Adult Book Review

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BY LORRIE LAYTON

Benji Evans, the author of Back from Death’s Doorstep, is a local Ponca Citian. On Father’s Day weekend 2016, he woke up just “not feeling right.” Within 24 hours, he was at the Ponca City ER because he just didn’t feel right, but it was a lot worse. (Imagine trying to explain that to an ER doctor!) Benji was diagnosed with pancreatitis, which was aggravated by his diabetes. Even though he was being given insulin, his blood glucose kept climbing – it should have been going down – while his heart rate continued to increase and his blood pressure dropped. None of that was as it should be. It turned out Benji was in diabetic ketoacidosis and extremely ill.

Benji was transferred to Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City, where his status continued to worsen. His doctor suggested Davina, Benji’s wife, call the family in. And that, folks, is just a summary of the first 20 pages of Benji’s story.

The rest of the book is told by a cast of characters: Benji, Davina, Benji’s mom, dad, sister and several of Benji’s friends. They share how Benji dealt with one crisis after another as he fought for his life. Over the next six months Benji had 15 surgeries and procedures, coded three times, was lifeflighted three times and received 42 units of blood. Benji’s complete recovery took 18 months.

The Evans family is adamant that Benji would not be alive without prayers (a multitude of them) and God’s grace, as well as blood donors who gave him the gift of life, one unit at a time. Back from Death’s Doorstep is a refreshing and uplifting book. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it.