The Artery

I think we all have a near death experience at one time or another in our lives. This has the tendency to bring us closer to our Lord. I know I received some Divine help one night in June 1996. My story follows.

The Artery

 

In June 1996, I had been working at The Phillips Engineering office and had been experiencing back pain during the afternoon. After I got home, the pain got much worse and I felt as if I needed to go to the bathroom but nothing would come out. I sent Pam out to get some stool softeners and laxatives and took these. After dumping all that was there, it still felt as if I needed to go. At about 9 PM, the pain got worse, and I decided to go to the ER at the local Hospital. They checked me over and told me they couldn’t find anything so they sent me home. The pain got worse and about Midnight, and I went back to the ER. They ran many more tests and told me they still couldn’t find anything wrong so the sent me home again. Along about 3AM, the pain was so bad, I could not lay down or sit in any position without unbearable pain. I felt as if I were going to die. So I went back to the ER. This time a new lady doctor had come on duty so she had them run a test for blood in my urine and had them run an ultrasound test on my stomach area. After that, they figured out I had a enlarged and leaking Aorta Artery so they got in high gear and ordered a helicopter to pick me up. The helicopters were all out so I was in the Ambulance in 5 minutes heading toward St Johns Hospital in Tulsa. On the way over. I was having a very hard time breathing so I kept pulling off the oxygen and wrestling with the male nurse. I was bigger than him so I was winning. He had the driver stop and come help him. After a while I heard someone divine whisper in my ear and tell me to stop fighting and calm down or you’re going to croak. After that I was like a kitten the rest of the way over. Kristi, my daughter, passed the ambulance in our Cadillac on the way over and beat them to the hospital. ( I think she was speeding) . When I got to the St Johns Hospital, they had me prepped and ready for surgery in 10 minutes. The Doctor opened me up, and inserted a plastic insert (made by Phillips Petroleum Company) in my Aorta Artery. He said when he got in, the artery had already ruptured and he had to hold both ends to stop the blood flow during surgery. He told me later that 9 out of 10 people in my condition when they get in, don’t make it. I guess I had a little help. I healed in record time and was back at work in three weeks. The next time I had a medical problem, I drove to the ER in Tulsa at St Johns Hospital.