He was angry that I was not being tracked by a monitor and proceeded to ask me if I knew how serious my condition was . He even told me to stay in close contact with my next of kin ! As only Bernie Mac could say , God rest his soul , “ wayment ” ( wait a minute ). My next of kin . So , like I could die ? Hmm … wayment ! The neurologist said they were going to do everything they could for me , but if the blood thinner didn ’ t help , it was going to be fatal .
I cried and then I prayed and then I cried some more . How could this be happening to me ? I was always healthy . I ate the right things . I exercised . I was only 35 years Old . Why me ? I had to get over my emotions quickly because I knew I needed to be prayerful . The days following were hard and long . The doses of blood thinner and pain medications were never ending . Doctors , surgeons and specialists were coming from every corner of the hospital to find out who was this 35 year old stroke patient . Their visits made it hard to sleep . I welcomed their visits because no one knew why this had happened . I had no family history of blood clots . Maybe , just maybe , one of them could tell me what was going on and also tell me how to keep it from happening again .
It wasn ’ t until I was released from the hospital and went to a follow up appointment with my primary care physician , Dr . Lisa Y . Harris , that I understood the magnitude of the situation .
She told me that when the hospital called her and told her what happened , she thought I hadn ’ t survived . But when they told her I was alive she couldn ’ t believe it ! Dr . Harris was also a woman of strong faith and in that moment , she began offering praises and thanks right in the middle of her medical office ! She said she didn ’ t care about who was watching her ; she was grateful for the miracle . During that visit , I learned that I was a walking , talking , breathing miracle ! Two main veins in my brain were 100 % blocked from front to back and even down into my jugular veins . I should have died , but I didn ’ t ! Pheww … It just wasn ’ t my time ! According to Dr . Harris , surviving was one thing , but to have my cognitive and motor skills in tact was simply amazing ! I told her how the physical therapist came to me in the hospital and couldn ’ t believe I was able to walk up and down stairs . She was amazed , and I was supremely grateful . The tears began to flow right in the exam room . I knew then , that I had great purpose in this life , and I vowed to live it to the max from that point on ! I am so grateful and thankful to my awesome God for taking care of me !
Shona Dukes is a native of New York . She is a mother of one daughter . Many know Shona as an Evangelist , author , motivational speaker , relationship empowerment coach and lover of empowering people .
Email : shonadukes @ gmail . com
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