My Walking Miracle

Sep 25, 2022 | by The Fellowship

On Friday, September 2nd, my husband got dressed and headed to our half bath where we were installing a new vent fan as part of some remodeling to get our home ready to put on the market. After a bit, I noticed the vent fan had been on for quite some time -- so I called out to my husband. I got no response and thought I heard some moaning.

When I got to the half bath, I found him on the floor.  His eyes were open, so the first thing I asked was if he had hit his head.  He tried to say no but could not speak clearly and he pointed to his shoulder. I noticed that his eyes were glazed over and after further observation, that his left arm and leg were limp. I immediately called 911 and told the operator I believed my husband had suffered a stroke.

We live in Pattison in sort of a rural area, but the EMS got there incredibly fast. After assessing him, they quickly got him into the ambulance.  The supervisor told me they would take him to Memorial Hermann Hospital at Memorial City because it was a Comprehensive Stroke Center.  At that moment, I had no idea how extremely important that would be!

I knew my husband was in good hands, so I stayed back for a few minutes to pack a bag for staying at the hospital and to make arrangements for our dogs.  The EMS supervisor had advised me to find a ride to the hospital. By chance, my youngest daughter called on her way to work.  When I answered in tears and explained the situation, she informed her employer and came to take me to the hospital. I started calling and texting family, friends, and our LIFE Group to begin praying for a miracle.

On our way to the hospital, a neurosurgeon called and explained they had found the blood clot in my husband’s brain. There was a procedure to remove it, called a thrombectomy, and my husband was a great candidate for it – but they needed to begin right way. I gave my permission, and the surgeon told me the floor my husband would be on.  I once again sent out urgent prayer requests.

After the procedure, when the neurosurgeon came out to talk to us, he explained exactly what had been done and even showed us scans of my husband’s brain.  It was absolutely amazing to see and hear about what they can do when you act Fast!  Once out of recovery, my husband would be moved to ICU.  We waited on that floor until someone came out to update us.  I was so thankful to be surrounded by friends and family as I waited to see him.

When I was allowed to go in, my husband's eyes were still a little glassy and his speech still a little slurred, but he was cognitively aware and seemed to remember everything that had happened at home that morning.  He also could feel his left side, unlike earlier that morning. The neurosurgeon and the neurologist were both pleased with his progress. He had to lay flat for 12 hours, so he would not be able to get up until the next day. 

By Saturday morning, we could definitely see improvement. The left side of his face was less droopy, and his speech was improving.  Physical Therapy came to make an extensive evaluation, and my husband did extraordinarily well.  He even walked up and down six stairs.  Praise be to God!  I think that if it had not been Labor Day weekend, he probably would have been able to go home.  But the doctors still wanted to find out what caused the stroke because my husband had already been taking a blood thinner and baby aspirin. 

He continued to improve and walk his laps around the floor for the next two days and then finally on Tuesday afternoon, the cardiologist did a transesophageal echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the back of the heart.  They were looking for signs of atrial fibrillation and did not find any evidence of afib but they did discover a small hole in the back of his heart which could cause a blood clot to leave the heart.  The doctors inserted a monitor in the top of his heart to detect any atrial fibrillation.  We will see what they find in the months to come.

I have learned so much about strokes and how “time is brain.”  They have only been doing thrombectomies for seven years.  Just a few hospitals are Comprehensive Stroke Centers with neurosurgeons on staff to do the thrombectomies.  The American Stroke Association has supported extensive EMS training for recognizing the signs of a stroke, how to prep patients for arrival at the hospital, and to call ahead so the medical staff is ready.  The EMS also knows which hospitals are stroke centers, and that is why they passed two hospitals to go to Memorial City.

Our God, full of grace and mercy, spared my husband’s life!  Not only that, but my husband has also absolutely zero remnants from the stroke and was back in church the next Sunday.  He is my walking miracle!

J. D

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness
known through all generations.   
Psalm 89:1