As told by Erica on Feb 22, 2011:
Today was phenomenal as far as accomplishments are concerned. Jeff got in the recliner again this morning. He is off all IV drip medications, he has no catheter, no central line, no 24 hour dialysis machine and to top it all off, he walked!! Not only did he walk around the room like a crazy man, but he walked a lap around our wing of the hospital. He also met w/ the physical therapist and the occupational therapist. We were on visitor restriction again today but it wasn’t strongly enforced so we had several visitors. Not sure that will be the case tomorrow. He will have hemodialysis tomorrow morning in the room. This should take between 3-4 hours. Then about 3:30pm he will go downstairs and have the defibrillator/pacemaker (thank the Lord for spell-check) installed. Nobody has told me this, but I really feel like we will get to go home towards the end of the week! What a difference a week makes!!
Unfortunately all that busyness throughout the day has made for a rough evening. The pneumonia is really kicking his rear. He’s got a horrible dry cough. His chest is tight and he’s miserable. Everyone keeps telling him how great he’s doing, but for him, he can’t remember all of the really bad stuff that he went through like we can. He just feels like he got hit by a mack truck. Poor thing. After all he’s been through this is what’s hindering him!!
So today I have been in awe of what God has done. It’s really starting to set in the magnitude of what has happened here. If you are skeptical and you think maybe we didn’t experience a true modern day miracle after what I’m about to tell you, then just know that I will be praying specifically for you this week. I was looking at Jeff’s chart today and talking to the nurse. Please bear w/ me as I’m still trying to grasp this. My husband had NO HEARTBEAT, that’s NO heartbeat for one hour and thirty minutes. That’s three full episodes of Friends w/ commercial interruptions. That’s a lunch hour and a half of another one. That’s the ability to drive 90 miles going approximately 60 MPH. All that time and he had no heart beat. He was literally kept alive w/ a combination of chest compressions, CPR, shocking, medication and God’s grace. My husband’s heart did not beat for 90 minutes and he is sitting next to me right now complaining about a cough. Praise God! I can’t believe what he has done for us. I am in awe of the God we serve and I’m fervently praying that this is not something any of us soon forget.
A message from Jeff on March 7, 2011:
At 9:41pm tonight Erica asked me “Is it hard to imagine that 3 weeks ago today, right now, you were dead?” Wow, I hadn’t thought about it in such direct terms. I do know that in the last three weeks I have done a lot of reflecting about the few things that I remember, but more on the things I have been told regarding the events that took place on and after Valentine’s Day.
I wish at this time I could say that I can remember everything that led up to the event, or that for the approximately 90 minutes that I was not living on my own, I was spending time in heaven or had seen the light, or that I can remember the events that took place the entire week following the event, but I can’t. I remember very little if anything until the following Monday evening, BUT, the stories I have been told and continue to hear leave me humbled, amazed, and thankful to say the least.
First, HUMBLED, that my God would take a normal and selfish guy as myself and work such a miracle that would change lives all over the world. He could have used anyone, but chose to do this miracle through me and my family. Not in any way so that we would receive the glory, but so HE would receive the glory and be praised for who HE is and what HE can do and has done. As I continue hearing story after story of how lives are being changed, how lives are being saved, and faith in our awesome God has been raised to an altogether new level, I have to say that if it all ended today, it was worth it and I would be honored to do it all again, BUT, I know this is just the beginning of what God is about to do.
I find myself not talking as much as I’m accustomed to, but truly reflecting and being prayerful about what we are supposed to do next, how we are supposed to share our story, and how we can ensure that the entire world knows that God still does miracles and He receives all the glory that he deserves. Our God is amazing and I belong to Him.
From every place within me, I want to thank you for your prayers, your extreme faith and your support of our family. Be prepared and please be in prayer for what God has done and is about to do. May the momentum never end and our God continue receiving the glory and honor He deserves.
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