His Hand & The Verdict

Oh friends! Wait till you hear how kind the Lord was during all the events that unfolded with Dw on February 28th. It’s always so good to record the things the Lord has done – that way we can remember His unending faithfulness. This is definitely a story for our Memorial Box! We cannot thank Him enough for how He protected, provided and even surprised us.

Here’s how we saw God’s hand in it all:

Just days earlier I had left in the middle of the night to fly to see one of my dearest friends who was hurting. I had flown back late Monday and got a cab home at about 11pm. It would have been a nightmare if this had happened while I was gone. The Lord’s hand of mercy – for sure!

The next morning (Tuesday) I was working on finishing packing the tubs for Dw to take to Uganda. He was leaving in the wee hours of Wednesday for the airport. We cannot thank the Lord enough that it did not happen on his flights, layovers or in Uganda. The Lord’s hand of protection, without a doubt.

Tuesday afternoon Dw was out running last minute errands before leaving as I finished up the tubs to take. My phone rang at 4:36pm and seeing Dw’s caller ID I was guessing he had a quick question. I was definitely not prepared for what I heard when I answered. Dw and I have been together for 47 years and never in all those 47 years have I ever heard him be hysterical. Not even once or even kinda.

So when I picked up the phone and heard Dw hysterically saying something, I was so stunned and because of how he sounded I couldn’t tell what he was saying. He was so hysterical that my first thought was that he had run someone over! He’s been in two serious pretty car accidents and when he called me after those, he never sounded anything like this.

I questioned, “WHATTTTT??? What happened?” He continued, just as hysterical, “I lost my sight! I couldn’t see and I started to black out! Tingling started in my head. I’m going to try to drive home!”

Amazingly, and by God’s grace, I was uncharacteristically calm in the midst of this unprecedented moment. I responded to that idea loudly and firmly. “YOU ARE NOT DRIVING HOME! YOU COULD KILL SOMEONE ELSE OR YOURSELF! DO NOT MOVE. CALL 911!” (I had him call because I didn’t know where he was.)

About a half-hour earlier Nehemiah and Elijah had left to walk about a mile to get their hair cut. John and Elizabeth were both at work and I was home alone with Ruby, Birdie and Jubilee. I could load them up, but it would not be an easy task nor am I quick, no matter how urgent.

I knew he needed to get 911 there as quick as possible. I called Graham and told him what was happening and he immediately headed toward us.

I then called 911 to make sure Dw had called 911. I was praying, of course, and in the midst of it all I wondered how I would find his car or get his car home. Having several drivers in our home I needed the car here so the kids could drive it. Besides – it might be blocking traffic, I really had no clue.

As it turns out, while the EMTs were assessing him, Dw mentioned that some of them might have been at our home recently. Although he had not been home the day of Ruby’s last seizure, it had just been two weeks earlier and maybe some of them were there. One of the EMTs questioned, “Do you have a large adoptive family?” “Yes that’s us!” This kindhearted EMT had indeed been in our home with Ruby’s last seizure.

So while talking to Dw he volunteered, “I’ll take your car home to your wife for you!” And within about 1/2 hour of that awful call from Dw, this gentle-giant EMT rang my doorbell. I recognized him immediately as he handed me Dw’s car keys. I thanked him profusely. And just like that – God had surprised us – I didn’t even have to concern myself with where the car was or how to get it home!

Our gracious God is into all the details. Always.

Within an hour of Dw reaching the hospital my “Silver Sister” texted me. She is the director of the lab at that hospital. She had seen Dw’s name come up so she ran to the ER to see what was going on. (We pinky swore that we would be Silver Sisters forever and what a blessing that she was working!) Another surprise from the Lord!

Before long I received a text from another friend who is the Director of Patient Care at the very hospital Dw was in. She attends the same small group as we do, is a dear friend and assured me that if there was anything we needed she would be “on it”! Yet another surprise from the Lord! It was amazing to see how quickly the Lord had provided and blessed us in the midst of it all. He is 100% trustworthy – always.

In the hospital there were tests and more tests. And although they couldn’t find the cause….we went to see Stuart when Dw got out. I have mentioned Stuart many times on the blog. I’ve known him since I was young girl and the Lord has used his expertise in neurology many, many, many times to help and bless our family. He and his wife are close friends. In fact he had just had dinner at our home three weeks earlier!

Stuart did many tests at his office before we met with him. Stuart was definitely concerned and threw out some thoughts he had as to what had possibly caused this. One idea he had was that maybe Dw had even had a stroke in his eye. The visual field test showed that he had lost much of his vision in his left eye. Stuart said we had to figure out what had happened. He ordered some more tests and sent him to a retina specialist. By God’s grace Dw was able to get in to the retina specialist two days later.

At the retina specialist’s office, after a few more tests, it was confirmed: Dw has had a stroke in his left eye resulting in partial vision loss.

He has been wearing a halter monitor since leaving the hospital and some are wondering if he has A-Fib and that is what caused the stroke in the eye. We see a cardiologist (who operated on a former President – oh my!) on Friday.

Our homeschool co-op started a meal train when Dw got out of the hospital. Then a few from our church joined in. Although I didn’t feel we needed it, it has been such a blessing to not have to think about dinner. One sweet friend has texted regularly to see what we need and then ran to the store for us. Unbelievable!

We are so grateful for all the meals brought to our home and the ones “sent” from afar. One precious friend, who lives on the opposite side of the country, told me that when she found out she had wondered how fast she could get to us to help. Wow. She has come to my rescue before. Our support system is truly spread from end to end across the country and oh-so-amazing! We cannot thank the Lord enough for all the love shown as friends have been His hands and feet to our family.

Thank you for all the prayers for Dw! He is extremely tired, fatigued and sleeping lots . His eyes are really bugging him because of his vision loss. He’s been told that his other eye will eventually take over.

PS Favorite old pictures – cause they make my heart smile. So much to be thankful for! Oh, and the tip-top pic was taken at Graham and Savannah’s wedding almost 9 years ago. I love that picture – it makes me laugh – 7 grands at the time and now 9 more have been added!

8 thoughts on “His Hand & The Verdict

  1. What a shock to hear this, but SO good to hear the many ways God has/is working in your lives! I will definitely pray for healing and provisions for your family. God is aware of every detail and will continue to watch over each of you and meet your needs. So thankful I’m seeing your posts again!

  2. Yikes! More prayers coming.
    “I’m going to try to drive home…” uhh yeah, who said that, a man or a woman? Three guesses, and #2 and 3 don’t count…

  3. Thankful for all of the Lord’s provisions! WOW Also thankful that your guys have been able to see the doctor and have some answers. Praying for more clarity and effective treatment going forward. Love you guys so very much!

    1. Thank you for praying Chrisann. The Lord has clearly been intricately involved since the first second and we are so grateful. He’s undergoing more tests now and we pray there is more clarity as well. Thank you for praying with us. We love you too! Seems like it was soooo long ago that we had dinner at your beautiful home! If you guys ever get to Phoenix, please let us know! xoxo

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