Many people say we do, indeed, have angels here on Earth. I always have thought it just couldn't be true because angels are in heaven with God. Recently, I have been proven wrong. Here is my story I lived to tell.
Dr. Wesley Hedges referred me to see Dr. Ajitkumar Desai at Tiffin Mercy Hospital on Feb. 11, when a CAT scan revealed kidney stones. After a thorough exam, Desai informed me of a bruit, an abnormal sound in the carotid artery of the neck, and the need to get Doppler studies done as soon as possible. My kidney stones would come out when they were ready, he said. The appointment was made to have the Doppler the next day. Desai would "follow-up" after the tests were complete.
The radiology tech said the results would be in on Monday and the doctor would call after that. Shortly after 2 p.m. Friday, the phone rang. It was Desai's office informing me of a blockage in the left carotid artery. I was referred to a vascular specialist from Toledo, Dr. Paul Clark. His office nurse scheduled me for an appointment in Tiffin Feb. 17 at Mercy Hospital's outpatient clinic. Meanwhile, I was to go to the emergency room if any symptoms of a stroke occurred: slurred speech, numbness, tingling or weakness in the limbs, blurred vision, confusion, etc.
Wednesday, Clark said my left carotid artery was approximately 99-percent blocked. He informed me surgery was my only answer, and it needed to be done very soon. The surgery was set for Friday less than 48 hours away.
The surgery was done Feb. 19 at Mercy St. Vincent's Heart Center in Toledo, and was a huge success. Clark estimated my blockage to have left the carotid artery with "only the size of a pin hole" for the blood to come through to the brain. He said that I was a stroke just waiting to happen, and I was very lucky to be here.
Clark knew just what needed done - thanks to Desai, he said - and all the reports he had ready for him. Clark knew just how soon it was to be done to save me. He came to visit me later after surgery, held my hand and said he had done exactly as he had promised. I thanked him, and told him he certainly did a great job, because I still was here.
I spent the rest of the weekend in the cardiac step-down unit and was discharged home Feb. 21. Recovery is slow, but expected to be so for the next four weeks.
After telling my story again and again, many people can't believe how a doctor who specializes in urology is able to find a blockage in the carotid artery. This clearly is amazing for a professional to do outside of his realm of practice, everyone says. Desai was praised over and over by Clark and all those I have come in contact with, including the staff at Mercy Tiffin Hospital and St. Vincent Medical Center. I am deeply appreciative of Hedges' referral also, as it led me down the right path, with good results.
Without such wonderful, dedicated doctors, I would have suffered a stroke, and may have died. I shudder to think that I was walking around, not knowing what was going on inside me. It took the time, patience and expertise of truly professional people to see what was going on, and that will forever touch my heart and my life.
I believe Tiffin residents are blessed to have a wonderful doctor such as Desai. We don't have to always go out of town, looking for good doctors. And we don't have to travel when we have doctors such as Clark coming to Tiffin to see us in the clinics at Mercy Hospital. Clark is an amazing surgeon who has done more than 3,000 of these surgeries, I am told. I truly am thankful for all the doctors to have worked together as fast as they did.
I am recovering from the surgery and doing very well. I have a wonderful husband, who stood by me through all this, three children and 12 grandchildren. Many times a day, I reflect on how quickly things all happened. I am so thankful to be here with all of them.
After all of this, I have come to only one conclusion. We do have angels here on Earth, and I think I will stay here with them, for as long as I possibly can. They are the ones with invisible wings and halos that God has sent to take care of us.
