Dad's Recovery

This past week has been quite an emotional roller coaster to put it mildly. My parents came in Sunday afternoon, Dec. 14th to be here for the birth of Samantha. That evening we went to the Christmas party with my church group and everything seemed fine. However, the world changed drastically on Monday morning. On Monday I was awakened by my Mom's cries to call for help, because my father could not be awakened from bed. His eyes were wide open but not moving - just glazed, he would not respond and he was so cold. We thought he was dead! Eventually, my mother was able to wake him, but he was disoriented - not knowing us or where he was. The EMT came and took him to Saint Vincent's hospital for several tests. They eventually diagnosed him with a TIA (mini-stroke). While that was scary enough, that was not the end of our ordeal! The doctor scheduled him appiontments with a neurologist on Wednesday. After seeing him, that doctor admitted him as an inpatient to Saint Vincent's Stroke and Heart center for evaluations. After multiple tests, we were getting not closer to real answers. Then, like a blessing from God, my father had another episode at the hospital while hooked up to his telemetry (see white equipment he is holding) and what the doctors saw was terrifying - my father's heart stopped for 20 seconds! The blessing was that they saw it, and he wasn't just released to go home with no real answers. After reviving him from this pause, they went on to do several procedures - such as placing in some stints in his heart (he had multiple blockages, one being 95% blocked in what they call the Widow Maker artery) and yesterday he got his pacemaker. He just came home today - the same day as Samantha and his first chance to see her. He is sore, but healthy. So, this Christmas we might be drained emotionally, but we have seen in so many ways the miracles of God. Because of him my father is alive and my daughter is here.
I must say thanks to all the prayers that people said for us - church groups, family and friends around the US prayed for a miracle. Let noone ever say that there is no power in prayer. We are proof there is!