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I actually witnessed a miracle

I’ve had a fairly long and interesting life, full of extraordinary experiences. However, I’d never got to witness a real life miracle. This all changed on Wednesday, September 9th September, 2015. It happened in a series of steps, which kind of built to the ultimate crescendo.

As was Chris’ normal end of day activity, she went into the garden to do the watering. Now this is an activity that could have taken her anywhere in the garden, not only out of sight but out of hearing as well.

So this is where the miracle begins. Chris suffered a stroke only about 3 m away from me, so the moment I heard her muffled cry, I was with her within a matter of seconds. The symptoms were so obvious that it took me only moments to diagnose that she had suffered a stroke.

The ambulance arrived within minutes and immediately took her into Cairns hospital. Here again our good fortune continued, as it was a very quiet night in ER. The CT scanner and operative, for checking the type of stroke, were immediately available. The results of the scan showed that the stroke been caused by clot and that this could be blasted away by using a new drug that had only being cleared for after-hours use that Monday. As the drug was so new, the protocols had not been written up, so it needed a senior team of medical people, along with a neurologist to administer it – and can you believe it, all were available. Now this drug has to be administered within four and half hours of the onset of the stroke; the stroke happened at 6 pm and the treatment began at 10:10 PM; four hours and ten minutes.

The build up now reaches its crescendo, the miracle – within 15 to 20 minutes of them commencing the administration of the drug, Chris had fully recovered the use of not only her limbs but her speech as well; she was completely back to normal; we were totally overwhelmed. Given that this drug can be dangerous, it required her to be monitored for the next 24 hours by a specialist nurse. The ER team provided that until the change of shift, and then a specialist nurse volunteered to do a double shift to ensure the 24 hour coverage.

Out of a lifetime of amazing experiences, this would rate as the most amazing and definitely in the category of a miracle. Chris and I have had many things to be grateful for in our lives, but for this second chance at life for Chris, goes beyond words. We will be eternally grateful to all involved.