This is my testimony. Medical pictures below, please do not look if you're squeamish.
As Christians living in this broken world, we need to spread the warning that Christ Jesus left for us so long ago. Many people will scoff at this message but it must be shared nonetheless.
I have a testimony that must be shared. I've always believed in the Lord but not as fervently as I should have. There were a multitude of serious family problems. Events occurred in my family that were terrible and inexcusable. These events ate away at my love for family, for life and for myself. I fell away from God. I wrestled with His existence because I could not see how there could be any god in the midst of the chaos.
Lost and unsure what to do, I enlisted in the Navy at just 20 years old. The time in the military was good for me, but it came at a heavy price. I had a crushing injury to my leg that kept me from being returned to active duty.
The years passed by swiftly as they often do. Realizing I was another ten years older and still lacking direction, I enrolled in college. To find a church to fit into seemed near to impossible. I was empty, lonely and still had the feeling that something was missing in my life. After graduating with my Bachelor degree, I kept working because nothing was fitting. Several years later, I made the plunge and returned for my Masters degree.
My injury continued to get worse until the Veterans Association had no choice but to acknowledge it. After many years of arguing with the VA hospital physicians, they recognized something was wrong. They found Avascular Necrosis in my leg. In a simple explanation, a bone was dying, and I needed another surgery.
I underwent the procedure the day after graduation. The surgeon attempted a bone fusion with an external fixator. Even though it was a tremendous surgery, my VA doctor insisted it be an out patient procedure. They began my discharge as soon as I woke up from the anesthesia. The pain from the surgery was tremendous. My family questioned why they were sending me home but all that the nurse said was “You don’t want her to stay here”.
Most of the next two weeks I spent hallucinating from the medication. The VA doctor insisted that nothing being experienced was out of the ordinary. Two weeks later, while I was transferring from my couch to my wheelchair, everything spun.
All I had time to say was “Mom, something is wrong.” I woke up with my mother beating on my chest. All we could do was pray and wait for the ambulance.
When I arrived in the ER, the doctors sent me in for a CT to see what was rattling in my chest. As soon as the test was completed, the sensation of spinning began. A petite CT tech threw her arms around me and held on for dear life.
The ER nurse instructed me not to move, to stay calm and still. She explained there was a significant blood clot lodged in my chest. Before I understood what was happening, a tall thoracic surgeon stood at the foot of my bed. He explained how he would slice open my chest, crack my ribs and remove the clot before it moved into my lungs.
There wasn’t much time to act. The surgeon called in his team. Along with the surgery nurse, the anesthesiologist had to prep me while running down the hall at 2:30 in the morning. Frightened with just a moment to say good-bye, all I could think of was what would happen to my mom if I died and wonder if God would forgive me?
I woke up on a respirator unsure if I would recover. Doctors explained that I had less than a 1% chance of survival. “No one survives something like this” was the consensus. I spent the next ten days in cardiac Intensive Care. Each day, doctors came close to shake my hand. Over and over they would ask if I understood what happened.
The surgeon showed me a picture of the blood clot. It was an unbelievable 17 inches long and in thick one continuous strand. It traveled through my heart and became lodged in the ascending aorta, which put me in cardiac arrest.
As time went on, I didn’t get better. Fluid collected around my heart, my heartbeat was irregular, my body wasn’t healing and I had to have another bone fusion surgery. The final insult was I developed multiple lifelong debilitating illnesses.
Depression became a serious issue for me over the following months until I, finally, gave in and reached out to God. I prayed every day for guidance and gained a renewed strength. Christ heard my cries and thankfully, He answered.
I have always felt I was going the wrong direction, and I knew that I was not as close to God as I should be. While He did not cause this, He did use it to get my attention.
From out of the blue, this story came to me. I felt compelled to write this book, to write about the glory of God. The story is harsh at times, but these are harsh times we live in. There will come a time in every human being’s life that we will have to decide. Will we will accept the truth about the one and only God or will we accept the consequences of our unwillingness to believe.
My testimony shows the grace of the Lord and how He loves us even when we stray. It was not luck or good timing. If I had gone to bed earlier that night, if I had not gone to the hospital, or the blood clot had broken loose again, I would not be here. I had an awesome surgeon but even he had to admit, there’s no medical explanation as to why I’m alive today.
God is amazing and so is His Son. Christ blessed me that night with a second chance at life, and it’s my job to honor Him. Thank you for reading my story.
