The story of my wife's, Marion Truax, stroke in 2005.

My wife Marion had a major stroke on April, 27th, 2005, and has been in the healing stages ever since.

I was in the fields mowing when it came time to get ready for church for Wed. night services. When I came into the house she said she didn't feel well and would like to stay home and said that I should do likewise because I had been at it since dawn and would be very tired. She said the carrots, in the stew, were not done yet and would take another half hour, or so, and that I should go in the living room and get in my easy chair to rest until then. As I sat down, the phone rang and it was my son, David. He needed some roll plastic sheeting to put down for concrete he was pouring. I told Marion that I would be gone only about a half hour and that would give time for the carrots to cook. When I re-entered the house she handed me a plate of food and said for me to go and sit in my recliner. As I was going she began to cough real badly, with great strain, which caused her to have to go to the bathroom. Before I sat down, with my food, I asked if she were OK. She nodded "OK" as she went. I asked one more time, before I began to eat, and I heard her say "yes". As I was chewing the first bite I heard a sound from the bathroom which sounded like her but was very different. I was out of that chair, plate and all, headed for the bathroom before you could say "jack". As I entered the bathroom she looked at me from a slumped position, saying, " I-not-al-right-now". I -kan't -moove- my-leff-arm. Immediately , I asked her to smile for me, which she did, with a wincing on the left side of the face. I pulled my cell phone out of my shirt pocket and dialed, "911". The rescue squad was there in less then ten minutes, and others responded as well.

I wasn't in the house more then two minutes, when this all happened. Makes one wonder what would have happened otherwise. God was at work, is at work and will always be at work for the children of His kingdom.

That very morning I had gotten up at 5:30 and went to the office to do some work before the workers got there. (Excavating business) I opened up the e-mail, which I never do in the morning. I opened an e-mail from the American Diabetes Association, of which I am a member. Normally I wouldn't have opened anything of this sort, this time of day. The message was; "Three ways to tell if someone is having a stroke". 1. Check for disability in the limbs. 2. Slurred speech. 3. A crooked mouth. Must I go on? She had all three symptoms and I knew immediately, without any thinking time necessary, or confirmation by another party, what had to be done. God is a super God that has all His children in his hands all the time, even when we don't know it. I went to the kitchen to get a phone number of someone she wanted me to call. I was only going long enough to grab the phone book and headed back to the bathroom when I heard her calling for help. As I entered the bathroom, I saw her loosing her balance, because she had no control of her left side and couldn't hold herself upright, and she fell over the rim of the bathtub, just a couple inches out of my reach. I think she broke some ribs, because of difficulties later on. I removed her immediately, to the floor of the bathroom, where she remained until the rescue people came, examined her and took her away.

She was in the Winchester Medical Center for two weeks, sent to Berkeley Springs War Memorial Hospital to regain her strength, to where she could return back to Winchester to the Rehabilitation Center for therapy. She was there a week when blood clots from her immobile leg when to her lungs and she was sent back to W. M. C. She was there in I.C.U. for eleven days before going to a regular room for three more days. After that she went back to the W.R.C. (Rehab) for two weeks and came home on the 21th of June.

The stroke occurred on Wednesday evening and I stayed at her side from then until my daughter, Tawana, relieved me on Friday night, to go home, get some rest and freshen up a bit. I was returning to the hospital on Saturday evening, to continue staying by her side and sleeping on the couch by the side of the bed. On the way down to Winchester, I was praying to the Lord for a miracle. I needed the feeding tube removed and for her to be able to talk, was my prayer.. She had lost all control of muscles in her throat to swallow any food or medicine and a tube had been inserted down the throat to allow for this. This also meant that no solids could be fed her. Just a simple prayer of faith believing that our God is able. That was on Saturday and on Sunday evening she was very able to have had the tube removed but, the doctors couldn't believe something like this could be happening, so they said they would let it in until morning to see how things were then. To their surprise things were ever better, so they gave orders for it to be removed. "Praise to God for that". She ate eggs, toast and fruit for breakfast that morning. Right away we begin to see improvements in her speech. Today she has almost no noticeable impediment in speech, except that she is more bass now.

We have rebuilt the house to make it handicap accessible etc., with outside ramp, a new bathroom shower facility that will let her enter with ease from the wheelchair. Later I remodeled a bedroom and installed a whirlpool bathtub. I built a lift, from a hydraulic pickup crane, to lift her up and swing her in and out of the tub. This alone has resulted in an almost instant healing, that caused the almost total stiffness of the paralleled limbs, to start a relaxing of the muscles and allow the therapist to work with her in a more positive way.

As of June the 20th, one to the day year later, she has started to get some spark in the left arm. She has been going to therapy at different places and also gets some at home. Although still a 100% care patient, she can be by herself at short intervals now. We have a female person that come five days a week to care for her needs, which allowed me to get out of the house some. I am still her care person after 4:00 every day, and on week ends.

We attend church two to three times a week, go to events and restaurants that are handicap accessible and her day care person takes her to many places during the week, just to get her out of the house, So, she does get out some but, spends much to much time in the recliner.

With only one leg and one arm functioning as yet, she cannot do any work, such as cooking, cleaning or most of her personal bathroom duties by herself. Marion started to regain a little control of the left leg in March of 2006 and can walk with the aid of a care person and a four footed cane. Through all the terrible ordeal, she has going through, she has never lost the positive outlook of God doing a total healing on her body. She is a very strong person and because of that, she has dealt very well with the situation. Her background in Christianity has been the instrumental ingredient that has got her, and me, this far. Thanks and Praise be to Him, Jesus Christ, for His love.

We welcome any e-letters of good courage for her. bucktail2@earthlink.net

May the God of love, bless you as you go your way. Dale Truax

 

Note from Marion; My husband wrote the first part of this testimony. He lived it with me. I truly am blessed beyond what I deserve. Each day I am doing better, in all ways. Praise God for His never ending presence and Love. Without Him I could do nothing. Do you know my saviour? Marion Truax