Triple Trauma

Mar 5, 2023 | by The Fellowship

Only a gracious God can orchestrate a story like mine. Before I was even conceived, God already knew my story and what I would need.  The story begins in 2006 when out of nowhere, I started having debilitating headaches.  My doctor ordered an MRI of my head which showed something, but it was very small.  He sent me to a neurologist who prescribed a medication, and within days, the headaches ended.  A “wait and see” approach was adopted for the suspicious spot in my brain.

For the next six years, I had periodic MRI’s to check for changes.  Nothing developed and there were no more headaches. That suspicious spot fell off my radar, so I did not mention it to my new bride.  The periodic MRI’s had stopped, and I never thought about it again.

Fast forward to 2022.  God knew that my brain needed a new examination.  So, He said, “Sorry, but you need an MRI and having a stroke will make that happen.”  To me it was just another Friday morning.  Going through my waking up routine, I headed to the bathroom.  My bride was already there, so I went to the half bath in the hall.  At that point, I felt completely normal -- until I stepped back from the toilet, fell against the wall, and slid to the floor. I could not get up! 

When my wife realized I had been in the bathroom way too long, she came to check.  I thought I was answering her questions, but apparently my words were garbled.  I remember her looking me right in the face and saying, “You are having a stroke!”  My thought was: I feel nothing, just help me get up.  “I am calling 911,” she said.  The next sounds I made conveyed my displeasure, but she - being the smarter sex - made the emergency call.

I do not remember much after that except a small part of the ambulance ride.  I unsuccessfully tried to tell the doctor my wife’s phone number so he could get permission to remove the clot in my brain.  After the surgery, upon waking up in my hospital room and seeing my wife standing there, somehow I knew everything was OK.  I could speak and move, recognize where I was and why .

That evening I got an MRI of my brain -- just as God arranged.  The next day, I was walking around, even climbing stairs.  Amazing!  Only God could make that happen in answer to a multitude of prayers from all over the country.  In a few days, I was back home.

The assigned Cardiologist wanted to figure out what caused the stroke.  A-Fib was quickly ruled out, so he started looking for a hole between the chambers of my heart.  The first tests revealed nothing, but one more pinpointed the hole. Though I have had heart issues for many years and numerous Echo tests, no one had ever seen a hole.  A procedure to close the hole was scheduled for two months later. God was getting all kinds of things fixed in my body!

At a follow-up visit with a neurosurgeon a few weeks after that surgery, the doctor said he saw something in the MRI that was not part of the stroke.  Digging a little deeper into my medical history,  he asked why an MRI had been done in 2006.  I explained about the headaches and how that little something else had never changed.  The doctor told us that little something was now a large something, and it needed to be looked at quickly.  Of course, I got one of those looks from my bride.  Oh yea, I never mentioned that, did I?  Oops!

This doctor called a brain tumor specialist, and the next week, I was in his office.  No one - but God - could have arranged all of this. In January, the tumor was removed.  Again, there were no side effects, and I was up and around the next day.

The prayer support from our church members, the prayer team, staff, and family and friends from throughout the nation was amazing.  Only in heaven will I know the number of prayers lifted for me, but I sure felt every one!  Even though diagnosed with a brain tumor, I mostly had that peace that passes all understanding. Only God!

Next came the stressful part of waiting on pathology reports to see if any further treatment would be necessary.  Just like everything else in this scenario, God fixed it all!  After six weeks of waiting, we heard the glorious news just last week that no more treatment was needed.  I will have periodic MRI’s to keep an eye on things.  Believe me, my wife will keep those checkups on my radar!

Any of these three problems … stroke, hole in the heart, and brain tumor … could have had a much different outcome! But only my God of grace and mercy could have orchestrated this perfect story for me!  I am so thankful … humbled … and blessed!

T. D.

… fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10