Chapter 2: The miraculous recovery
Text in RED is written by Rich
Text in GREEN is written by Lois
“If she survives the next 24 hours, then you need to prepare yourself. She will have to live with severe disabilities for the rest of her life”, those were the words that the consultant spoke over the phone, as I stood outside of Screwfix a few days after Lois had been admitted into hospital.
They had operated on her brain the day before to block the aneurysm with platinum coils and she remained in a coma while she stabilised.
I remember God speaking to me in that moment and saying, “This situation is not about you or Lois, it’s about the testimony and it's about the kingdom of God.” In the midst of the stress and the anxiety in that moment, I felt at peace. God was in control.
It was 2 weeks to the day from Lois being admitted into hospital, that she finally woke up. She was confused and weak, unable to speak or communicate and was paralysed down her right side. It later became apparent that she was also blind.
The next 4 months remained a huge challenge for Lois and also the family. COVID-19 prevented any hope of visiting, and in those early months, Lois’s recovery became nothing short of miraculous.
She was fortunate that although nobody could visit her, that there were at least 2 Christians working at the hospital that were able to sit with her and pray, alongside many friends, family and strangers praying for her daily all over the world, from the USA, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia.
Lois had the Elevation worship albums “There is a Cloud” and “Graves into Gardens” playing in her room on repeat and the staff would comment to me on the phone on how significant the words were. The lyrics in the song ‘Never Lost’ are particularly poignant (https://youtu.be/3TOPBr8k8xY) and Lois would sometimes sing along to the music, albeit in a muddled way.
I remember calling the hospital a few days before Christmas to see how Lois was, in the hope that she would be able to speak with the kids on Christmas Day. Her speech was still gobbledygook and all she could do was count, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, and 1, and 2, 3, 4 ….” and so on, repeating the counting over and over. I decided not to let the kids speak with her until we knew more about if her speech would improve or not.
The phone call had left me distressed, upset and fearing for the future. What would the future look like? Would I need to become Lois’s carer? Would she even come home? I had only told the kids that she was really poorly, and was recovering from an operation. I wondered how they would react when they found out how bad things really were?
Over the next few weeks Lois began to steadily improve. In fact you could say that her improvement was remarkable. She began to get movement in her right side and every day grew in strength. Lois was placed on a waiting list for a bed at the ‘Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit’ (BIRU) where she would receive more intensive rehabilitation.
She moved to BIRU at the beginning of February and although her daily rehab increased, and her recovery accelerated, the support that BIRU could offer her was significantly impacted by COVID-19. All of the interactive and group sessions with other patients weren’t able to take place, and during this time Lois felt isolated and alone.
I don’t remember the night that the aneurysm burst and have very few memories of the time I spent in hospital. I remember feeling scared and confused, incredibly homesick and distressed.
There was one particular care assistant who called himself ‘Sir Francis’ who would spend hours with me, helping me to settle and I will always remember the kindness that he showed.
On one occasion it was planned for me to be accompanied by a nurse to the Eye Hospital in Bristol and the night before I lay awake, tearful and gripped with fear. In that moment I heard God’s voice, a gentle whisper, “I’ve not brought you this far, not to be able to see again.”. A promise spoken over my life, bringing comfort when things were hard. All the way through my recovery I have felt the tangible presence of God with me, and remember the peace and comfort I felt while listening to worship music every day.
I declared Psalm 145:14 over my life - “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
My personality was still there and, me being me, I remember always asking the staff how they were, showing an interest in their families and the things going on in their lives.
After a long delay I remember my move to BIRU and I was determined to get home as quickly as possible and particularly worked hard on my physical recovery, having been strong and fit before my medical hiccup. However, I felt isolated and lonely while at BIRU and my feelings of being homesick reached a new level. I would call Rich every day and would just listen in to all the things he was doing during the day, spending hours on the phone. I struggled to sleep at night and remember being told off by one of the nurses for calling Rich for a chat in the middle of the night.
On Monday 22nd March 2020, Lois was discharged from BIRU and was able to come home. She had been accepted onto an early release programme with the ‘Head Injury Rehabilitation Unit’ (HITU) who provide rehabilitation sessions at home. Over the next 8 months, Lois received support from the incredible HITU Team, including intensive physiotherapy, occupational health, neuropsychology, and speech and language.
She also had a total of 6 operations on her eyes (3 on each eye), which resulted in the restoration of her eyesight.
It was almost a year after Lois was first admitted into hospital that her rehab came to an end. Since that point she has continued to improve and recover every day. We absolutely believe that God has healed Lois, keeping her safe and ensuring her recovery was supernaturally extra ordinary.
There was a study completed on the effects of a grade 5 aneurysm on 60 patients -
49 patients died (82%)
1 patient remained in a vegetative state (1.6%)
8 patients were severely disabled (13%)
1 patient was moderately disabled (1.6%)
1 patient made a good recovery (1.6%)
We have learned that Lois could well have had the aneurysm for many years before it burst and that although her brain was damaged, it makes new pathways and is always growing and repairing itself. Her recovery remains better than expected.
So where are we now. As we write this blog it has been 26 months since Lois went into hospital. Lois is returning to work, has started to drive again, and after a lot of hard work and support from her personal trainer Helen, she has now returned to training in small group kettlebell classes with Hels Bells.
So what does the future look like? What is in the next chapter of our lives? You will have to read our next blog to find out…