May the Lord bless you always.
As Christians living in this broken world, we need to spread the warning that Christ Jesus left for us so long ago. Many people will scoff at this message but it must be shared nonetheless.
I have a testimony that must be shared. I've always believed in the Lord but not as fervently as I should have. There were a multitude of serious family problems. Events occurred in my family that were terrible and inexcusable. These events ate away at my love for family, for life and for myself. I fell away from God. I wrestled with His existence because I could not see how there could be any god in the midst of the chaos.
Lost and unsure what to do, I enlisted in the Navy at just 20 years old. The time in the military was good for me, but it came at a heavy price. I had a crushing injury to my leg that kept me from being returned to active duty.
The years passed by swiftly as they often do. Realizing I was another ten years older and still lacking direction, I enrolled in college. To find a church to fit into seemed near to impossible. I was empty, lonely and still had the feeling that something was missing in my life. After graduating with my Bachelor degree, I kept working because nothing was fitting. Several years later, I made the plunge and returned for my Masters degree.
My injury continued to get worse until the Veterans Association had no choice but to acknowledge it. After many years of arguing with the VA hospital physicians, they recognized something was wrong. They found Avascular Necrosis in my leg. In a simple explanation, a bone was dying, and I needed another surgery.
I underwent the procedure the day after graduation. The surgeon attempted a bone fusion with an external fixator. Even though it was a tremendous surgery, my VA doctor insisted it be an out patient procedure. They began my discharge as soon as I woke up from the anesthesia. The pain from the surgery was tremendous. My family questioned why they were sending me home but all that the nurse said was “You don’t want her to stay here”.
Most of the next two weeks I spent hallucinating from the medication. The VA doctor insisted that nothing being experienced was out of the ordinary. Two weeks later, while I was transferring from my couch to my wheelchair, everything spun.
All I had time to say was “Mom, something is wrong.” I woke up with my mother beating on my chest. All we could do was pray and wait for the ambulance.
When I arrived in the ER, the doctors sent me in for a CT to see what was rattling in my chest. As soon as the test was completed, the sensation of spinning began. A petite CT tech threw her arms around me and held on for dear life.
The ER nurse instructed me not to move, to stay calm and still. She explained there was a significant blood clot lodged in my chest. Before I understood what was happening, a tall thoracic surgeon stood at the foot of my bed. He explained how he would slice open my chest, crack my ribs and remove the clot before it moved into my lungs.
There wasn’t much time to act. The surgeon called in his team. Along with the surgery nurse, the anesthesiologist had to prep me while running down the hall at 2:30 in the morning. Frightened with just a moment to say good-bye, all I could think of was what would happen to my mom if I died and wonder if God would forgive me?
I woke up on a respirator unsure if I would recover. Doctors explained that I had less than a 1% chance of survival. “No one survives something like this” was the consensus. I spent the next ten days in cardiac Intensive Care. Each day, doctors came close to shake my hand. Over and over they would ask if I understood what happened.
The surgeon showed me a picture of the blood clot. It was an unbelievable 17 inches long and in thick one continuous strand. It traveled through my heart and became lodged in the ascending aorta, which put me in cardiac arrest.
As time went on, I didn’t get better. Fluid collected around my heart, my heartbeat was irregular, my body wasn’t healing and I had to have another bone fusion surgery. The final insult was I developed multiple lifelong debilitating illnesses.
Depression became a serious issue for me over the following months until I, finally, gave in and reached out to God. I prayed every day for guidance and gained a renewed strength. Christ heard my cries and thankfully, He answered.
I have always felt I was going the wrong direction, and I knew that I was not as close to God as I should be. While He did not cause this, He did use it to get my attention.
From out of the blue, this story came to me. I felt compelled to write this book, to write about the glory of God. The story is harsh at times, but these are harsh times we live in. There will come a time in every human being’s life that we will have to decide. Will we will accept the truth about the one and only God or will we accept the consequences of our unwillingness to believe.
My testimony shows the grace of the Lord and how He loves us even when we stray. It was not luck or good timing. If I had gone to bed earlier that night, if I had not gone to the hospital, or the blood clot had broken loose again, I would not be here. I had an awesome surgeon but even he had to admit, there’s no medical explanation as to why I’m alive today.
God is amazing and so is His Son. Christ blessed me that night with a second chance at life, and it’s my job to honor Him. Thank you for reading my story.
May the Lord bless you always.
External fixator
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17 inch blood clot
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