
Now if only you would give me some room to digest before you slam me with another biblical truth. I'm just not as spiritually mature as you are so relax, girl. Can you just go make some mud pies or something while I catch my breath?
No comments:
Post a Comment