Thursday, September 23, 2010

I Believe in God

I believe He hears and answers our prayers.
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
On the evening of Monday, Aug. 30, my sister-in-law, Linda Lundberg, was having difficulty speaking. Victor Lundberg, my brother, took her to the ER where an aneurysm was discovered.
Doing some research on the internet, I found that the threshold for actively treating an aneurysm was 10mm, which is about the size of a marble. I don’t know how big Linda's was, but was told it was “large” and the doctors seemed to be impressed at its size.
She was immediately sent to Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. She went into surgery on Tuesday where they attempted to place a stent to reduce the pressure on the blood vessel. That didn’t work so they sealed off the blood vessel, which stopped blood flow to a portion of the brain. The brain works really well at creating new pathways to get the blood and information it needs to function and the message that I received was that doctors were cautiously hopeful.
I heard about this early Tuesday morning, as she was going into surgery. I immediately called my brother, Victor, and asked if he wanted us to say prayers on her behalf, and submit her name at the temple for the prayer roll. He said yes and soon after I put the call out to my friends via Facebook and email (love the internet). Many people responded that they would pray.
Unfortunately, during or right after the surgery Linda suffered what initially was termed a massive stroke. Her entire right side was paralyzed and the prognosis for her recovery was bleak.
By Tuesday evening Linda was recovering and it looked like the stroke wasn’t as bad as feared. She was starting to get some movement in her arms and legs. Wednesday morning she was actually wiggling fingers and toes and Wednesday afternoon she sat up in a chair! The stroke was downgraded to mild.
At this point she progressed rapidly. The aneurysm has affected the speech center of her brain and she does have difficulty getting the right words out and completing sentences, but she can make herself understood. Her blood pressure has been very low and they did an angiogram Sept. 13 to view the brain and found the aneurysm is shrinking (good), blood is finding its way around the blocked artery (very good) and her blood pressure is now stabilizing (excellent!). She even moved to intermediate care from ICU about the 17th of September. She walked the hallway twice and played some balloon volleyball.
From what I understand, the doctors have been astonished at the remarkable recovery that Linda has shown, and at her fortitude and determination at getting herself well. I’m sure she feels like things aren’t happening quickly enough, but everyone else is amazed at what is happening.
Linda was assessed by her neurologist on the 21st and deemed “ineligible” for in-patient rehab. She went home on the 22nd! They’re trying to get in-home physical therapy for her so she doesn’t have to travel too much. She still gets headaches and needs 24/7 care. Not nursing care, but someone to keep an eye on her.
I, personally, have a new testimony of the power of prayer. I knew prayer worked – I’ve had prayers answered for myself and seen them answered for others – but sometimes we become complacent in our testimonies. We know the truth, we know that God lives and He answers our prayers, but sometimes we forget what a miracle that is.
I hope I don’t forget. I hope I always remember the goodness and love that is God and keep these with me always.
Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.