AN UPDATE ON MY DAD (4.25.2014)
My dad continues to slowly recover from his stroke. He is able to hear and speak but his response is slower. He's regained a substantial amount of strength and movement in his left side but he's far from 100%. He has been receiving speech, occupational and physical therapy daily, which is contributing to his recovery. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes.
THANKS FOR PRAYING
AN UPDATE ON MY DAD.
As mentioned in service on Sunday, my 85 year-old dad had a major stroke on Saturday afternoon. By God's grace and mercy, he was preserved from death and is recovering. As I reflect back on the eventful Saturday, I see how God's hand was working and orchestrating care for him.
My dad and mom were having lunch in a Chinatown restaurant when he collapsed in the restroom. I received a call from my mom that he had fallen so I drove down to the restaurant. I don't know how much time had elapsed before 911 was called but was told the response by paramedics was quick. He was being loaded into the ambulance when I drove up. Paramedics told me he was having a stroke just before being transported to White Memorial Hospital in East LA.
My siblings arrived soon after he was admitted, and thankfully, my sister, Suzie, was in town. (She had returned on Friday night after a few days away—not in Mammoth…and without Gerry :) She came to the hospital with all of my parents' medical records, which included my dad's medical history and a list of medications he was currently taking. This helped the ER staff tremendously, saving any guess work in treatment. She also had the personal cell phone to my parents' primary physician. It turns out that the on-call doctor at White Memorial knew their primary physician. They spoke to each other directly and action was quickly taken.
The decision was to have immediate surgery to remove the blood clot. The doctor called Keck/University Hospital and, by God's grace, it had an operating room and neurological surgeons available. Before my dad even left White Memorial, the Keck surgical staff was already being assembled and prepped for surgery.
My mom, my siblings and I drove to Keck, consulted with the surgeons and gave consent to the surgery. The surgeons said the success rate was 25-30%, even at his age. Without surgery, he'd have an 80% chance of death. We prayed for my dad and released him into God's care.
The surgery went perfectly and there were no complications. His surgery took about 1 hour. Wow. Two blood clots in the brain removed in about 60-minutes. (Prior to operating, one surgeon said it could take between 30 minutes and 7 hours!) Praise God.
For people who have strokes or traumatic brain injuries, time is of the essence. Treatment should come as soon as possible—the sooner the treatment or surgery, the better the survival rate and post-operative condition. God's timing and orchestration of events were perfect: Suzie was home; she had vital records to help make medical evaluations; medical decisions and responses were quick; Keck was ready to operate without much notice; my dad's surgery was short—and successful. It was about 3 hours and 15 minutes between the time my dad collapsed and the completion of his surgery. God is amazing.
Now comes the most important stuff…my parents would come to believe and receive Jesus Christ, the one who has preserved and saved my dad's life. I see this as another occasion that God has been grabbing my parents' attention, and I'm hoping that they realize he wants them to come to faith and to know him.
My dad is on a road to recovery, but to be frank, I worry the next call I get tells me of some sudden downturns in his condition. I would be at greater peace knowing he's put his faith in God.
