You might say that Theresa and I were more than ready for vacation this
year. We were planning on going up to Lake Superior in Wisconsin, and had
planned a great ride. It had been a tough year. In the first six months we had
a house fire, a lecherous contractor suing us for non-payment of work he didn't
perform, Andrew was in a career ending motorcycle accident and had to have his
shoulder screwed together, Christopher was still out of work, and my dad died on
Cinco de Mayo. Little did we know of what was ahead-but God did and had
prepared the way.
The short answer about our vacation is I tell people I had a helicopter
ride from Durango to Albuquerque. The long answer is it was on Flight for
Life. Our trip started out by me being stung by a bee-again, but due to meds I
was on for a misdiagnosed pinched nerve, no anaphylactic shock and we rode on.
But by the end of day two in 100 degree heat, and over 800 miles, I was in
horrible pain, so spent the next afternoon in Urgent Care in Durango. The next
morning they called saying my kidneys were below 50%, so off to the ER at Mercy
Hospital in Durango. Where I was life flighted from. I thought I had only been
there 2 hours, it was really two days. They found I had a staph infection
throughout my whole body, and my pericardial sac which surrounds the heart
filled with pus. And...my aorta had an aneurism on its back side. And things
were about to get worse...only God knew and had made all the right
arrangements. I have some insight as to what Joseph and Job may have
felt.
Dal, who we were staying with, is like a father to us, and he drove Theresa
the 250 miles to Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque that night. I had already
landed, and no one gave me hope of surviving, one nurse saying "she had never
seen anyone so sick and still alive." Dr. Peter Walinsky-the best, was assigned
to me, the Chief Surgeon, and wanted to research the case before opening me
up. And found there was only one other recorded case of what I had...he later
explained this was the toughest operation he had ever performed, and the next
thing I knew was waking up 3 1/2 days after surgery. And the great staff at
Pres was trying to keep me alive. You see during the operation, things had
gotten worse, when Peter touched the aorta, it exploded. It was hard as a
rock. Only him not panicking is a panic situation, and the hand of God guiding
him kept me alive-you can bleed to death in less than 30 seconds! And when I
first met him after the surgery, his opening line was "you should be dead!" And
all this time God was reassuring me I wasn't-I knew I was alive-and in His
hands. I firmly believe if possible, that if you could see handprints on my
heart, they would be of hands with nail pierced holes in them-Jesus held my
heart in His hands. It has given me a new perspective of Proverbs 3:5, trust in
the Lord with ALL your heart!
All this time I had the peace that surpasses understanding that Jesus
promises. And can't recall any of the horrible pain Theresa told me I was in.
She was the brave one here, who had to deal with maybe becoming a widow, and
making arrangements for cars, housing, and other needs-almost 1000 miles from
home. But God had everything under control, and had set things in motion even
before we could begin to pray-and the prayers were coming in from around the
world-and from least expected places-such is the love of God. But I had a long
recovery ahead, with no recovery plan since the nurses had no other case to base
me on. What good is rehab if the patient had expired? And without fail, I came
in contact with 15-20 doctors and nurses on a one to one basis, and the words
were the same-no one expected me to live. From the ultrasound tech, to the
surgical nurses-it was a miracle I was alive-I was a miracle! But God knew.
And Peter, who when he found out I had a DNR, told me he tore it up, "after all
the work I put into you, I'm not giving up on you." And he didn't. Nor did
God.
When he saw Theresa after surgery, he threw his hands up, telling her my
aorta was destroyed,my pericardial sac was filled with pus, arteries were
completely blocked, and my heart had been out of my body for 5 1/2 hours. They
could keep me functioning, but couldn't guarantee I would live. Or be without
brain damage! He was confident in his work, but after what my body went
through, they weren't sure my body could handle it. And all the time Jesus
never left me-the peace continued, and so did the miracles. And I continued to
sing "bless the Lord all my soul...sing like never before..." And I did.
Tomorrow-the miracles God performed, a miraculous recovery, how not to lose
40 pounds, and the time spent with God. Right now I am getting ready to drive
myself for the first time in 60 days!
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com