HIMPower Magazine HimPower November 2017 | Page 21

make a difference by telling his story. In
speaking with him, we quickly realized how
passionate he is about helping others. You
could say he’s on a mission to educate others
about what to do and what not to do to
avoid being a stroke victim. And his impact
is evident. You’ll learn more about it as he
describes what happened and the blessings
that have come from his testimony.
HimPower: Coach AC, you come from
a strong pedigree of football coaches so it’s
easy to understand why you’re popular with
the fans. How long have you been coaching?
Coach AC: I’ve been coaching for 31
years.
HimPower: What was it like when your
game was suddenly interrupted by a stroke?
What do you remember about that day?
Coach AC: I remember my face drooping
and I couldn’t keep my arm raised. What
was interesting was I immediately knew I
was in great hands. One of the paramedics
was a former student, the other was the
dad of one the players I had coached. So,
it wasn’t like I was with strangers. I also
remember feeling if I had to die tonight, I’m
already good, I’m ready, not scared. If it’s
not my time, I will get the test done.”
HimPower: Did
you have any symp-
toms before the
stroke occurred?
Coach AC: I
felt famished, and
I’m never hungry
during a game.
My fingers were
Coach Criss and his wife
tingling, these were the only signs I had.
Normally, I would have tried to shake it off,
but the team doctor assessed me and told
me I needed to go to the hospital. I was
thinking, ‘I’m not going to spend $600 to
go around the corner—the hospital was only
3 miles away. Within 30 minutes, my face
started drooping, I couldn’t lift my arm and
keep it raised and my face started sinking. I
figured I had better get checked out. They
administered TPA (Tissue Plasminogen
Activator, a protein involved in the break-
down of blood clots) as soon as we got to
the hospital. I was able to lift my hand and
foot within 4 hours of the medicine being
administered, and the nurse had a look on
her face. She said, ‘I’ve been doing this for
a long time and for some reason, this is the
quickest I’ve ever seen this work.’ My wife
said, ‘I’m not surprised because I know
what my God can do.’ I was getting up in
ICU and they were amazed—people don’t
walk in 2-3
days after
having
a stroke.
I would
get up
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