A Bump in the Road

It's been quite a while since I blogged.  The New Year came and went.  Then, January 27'th, we hit a bump in the road.  My husband, age 40,  had a stroke.  That day will not be forgotten.  

This is how it went:

I woke up hearing the shower running at 5:30am thinking to myself, "He sure is taking a long shower this morning before work. He must be really tired and trying to wake up or his neck is bothering him again."  (He is usually out the door by this time in the morning.)  Then I heard him dry heaving.  I jumped out of bed, knowing in my mind that something is wrong.  Opening the bathroom door, I see him half hanging out of the shower with his head trying to get over the toilet.  I asked if he was ok, and what was going on.  He said he got dizzy and the room was spinning.  I helped him up and helped him onto the toilet.  He was in a daze.  He wasn't responding right.  "Something is off" I thought to myself.  I helped him up, got him dressed and helped him to the couch.  I asked him a few questions to see if he was ok and he was sluggish.  I told him, "Something isn't right.  I'm taking you to the ER."

He was transferred from our local hospital to a large hospital in Columbus, OH that specializes in strokes.  He had a stroke.  


I will never forget these next words after we found out he had a stroke:  "He has an artery dissection."  What?  

Guilt came over me.  I told my husband that if he didn't quit smoking and didn't start eating better, he was going to have a stroke.  How I wish I could take those thoughts and words back.  I know in my right mind that I wasn't the cause, but guilt is what I felt along with panic.  I didn't let my husband see my panic.  I held it together.  I was strong.  I told him that it was going to be ok and he would be back to normal soon and we would get over this.  God has always taken care of us and watched over us and I believe he is still in control.  

But when I got in the car to come home,..................... I fell apart. Every time I left his side at the hospital, I fell apart.  I KNEW God was in control, but I felt so helpless, worrisome and scared.  I prayed all the way home.  When I walked into the house to my children, I kept it together.  I was strong, positive and level headed. When I felt myself falling to that point of loosing control of emotion, I went to my bedroom and the damn opened.  But soon after, I wiped my tears, took a deep breath and opened my bedroom door back to reality.  My kids, my husband needed me.  They needed me to be strong, level headed, positive, on track, and present.  My boys are older so they didn't need someone to be here to cook for them or keep an eye on them.  They pulled together and kept things at bay.  But I came home every few days to make sure all was well and to re assure them that all will be ok.

My husband came home after a week in Columbus.  There was only one day (a few days after the stroke) that he experienced deficiencies from the stroke.  His left hand wouldn't work like he wanted and he had very slurred speech.  He would say things that were 'off', that he normally wouldn't say.  But PRAISE GOD, he was healed and now back to normal!  

I thank God for all my MIRACLE BELIEVING, PRAYING friends and family!  When the doctors follow up with my husband, they cannot believe that he walked away with no deficiencies, but I can.  I have an awesome and powerful GOD who still heals today. We need to believe, pray and keep faith when we hit these bumps in the road of life.  God is the same today as he was thousands of years ago and will be forever.

I am going to try and get back to blogging soon.  We have 5 new female additions to our family ......... SHEEP!  So much to blog about, so little time.  ;)