April 2004

Ramblings John’s

The last month and a half has been the toughest six weeks of my life. But in some ways they have been the most rewarding because I have felt the love of so many people. No matter if you are sick or well, God is always with you and I had the best doctor in the hospital, Dr. Jesus. He is not going to submit a bill for His services.

Physical therapy is tough, especially when your therapist is a 5 foot 2 inch pregnant woman with an attitude to not let me fail.

I am considering my stroke to be either a wake-up call or a spiritual attack. I have not figured which it is yet.

If you meet me in the next month or so, I may sound funny when I speak. But that will soon end.

Prayers of children are effective because they are so innocent. They just know God is listening. The children of First Presbyterian Church of Laredo started praying for me when the pastor there told them about my stroke using a teddy bear as a proxy for me.

Thoughts from Diane

I am not even sure where to start. My world has been turned upside down and inside out. I have had to say goodbye to my old life and begin a new one. Some days are much harder than others and yes, I do have melt-downs.

For those of you that haven’t heard, John had a stroke on February 4th and has been in a hospital here in the Pittsburgh area for six weeks. He was discharged on March 10th and we will be staying with friends until he is fully recovered. John also will need to undergo surgery in the next few weeks to correct problems with his urinary tract.

As a dear sister in Laredo said to me the other day, I have become the Body of Christ to my John. I am now in the position of serving him regardless of his need. I do all these things in Jesus’ name because this is now my ministry. There are no feelings of resentment of John or pity for myself. There are feelings of inadequateness in my caregiving skills. I admit to being quite frightened the first day we were out of the hospital. It had been a comfort for me to know that he was being cared for by professionals.

My faith has sustained me through this entire experience and I know it will only become stronger in the months ahead of us. The battle is not over. John has months of rehabilitation to face and adjustments in the way he goes about his everyday life. I look into his face with the semi-droopy smile on his lips when he is standing unassisted for the first time and thank God for finding favor with John. I watch as he struggles to do his exercises and my heart bursts with love for him and his spirit. He is also a wonderful witness for the Lord as he continues to press forward with a strength that only comes from our God.

There are blessings amidst the crisis, though. I met a wonderful sister in the Lord who works in the therapy department at the hospital. She even attended the prayer service we had for John the night before he was discharged. What a blessing to have her working and spreading the word every day at the hospital. Another blessing was the “gift” of a car from Melissa Schwer and from Betsy Sevin. They saw my need and made the offer. Caroline Stuncard has offered to teach me to cook for John now that he is on a special diet. Sure is better than a cookbook!

God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Amen

Miracles

Never let it be said that God doesn’t work miracles today. He has worked more than a few in the past few weeks of my life.

A few of them are:

• I am still above ground and I have no right to be. I was told in the emergency room that my kidneys had totally shut down. Within 36 hours they started working again.
• When I went into the hospital, I couldn’t swallow anything. Then I accidentally pulled out the feeding tube 10 days later and my doctor said I didn’t need it replaced. I have been on solid food since.
• When I went to physical therapy I needed two people to hold me up to take a couple of steps. Now I am walking everywhere with a cane.
• I had not stood up since February 4th, but around the first of March, my therapist told me to stand and I stood on my own.
• The muscles in my arm were contracting to the point I could not open my hand. The therapist built me a special brace and now my hand is almost back to normal.
• My vision is returning to normal.
• Our friends in Laredo were worried we would never return. Now it looks as though the ministry can look forward to us being there sometime in June.

(As dictated to Diane, as part of my speech therapy.)

Stroke

The long mid-winder’s nightmare is almost over. On February 4, I suffered a stroke while visiting Pittsburgh. On March 10, thanks to wonderful care at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, I was released from the hospital.

Thanks to God, I was released with all my faculties in tact, almost. I am walking with a cane and I thank God I am walking. I thank you for your prayers, cards and words of encouragement for Diane and me. They were much needed.

I still have recovery to go but I believe I will be restored to full health.

I still have a surgical procedure to overcome before we return to Laredo.

I have many people to thank. I want to say thank you to Carol Dodds for initially offering her home to us and then to Diane until I came home from the hospital. Thanks to Ann and Randy Collins for allowing us to stay with them while I recuperate. Thanks to Pastor Paul for taking me to the hospital. Thanks to Pastors Paul and Stan for staying with me in the emergency room. To Joe and Margie Veltri and Julia Hutchison for also staying at the hospital with Diane and me at the hospital. To Pastor Dale, Cowboy Jim and my church family in Laredo. And thanks to my PHCPC family for just being there for us.