Life Matters: My Father's Stroke

My father had a stroke last Thursday. He woke up feeling numb in his right arm and as he drove himself to the hospital, he quickly degenerated into a parapallegic. His whole right side, his arms, his hands, his leg was completely lifeless. It's terrifying how such a small stroke could do so much damage.

I took a few days off from work and drove down the next Tuesday to see how he was doing. It was hard to watch him when I first got there. He literally had to pick up his lfeless right hand and place it on walker to go to physical therapy. As I saw him dragging his foot away down the hall, the tears started to flow. It's times like this you really appreciate the little things such as walking, shaking hands, or even giving a picking up a spoon to eat. He was going to relearn it all.

So as bad as it looked when I got there, it was just the opposite as I was leaving. Within 24 hours, my father was walking better, he could lift his arm above his head and give a handshake (even though he still had to pick it up and place it in someone else's hand. He was in good spirits too laughing away and joking away all day. In physical therapy, the doctor asked me how I thought he was doing and I joked, he's doing great, It's the most exercise he's had in years. Everyone burst out laughing. It was awesome. I think what was more amazing was all the support he got from his neighbors, his colleagues and family. We all came out in force to take care of him.

When I first heard of the situatinos, my attitude was thank God because it was only a small one and that he'd probably make a full recovery. I still hold true to that but with one more thing I learned: We don't ask to avoid what trials are to come... but we can pray that God shows mercy and makes what we about to go through easier.