Friday, August 17, 2012

Bob Strong Miracle

Dear friends:




On July 29, 2012 Bob had a massive cardiac arrest. He spent 15 days in the hospital. Here is a brief description of Bob's ordeal. We were at home getting ready to go to bed. Our grown daughter Robin was spending a couple of days with us so she could go to the doctor's office on Tuesday. They were walking down the hall toward 2 of the bedrooms when suddenly Bob fell. She yelled at me that he fell and was not breathing and started immediately giving him CPR. I ran to the phone and called 911 and opened the house so they could get in. They arrived in about 5 minutes and got his heart going again and put a ventilator in to get him breathing. They then took him to UMC where they worked on him in the emergency room. Finally they transferred him to MICU where he spent the next 6 1/2 days in a coma. They medically induced the coma to protect his body while they put him in a hypothermic state for 24 hours. After they warmed his body back up and the drugs were supposedly out of his body, they started trying to get him to wake up.



They were unsuccessful and finally told us that his kidneys were shutting down, he had pneumonia caused by the CPR, they could not even find out what heart damage was done as he was too fragile to be taken to the heart Cath lab and that they feared brain damage because he was unresponsive to any stimulation or to the EEG test. Finally on Saturday August 4th, we gathered as a family to hear what the doctors had to say and they offered little hope for a normal recovery. We had them discontinue life support and gathered together for a prayer which I led. Basically what I said was that the doctors had offered us little hope but that we believed in miracles and that we were asking God for a miracle. They discontinued life support and told us to stay close by as they thought he could go at any time.



Miraculously, throughout the day, Bob's body began to respond favorably as he started to breathe on his own, his kidneys started functioning again, his blood pressure stabilized, his heart rate stayed fairly normal although the rate was irregular. About 6:15 p.m. as I sat by his bed, his eyes changed to where I thought he was finally seeing me. I asked him "Robert can you see me?" and he replied "Some". That was the beginning of our miracle.



Throughout the evening he began to ask questions about what happened and where he was. We told him what had happened he wanted to know where it happened and where he was. He asked this several times. He recognized all those who had gathered to see him and we were relieved as it soon became apparent he still had his humor. One of the most amazing things was that early in the waking up process, he kept saying something over and over again. Our son Brad was with me and we told Bob we were so sorry we could not figure out what he was saying. Finally Bob said "Usana Magnesium" as clear as day. Our granddaughter Tiffany immediately looked it up on her iphone and was amazed at the hundreds of health benefits of magnesium. It was then that I knew were getting the whole package back. Bob was going to be fine. He still had his memory, his knowledge, and his humor. What more could we ask for!!!



I asked our son Jimmy to help get his nutrients restored and his fluid, which had to come from the doctor and he did. We had to leave at 11:00 p.m. but when we called the next morning, he was sitting up in a chair, talking with the nurse and responding to commands. He knew all the vital stuff they kept asking him and continued to improve. When the doctors began making their rounds they were amazed. One of the neurology doctors came in he just said "wow". Later that day they transferred him to the 5th floor and everywhere he went they referred to him as the "miracle man".



On Tuesday they did an angiogram and installed 3 stints. Meanwhile they did another eco-cardiogram and determined his injection faction was dramatically improved and that he had a cardiac arrest which is different from a heart attack. They installed a defibulator on Friday. We were at the hospital until Monday afternoon and are now at home. He continues to improve daily and we are overcome with the love and prayers shown by so many people all over this nation. We can hardly believe what all happened but we believe with all our heart that God favored us with a miracle and we will never fail to give him the glory.



I have several heroes that I am eternally grateful for. First our daughter Robin who was with us who was able to do the CPR and do it well, our son Jimmy who was my advocate with the doctors and nurses when I needed it the most, our son Brad who talked on the phone non-stop so I wouldn’t have to and was on Facebook to keep everyone advised of what was going on. He even was able to contact  Bob's good friend in Mexico, Oscar Soto who drove 20 hours one way to be at his bedside, our son Kevin who made three round trips from Fort Stockton in one week and communicated with a whole other set of family and friends, and finally our granddaughter Tiffany Decker who is a NICU nurse who was able to make us understand what was going on and made us question some things that might have made a difference in his care.


Once again thanks so much for caring and praying.

Love to all



3 comments:

Unknown said...

Praise the Lord! What an AWESOME God we serve. Thank you for sharing this miracle with all of us. FROGS...Fully Rely On God's Strength!

Anonymous said...

REJOICING with you all. Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His miraculous work in Bob's life. - Mike Thibodeaux

Elsa said...

Love you both! Be seeing you soon! Praise God!