13-Dec-2009 (Sat) - Father-in-Law Has a Stroke

This morning my Father-in-Law (Bobby) [see pic left of my wife's brother Timmy, Father-in-Law Bobby & my daughter Kayla] had a stroke that paralyzed him on his left side. We got there when the EMTs had just arrived and he was laying in the floor near the foot of his bed. His wife (Alta) had heard him yell for help about 8:45am. The EMTs loaded him up in the ambulance and my wife (Tammy) asked me to ride with him. I wanted to get in the back, but they made me ride up in the cab.

When we got to the hospital, they tested him. He couldn't move his arm or leg on his left side. His speech was slurred and he couldn't open his eyes, however, he was completely oriented. The doctors scanned his brain and found a blood clot. They wanted to use an experimental drug (TPA) that thins the blood extremely and can break the clot up. I called all the siblings (Mike, Penny, Timmy & my wife Tammy) in and they made the decision to go ahead. Before administrating the drug I had all the siblings lay hands on him and I prayed commanding healing into his body. Then the TPA drug was administered (which took about 1 hour).

After about 30 minutes, Bobby could lift his left leg and was moving his right shoulder weakly, but he still could not open his eyes. The doctors said the left leg movement was probably only reflex. Alta was in some hip pain in the hall, so I offered to pray for her. In just a few seconds the pain in her hip diminished and she was able to walk around easier. But while she was sitting with Bobby, she started feeling guilty for what was happening. She said, “I believe God is punishing me for the way I've treated Bobby.” Of course, me and my son-in-law (Grant) tried to explain to her God wasn't doing that, but we were getting nowhere fast. I noticed she was having back pain as well. So I said, “Let me show you something, OK?” She agreed. I laid my hand on her back and commanded it to be healed. She immediately felt the heat and the pain was removed. Then I said, “Was that real?” She said, “Yes, of course it was. It doesn't hurt anymore.” I said, “OK, then you and I both know that God is the one that done it, right?” She agreed. I said, “Now then, why would Father God punish you at the same time He heals you? Is He psychotic?” … and I smiled real big. She smiled back and said, “That makes good sense, I see what you mean. I guess God isn't punishing me after all.” It was a relief to her mind.

Now the goal is to get healing to Bobby.