| I had gotten up on the morning of February 11, 1999, at 5 o’clock to study and pray and left the house at 6:30 for work. We had stopped to get a biscuit and a cup of coffee and on the way to work my crew and I were thankful to be alive, to know that we were 100% sure that we were on our way to heaven, and that we had each other to work with throughout the day! We had a very productive day and accomplished a great deal. At the end of the day, we were picking up the power tools and the stairways were blocked. Because we were working on the third floor, they pulled a “Sky-Trec” machine (a fork-lift type machine) to the window and I climbed out into the plywood box attached to it – at least I thought it was attached! They handed out the tools and compressors, and once loaded, I signaled to the operator to lower me down but he had gotten off the machine and went — who knows where! My Uncle Dan said he would walk down and operate the machine for me. By the time Dan had walked down three floors, I was lying on the sidewalk holding on to life by a single thread! One of the other crewmen had grown inpatient and reached inside the machine and pulled the wrong handle – sending the tools and myself crashing on to the sidewalk below from a height of 30 feet! When the ambulance came, they told Dan that I probably would not live long enough to get to the hospital! But God’s people began to pray! During the first 48 hours, the doctors told my family that I would not live through the night – then through the next day – through the night – through the next day! And because Jesus was not through with me yet, nine months later I returned home and continued serving Him! Because of the accident I now live with a great deal of pain, of which the doctor was giving me some serious narcotics to combat it! My other doctor was giving me medications for other problems, and still my third doctor other medications – yet they were not keeping in good contact with each other! The drugs interacted causing me to have a severe overdose on four different occasions, putting me into the hospital each time! Instead of adjusting my medications, when released from the hospital, the medications continued as pre-prescribed! After the third overdose, I came home from the hospital with a catheter, which took care of a very big problem we were having trying to self-catheterize. The urologist wanted the catheter to be removed and the medications resumed but I decided to keep it in because of all the other problems that it solved! It had not been two weeks before I accidentally ran over the catheter bag, catching the hose around my wheels – jerking the catheter balloon inside of me so hard that it exploded! I was taken to the emergency room and the urologist on duty decided to put a super-pubic catheter in me – a permanent catheter tied directly into my bladder! Finally, a doctor sent from heaven! Because of the anesthesia that I received during the operation, I did not quite recover in the recovery room but began my fourth overdose! This was not my regular hospital and because the attendants did not know me, they sent me home even though I was acting just a little crazy! My wife knew better and pleaded with them but her pleas fell on deaf ears – they sent me home anyway! Soon after getting into bed I completely “lost it!” I began screaming and begging someone to help me, and continued to do so all night! By five o’clock in the morning, Cricket was totally exhausted but had to get up at six to go to work! She decided to set her alarm clock for one hour and then decide what to do – she had gone through that night alone with no help! Upon waking to the sound of her alarm, I was still screaming but now I was also beating the wall! When she came into the room there was blood everywhere! I had bitten the fingernail of my left ring finger completely off, half of the middle finger, and would have done more had she not come in and stopped me! It was Monday morning when I was taken to the hospital but did not come to my senses until Thursday! It was recommended by the doctor that I go into rehab for a period of 30 days to get my system straightened out – at least there I would only have one doctor and he would get my medications straightened out! I agreed to do so and counted down each of the 30 days! When the 30 days were finally up another 30 days was added! Then another and then another and then another – finally totaling 482 days! And rehab was located inside of the local nursing home! I am now a 55-year-old man, I had gone from being a husband, father, grandpa, pastor of a New Testament Baptist Church, and subcontractor in the construction field, to a nursing home confined to wheelchair as a quadriplegic for the rest of my life! How did I keep from going crazy? How did I face each day knowing that things would probably never get any better? I desperately needed something from God! While reading His precious Word, He gently whispered another promise to me each day since my admittance into the nursing home, giving me the strength that I needed to keep going! This book is the second collection of promises God has given to me everyday. We provide Bible studies, lessons and sermons to pastors and missionaries around the world. |