Hearts and Hospitals

Several times over the last six months I have told my husband, "Tony you have to find a way to manage your stress. I do not want to be a widow at fifty eight." I said the same thing on April 24th. On April 28th Tony had a stroke.

The day started out sweetly, coffee in bed, listening to the birds singing, the sound of the ocean. Then Tony took a shower.

He came out of the shower, staggered toward me and said he felt like he had been hit on the back of the head. Fourteen hours later Tony had been taken by ambulance to the Rand Hospital on Grand Bahama Island, given a scan, airlifted to Florida, admitted to Broward North Hospital, given another scan and an angiography and placed in the Intensive Care Unit.

When the results came in we were told Tony had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. After we read up about it, we realized how serious this condition can be. Close to fifty percent of people who suffer this type of hemorrhage die.

As this sank in, I knew that if I had not been in the habit of listening and acting on intuitive wisdom Tony would not be here. I also knew that prayer changed everything.

The neurosurgeon told us that there is always danger of another hemorrhage, especially between day four and day ten. On Monday, which was day six, I was feeling uneasy.

In response to that distress I stood over Tony and while he slept, I prayed. I invoked the Saints who are dear to my heart. In part I also prayed, "Lord Jesus anoint Tony with your blood. Hold him in the Heart of the Great Heart. Keep him stable and safe and heal him in mind, body and spirit. It is given and it is so, Amen."

While I was praying, I felt Light pouring in. I felt the anointing. There was a huge shift.

When I opened my eyes I looked at Tony and noticed a mark on his green and white hospital gown. When I looked closely I saw it was a dark red blood stain. It was in the shape of a heart about an inch or so in size.

Surrounding that heart was another heart. It was soft in color, pink and tender and in that moment I knew everything was going to be o.k.

The next day Tony was wheeled off for another angiography. I decided to sit outside the unit and I found a comfortable chair in a nearby waiting room.

A woman came in bent over with anxiety. Her energy was low. She placed a call, which I could not help but overhear.

The woman was calling a church. She pleaded, "Could you please ask a priest to come to Broward North Hospital? My nephew has been in a car accident and he is in a really bad way. The boy's father has also been admitted to the hospital because of the stress. I am worried for both of them."

As soon as the woman hung up I went over. I told her, "Excuse me, I have to tell you it is wonderful to have prayer support from a priest. However you can pray and call on God yourself. You do not need an intermediary.

I will pray with you. Then you are going to go back to your nephew's room and you are going to invoke Christ to heal your nephew according to His will."

I prayed with the woman. She cried. She told me, "I love you." Then she left.

Today, May 8th is my fifty ninth birthday. I have never been happier. I am celebrating a birthday and the love of my life is still with me.

His life is the most beautiful, precious gift I could ever ask for.