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This will be my first post, but here goes

You know what's funny about a stroke...I know, I know, there's nothing funny...but the funny thing is that I heard my wife talking about this peron who had a stroke and I thought to myself, "Hmm, who had a stroke that I don't know about..." Then I looked around and found that I was the only person in a hospital bed and figured she must be talking about me. 

The interesting thing is that I remember everything up to the str0ke, but I don't remember the stroke itself. I can remember things I would rather forget (like this season's primaries and presidential election) but of that 2 weeks I have no recollection. 

I'll have to take my wife's account of that 2 weeks as gospel because I don't remember it. (I do remember talking to a lady from the first church I pastored and she said that she tried to come see me when I was in the hospital. I said that she should have just said that she was there, because I would not have known it!)

Speaking of my wife, I have to give her quite a bit of praise because she was in my hospital rooms from the time I had my stroke until I was released to the Knoxville VA. The only reason she wasn't in my room then was because we live only 6 blocks from the VA center in Knoxville - not to mention the other men I was sharing a room with.  :-)

Anyway, I was talking about my stroke. My wife says that I had a CT scan, but I don't remember getting that from Knoxville Hospital & Clinics.  They initially tested me for spinal meningitis because that was they thought I had. Then she says I was transported to the Des Moines VA, but I don't remember that. You want to know what else is funny, I have phone calls on my cell phone that I know I made because my wife remembers talking to me, but I don't remember making those calls. Anyway,  then my blood pressure came down and they told my wife to go home because the CT scans were clear. Then my blood pressure went really high and they did another CT scan. THAT scan showed something different from the other scans. Dr. Benjamin asked my wife if I had any trauma to  my head recently. My wife answered that I had a massage the day before. Dr. Benjamin said that I would not survive a trip to Iowa City and for that purpose she recommnded that I be transferred to Iowa Methodist to have surgery by Dr. Piper. 

The type of stoke I had is called an Intracerebral Hemhorrage. I had one major stroke in my cerebellum and 2 or 3 minor strokes in my brain stem. I was not supposed to survive the surgery. If I survived, I had a 50/50 chance of waking up. If I woke up, the doctors said that I would never be the same and I should just be in a wheelchair drooling. 

I said that for this purpose, as I sit here, it has been less than 5 weeks post surgery! God has been good to me. I realize that not everyone gets a gift like this from God, but the Drs. are astounded by my recovery. The nurse that gave me my final medicine at the rehab center said, I've never seen a faster recovery!'" 

Every day I live now I live for the One who gave life to me. There is no scientific reason why I am sitting at my computer writing this now; there is only one reason and it is because God has been looking out for me. You may not believe in Him, but all I can tell you is that I was released 3 weeks and 1 day after having surgery on my brain. THAT is a mystery to the Drs. But it is no mystery to me, because I know the One that says there is a balm in Gilead. I know the One Who is the Great Physician. I don't know a doctor, but I know The Doctor.

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