San Antonio, Texas
120th operating temple
Dedicated: 22 May 2005
By: Gordon B. Hinckley
Book of Mormon
Ether 13:1-17
Come Follow Me
Ether 12
Faith in Jesus Christ can lead to miracles.
"Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains"
President Russell M. Nelson
October General Conference
'Behold I Am the Light Which Ye Shall Hold Up'
Elder Ronald A. Rasband
"The Savior is not absent from our mortal journeys. For the past two days we have heard Him speak through His chosen leaders that we might draw closer to Him. Time and again, with His pure love and mercy, He sustains us as we face the drama of life. Nephi describes: 'My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions....He hath filled me with his love."
A day I will never forget. A day of tender mercies and miracles. I got upas I normally do, but James did not. At first I thought he was just sleeping in. I knew he had a headache and he had tole me it felt like a migraine so I decided to call Dr. Moffat's office to see if he would call James in a prescription of Imitrix. Sheri says that is the only thing that works for Ian when he has a migraine.
I called and left two or three messages with Kerry, Dr. Moffat's medical assistant and got no response. Finally, around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I called Dr. Moffat's cell phone. It went straight to voicemail and then said his mailbox was full and I couldn't leave a message. At this point I decided it was time to take James to the ER.
I talked to him, telling him we were going to the hospital for his headache. He was unresponsive. He would not move to get up and get dressed. In the meantime Sheri was texting me and telling me I needed to call Chuck Crane and have him come over to help, which I did. James was still pretty much unresponsive. We talked to him and I prodded him until finally he sat at the edge of the bed. I put a shirt on him and a pair of pajama pants. I got socks on his feet and put his camo clogs on over them. Chuck helped him get over to the rocking chair to sit down. I was getting ready to drive him in the car to the ER. My kids, especially Stacy, were texting me to call 911. When Chuck advised me to do the same thing I decided it was a good idea, so I did it, I called 911.
In the meantime, Alicia Hunsaker, the bishop's wife, rang the doorbells. She had come because Sheri had called her. I guess Sheri got her number off my friends list on Facebook. She wanted to know if I wanted her to go with me to the hospital. I told her no, I had already called 911. She left, telling me to call if I needed anything. I thanked her and told her I would.
The Vernon Fire Department paramedics showed up next. They took James's vitals and asked him some questions. They could barely hear his answers. A few minutes later a White Mountain Company ambulance showed up and they asked him even more questions. One of the questions they asked was: "Do you want to go to the hospital?" He shook his head no. I asked if he had to say yes in order for them to take him. Yes, he does. I spoke with James and convinced him to say yes. They loaded him on the stretcher and took him outside into the ambulance. I went out and asked if they were taking him to the ER. Yes, the ER at Summit Hospital in Show Low.
In the middle of all of this the UPS guy came walking down our driveway to deliver a package. I took the package with me in the car. I told Chuck thank you and that he didn't need to come to the hospital and off I went, following the ambulance.
Dr. Gerber, a young guy with big glasses, was the on-call doctor at the ER. He said he was glad I brought Hames in because this was something quite serious and he guaranteed he would not be going home tonight. He ordered several tests, including a CT scan. Trina texted me and said they should have done the CT scan within 10 minutes of him arriving at the hospital. She is an ER nurse at the Gilbert hospital and has lots of experience.
I had only been at the hospital a short time when Chuck showed up and gave James a blessing. In that blessing he told James that he would recover and be made well. I remembered those lines. I thanked James for the blessing. Chuck said he was staying. I told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted.
After the CT-scan was done the doctor came in and said, I have some news. Your husband has a brain bleed and needs to be flown to the valley to see a neurosurgeon. This is critical, if we do nothing, he probably isn't going to make it. In order for him to be transported he has to have a breathing tube installed in his mouth and throat. I was shocked with this news and had difficulty keeping back the tears. The doctor kept apologizing which did not make me feel any better. I finally told him we had a great deal of faith and would trust in the Lord, no matter what happened. In Chuck's blessing he told James that he would get well, so I am holding on to that.
It took awhile to find a hospital with a bed in ICU. I was so pleased when they said the hospital would be Chandler Regional. Stacy, Sheri, and Kim all live within ten minutes of Chandler Regional. It is a Trauma 1 hospital which means they have all kinds of doctors on call 24/7.
Kim, Brian, and Sheri are on their way to Vernon to get me. Stacy, Paul, Darrel, and Trina left for the hospital so they would be there when James arrives.
I got part way back to Vernon, following Chuck who was in his truck, when the hospital called and said James's heart rate had gone down and they wanted me to come back to the hospital. I phoned Chuck and we both turned around and started back. A few miles back down the road towards Show Low, the hospital called again and said his heart had stabilized and they were getting ready to transport him in the helicopter. On a side note, I had asked earlier while I was still at the hospital if I could go with him in the helicopter and they said no, there wasn't enough room.
I called Chuck, we turned around, and headed back to Vernon. Chuck made sure I got in the house safely before he went home. He is going to take care of the animals while I am gone.
I went in and fed Tom, got myself something to eat . . . the steak sandwich Michael left in the frig, and sat down to watch the DWTS finale. I already know who wins, Joey & Jenna, not Brandon & Chandler, so I am a little disappointed. Tom joined me on the couch. We actually spent the night there in the family room together.
It wasn't too long before Kim, Brian, and Sheri walked in. They all gave me a hug, we talked awhile and then they went to bed. I finished the show and then turned off the lights and TV. As I was dozing off, I heard a bang. I wasn't sure at the time what it was, but I found out later it was my phone hitting the floor.
Around 2:30 Kim came in and said the hospital called Brian. They tried calling me but couldn't get through. They did another CT-scan on dad and the bleed was worse. The neurosurgeon told the kids, Stacy, Paul, Trina & Darrel, that if they didn't perform surgery right away, he would die. Darrel had to sign the papers to give them permission.
The surgery was a success, the surgeon was able to stop the bleeding. Darrel & Trina went home during the surgery. Stacy & Paul stayed until he came in to his room, C325 in the ICU. They actually stayed until about 5 a.m. Dave and Terry came a little later to stay with him until I arrived at 9:30 a.m. with Sheri. I am so grateful for family and great friends like Chuck Crane.
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