On Friday, September 21, I had a heart attack accompanied by cardiac arrest (heart stoppage) at home. Chance of survival of that event is less than 10%. Katie was at home and found me collapsed a few seconds after I fell. Her subsequent panic was one of many things the Lord Jesus providentially used to save my life. She was unable to put in her phone code to call 911, so she ran outside screaming ‘help me Jesus!’ And stopped a car in the road and asked them to phone 911. Our neighbor, John, heard her yells and was in the house doing chest compressions within 20-30 seconds after Katie’s yells, maybe 1-2 minutes after collapse? This saved my life. Another neighbor, Holly, was just then leaving town and was literally driving away when she heard and saw the commotion. She knew that another neighbor across the street, Ben, was an EMT (I still haven’t met Ben, this earthly savior of mine.) John and Ben saved my life and their chest compressions kept me from brain damage. There is a fire department three blocks from our house. They arrived within a few minutes. Our EMTs are a highly trained group and pride themselves at saving people at a much higher rate than the national average. They arrived and took over from John and Ben. (I am not totally clear on all the details). John and Ben had gotten a pulse back but when the EMTs loaded me in the ambulance, my heart arrested again. They had to shock it back to beating, but it arrested two more times on the way to the hospital, which is only 7 minutes away and is one of the top cardiac hospitals in Virginia. So my heart stopped four separate times. Survival chances at this point almost nil. To God be the glory.
At the hospital, they put me in a medically induced coma by inserting a rod in my leg that cooled my blood to a hypothermic state. This was for 48 hours. The purpose of this is to protect the brain from more extensive damage. During this time, no one knew if I would wake up or be seriously brain damaged if I did. I really can’t afford to give up any extra brain cells you know!
When they started to warm me on Sunday, I finally woke up. Death on Friday, resurrected on Sunday. What an honor to follow in the steps of Jesus.
I awoke and started telling stories and joking with the family. I don’t remember this but they took some video and it is pretty hilarious. I told about the time in high school in Twin Falls, Idaho, driving my mom’s brown Bomber down the road that goes from Shoshone Falls to Twin Falls. Is that Falls Ave? I got that old beater going 119 mph on that road. I think I was with Sean Hackett and Doug Clark. Do you guys remember that? We flew over some of the rises in the road and sparks flew as we bottomed out. I lived to tell that story, too!
The family was rejoicing until my nose started bleeding. You know you can bleed out from a nose bleed? I almost did. I lost about 1/2 my blood, 6 units, and this became the new threat. They took emergency measures to plug the flow hoping it would eventually clot and gave me a transfusion to replace the blood loss.
On Wednesday, still in Cardiac ICU, they removed the Foley from my nose that stopped the blood flow and it finally had stopped bleeding. I’ve had a couple small nose bleeds, just a few drops since then. One prayer request would be for no new nose bleeds.
On Thursday, they moved me out of ICU and sent me home Friday, almost exactly at the same time I had collapsed the previous Friday.
All of my children and their spouses were here and it was a special time. God has been very kind to Katie and me in the offspring department.
I believe that God works all things together for good for those that love Him and are the called according to His purposes. This means my life or my death. I am thankful to be alive but was prepared to meet Jesus. Why? Because I am a good man? No, I am not, not in my own name, or in my flesh. I did not deserve to live nor do I deserve God’s favor. It is all grace. Because Jesus died on the cross for sinners, I can lay claim to His work by faith in Him with whom we have to do. Only on this basis can I come boldly into the throne room of God. When I come to the Father, in the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Father receives me as He would His own dear Son. That is what we mean when we pray, In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Furthermore, I believe that the Lord Jesus is the all powerful ruler of all things. We do not yet see all things in subjection to Him, but we do see Jesus, by faith, who is ascended to the right hand of the Father ruling over heaven and earth. One day, we will see all earthly institutions in subjection to Him because He is the Lord of the nations. (Psalm 2).
Do you have faith in Jesus? If you died today, would you be ready to confess your own unworthiness to meet Him, having confessed and repented of your sins and turned to the finished work of Jesus on the cross? Is your basis for making it to heaven, your goodness or His? You need to know the right answer to that question.
Please feel free to email me or call if you want to talk about faith in Jesus.
Thank you all for your concern and prayers. The Lord is gracious and kind, long-suffering, and quick to forgive sins. Put your trust fully in Him.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon You and give you peace. Amen.
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