Brain Injury

The word out of Arizona is that the assassination target from last weekend, Gabrielle Giffords, is doing miraculously well. Her neurosurgeon says she has "no right" to be doing so well, considering the extent of her injury. I have a little bit to say about that... *In July of 2007, I was visiting my sister in Springfield, IL. We had attended a dirt-track race that her grandson was driving in. When we got home, sometime around 10:30-11:00 PM, I poured myself a glass of wine and went downstairs to their computer room to check my email. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, I was aware of a horrible pressure/pain in the back of my head. I flushed hot. I turned on a fan and thought I'd just lie down on the floor...but I was also horribly nauseated. Had to get back up the stairs quickly before I threw up. And I did throw up! I threw up all night. My head hurt; my neck hurt; I was vomiting fairly nonstop. My sister wanted to take me to a doctor or the emergency room, but I didn't feel good enough to travel. She provided me with two ice packs--one for my forehead and one for my neck. I just thought I had picked up a bug. *By the next afternoon, I felt well enough to go to a prompt-med place at my sister's behest. The doc heard my symptoms, then sent me for a CAT scan at a hospital. In very short order, it was determined that I had a brain bleed from a ruptured aneurysm. I got a helicopter ride to Peoria, and a craniotomy to clip the bleeding blood vessel. *How did I survive? I have no clue! I was told, up front, that 60% of the people who have what I had don't even make it to the hospital. Another 20% survive, but with disabilities. I was one of the remaining 20% who survive without any problems. I would LIKE to attribute my survival to prayer, but the fact is that I was pretty much okay before the praying public even knew I was sick. Did my sister's ice packs help? I don't know... All I know is that I came out of that situation smelling like a rose, and a whole bunch of people were worried about me! (Apparently I did the right thing along about heart attack time, too. Ain't life fun?) *What I am saying is that Ms. Giffords isn't merely lucky. The hand of God is on her. If she survives, she will have challenges, but she will be alive. And if ANY of you think that you have any control over your lives at all, you are mistaken. Pray without ceasing. That doesn't mean that life will be perfect for you, but it does mean that you might have an edge to health and perfection before the devil knows you are a candidate!