Today, my husband is alive and well—albeit, he now has a defibrillator in his chest (I call him my own Iron Man), thanks to the goodness of God’s Grace for giving us second chances, the awesome works of prayers, the efforts of a couple of individuals at the gym who had the presence of mind to start CPR and chest compressions on my husband and the phenomenal team of medical professionals associated with Gwinnett Medical Center (Lawrenceville). (I am a FIRM believer that everyone should learn how to do CPR; the Gwinnett Medical Center offers classes!)
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Though I am not well versed in the medical profession, I strongly believe that the cutting edge technology and the process known as “The Iceman” contributed to the full recovery that my husband has made. The Iceman process is where the individual is literally put “on ice” for a full 24 hours. My husband was put into a medically induced coma. This helps to reduce the swelling on the brain and causes the brain to remember/retain its functions. I don’t know how long my husband was down, but what I do know is that Dr. Michael Winkelman, ER. M.D., is to be credited for not giving up on working on my husband and for ensuring that all of the other doctors who needed to be involved such as Dr. John, the cardiologist, who performed the process that included running the catheter into my husband’s heart to check for any heart damage was at hand immediately. (My husband’s heart is perfectly fine – there is still no known cause as to what made him go into cardiac arrest.)
This does not in any way diminish my faith and my belief in the POWER of prayer. But in Romans 12: 6-8 (NIV), Paul reminds us of man’s gifts acknowledging that a man’s gift should be used in proportion to his faith; “…if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously.” It was evident on this day that the staff at Gwinnett Medical Center, were indeed giving generously of their gifts.
I have always lived by the “life is too short” and “life happens fast” philosophy and for those reasons and many others; I pray steadfastly and fervently daily always focusing on remaining in gratitude for the many blessings God has bestowed in our lives. On Friday, June 28th, 2013, my prayers and the collective prayers of family members and friends were answered—my husband was taken off the ventilator and he opened his eyes and was able to breathe on his own. Hallelujah!
I would like to publicly acknowledge the staff and team of doctors at Gwinnett Medical Center (I have listed many of the names below, certain that I am forgetting someone), and to remind each of us, to never get so busy that we overlook what should truly be most important in our lives: our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and our relationship with our loved ones on this temporary plane.
Be certain that you are using your gifts in proportion to your faith!
Gwinnett Medical Center – (Lawrenceville) staff:
Dr. Michael Winkelmann ER MD
Verona Lattery – RN, Supervisor
Marlene Cooper – RN
Catherine Gayle – RN
Hunaiza Mistry – RN
Donna Trivette – RN
Ashley Burns – RN
Veda Boodai – Tech
Timothy Ridley – Tech
Dr. John – Cardiologist
Dr. Siore
Dr. Delaney
Dr. Lanwani
