SPIRIT INNERVENTION R

There Is More To Come

WRITER: GAYLE TEERMAN // PHOTOGRAPHER: FRED LOPEZ

Yes, there was more to come. I was very busy in the community and a member of the local SCORE chapter, as part of the Small Business Administration. Though we were all former small business owners or retired executives, we could still be in business. I was also active in other community organizations, which kept me busy — some weeks for more than 40 hours.

So, what is this all really about? It is about the fact that God had more for me to do. It all started last year on June 3rd. My wife, Mary, and I had a great Sunday dinner and a leisurely evening before going to bed at our usual time between 10 and 11 o’clock. However, I later awakened sometime during the night with severe stomach cramps. Not wanting to disturb Mary, I got up to go to the guest bathroom at the other end of the house. After spending much time there with no results, I decided to go back to bed but got only as far as the kitchen. I laid my head on the counter feeling as if I might pass out, which I did. I landed on the tile floor with my head leading the way. How long I lay there, I have no idea because Mary was asleep, and I didn’t hit anything that made noise to wake her.

When I awoke, I knew I was lying in a pool of something. I lay there a while thinking I had vomited. Then, as I came more to my senses, I decided to go back to bed. Again, not wanting to disturb Mary, I dosed off.

Sometime later, I heard Mary getting out of bed. I said to her to be careful in the kitchen because there was something on the floor. Well, she had a real shock when she saw a pool of blood. She quickly came in to check on me first; then it was a call to 911.

My memory is a little foggy about the next few days, but I remember going for X-rays and CAT scans, getting 11 stitches in my head, and finally going to ICU, where I spent the next four days. ICU is not a place I wanted to be with its bright lights 24 hours a day, doctors and nurses on the run, and people coming and going. There was not much rest during those four days and nights. Then a wonderful thing happened: someone came in and said, “We have a room for you.” So we were off to the fourth floor. When we arrived at my room, I thought I was in the Waldorf Astoria compared to ICU.

By now you may be wondering why all this happened. It happened because of my straining in the bathroom, which caused trauma to a nerve that when stressed will cause you to blackout. I later learned I had a bowel blockage after a section of my small intestine decided to take a vacation and not do its job for a while. With some encouragement from the medical staff, it began to work again with no surgery needed. My fall caused internal bleeding in my cranium. With medication, the bleeding stopped. Again, no surgery was needed. So after 10 days in the hospital and receiving some rehab, I was released to go home.

After a few days of resting, I began doing the things I enjoy again and getting back to my usual activities, which included going to Lightning ball games. The rest of June and July were uneventful; however, during the last week of July, Mary and I flew to Michigan to visit relatives and friends. On July 28th, we traveled to eastern Michigan to spend a day with our family there. During dinner that evening, I started not feeling very well. My balance was off, so I went to bed. We had a flight scheduled from Detroit to Orlando the next morning. But by that morning, I still was not doing well, so our two daughters took us to the airport and returned our rental car. They tried to talk me into getting some medical help, but stubborn me, I thought it would be best to get back home. Father knows best.

I survived the flight, but it was a little tricky picking up the car at the parking garage. Nevertheless, I still insisted on driving home, which made Mary a little nervous. On Monday, I called the doctor, who said to go directly to the emergency room. When I arrived, I received a wheelchair and went directly to the admitting desk. At this point, I could not even sign my name. I just scratched something and Mary took over from there.

Back in the ER, they started with all the testing and getting me a room. The next morning, my surgeon, Dr. Hill, came in and explained to me what would be done. For the next week, I do not remember anything — the preparation, going to the operating room, or being in ICU for two days. A close friend who visited me in the hospital told me later that I was very restless and continually attempting to get out of bed. However, there was an angel by my side trying to keep me calm the entire time — Mary. She was so calm and serene that to my friend she looked like an angel. Even now, she continues to be my angel, driving me wherever I need to go and tending to my needs.

The first thing I remember was going to a room where I underwent various treatments and preparation for a month of inpatient rehab at the hospital’s north campus, then outpatient care for three weeks. Afterward, I started to live a normal life again, though I could not drive until February.

Now what had been the cause of this problem? My cranium was bleeding again, but it was now on the other side of the brain from where it had originated. This was very serious because after the surgery, it was determined that the new bleeding had joined with old blood and formed an organism that was sending tentacles into my brain for nourishment. Consequently, the blood and organism were crowding my brain. Dr. Hill and his assistant were able to clear out all of this. While in ICU after the surgery and after getting my brain into its normal place, I had a seizure, so I am now on medication. This was the reason for me not driving until February, after which I would need to be evaluated by the state. So where does “there is more to come” become a part of this whole thing? I was very calm throughout all the things that were happening. Was it the medication? No. God was holding my hand and saying, “There is one more surprise.” I am once more able to do the things God wants me to do in His church and the community.

God was not finished with me because “there is more to come.”

It is now March of 2013, and I was evaluated for driving in Orlando on February 6th. I passed all the testing. Then I successfully completed a oneand-a half-hour driving test throughout the city where I drove on and off I-4, downtown, through residential areas, on narrow streets, on busy streets, etc. I was approved with no restrictions, and after not being behind the wheel for six months, this was exciting for me. But, I was very calm as God was there. Now, I am getting into “there is more to come.”