Free Ride on a Tilt-A-Whirl

Yes it is true-- at about 1:30 on Tuesday night I suffered a slight stroke. Thanks to all of you who were praying for me. The MRI results confirmed that it happened in the base of my brain (the part that regulates balance). But it is something that can be recovered from, and I just have to be faithful to a daily regimen of aspirin. It happened while I was in bed. I bolted up out of a restless sleep because the world started to spin violently. I made my way to the bathroom and started throwing up. That is when I realized I was in trouble because the spinning would not stop. Any movement or tilt of my head that took me off of center-bubble was accompanied by a deluxe tilt-a-whirl ride. I made my way to the sink where I froze in position, feet planted firmly, both hands grasping the edge of the sink and head locked forward, staring straight ahead. Anything that violated my rigid view sent my brain into violent swirls.

I stayed that way until the paramedics peeled my fingers from the sink and strapped me on to a gurney. The ride to the hospital was horrendous for me, exacerbated by the fact that the ambulance couldn’t find its way out of our new subdivision and had to make a high-speed U-turn at the end of our block. Then it wove its way across an empty town to the hospital. When I got to the emergency room, I learned later that I was third in line and importance. Five minutes before, two 14 year old Hispanic girls were rushed in: gunshot wounds. That beats dizzy guy.

Hats off to the doctor there who pushed past all the conventional reasons for being dizzy (no inner-ear infection, no drinking, didn’t climb into a clothes dryer) and realized there could be a more serious problems. Fifteen tests later they figured it out. I am blessed that so many people called and left messages.

I haven’t settled on all that God is showing me through this. It will take some time. Oh, I know there are some obvious things about what is really important in life. But I also know that each thing that he allows has a whole rich texture of concepts and truths. I guess I get a little time off (I haven’t taken a vacation yet this year) to ponder them.