Friday, March 31, 2006
Today has been a great day! Although my parents and Isaac left this afternoon, I have felt great throughout the day, I attended all of my classes, I went to an enjoyable Genevans concert tonight, and I've been able to see so many friends. Now, as I type, I'm watching Cool Runnings, a movie about the origins of the Jamaican bobsled team. Although there is a little language, it's a really funny movie, and I'm having a great time, especially as I'm one of seven people watching it in Tony's and my room.
I should give all of you a short discussion of my experiences over the last few days:
At 6:10 on Tuesday morning, I woke up in bed. Since it was still early, and since Tony had set his alarm for 6:45, I decided to go back to sleep. However, instead of awaking in bed as I expected, I awoke in an ambulance. As it transpired, Tony awoke under me, with me convulsing. He tried to awaken me, but failed, so he called the RA, Wilson. Similarly, he could not awaken me, so he called the head resident, Jensen, who similarly failed and then called 911. As I was being loaded into the ambulance, Dr. Ken Carson, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, walked by, and he soon phoned my parents.
When I arrived at Beaver Valley Hospital, I was quickly taken into the emergency room. There, they took my parents' phone number to give them an update. I was soon joined by Tony, Wilson, and Jensen, who soon left to bring back items such as my glasses and my watch, and one of Mom's brothers, who lives twenty or thirty miles north of here. During the time in the emergency room, I suffered another seizure. After a CAT scan, doctors found blood on my brain, but the scan could not tell what its source was. There were many possible sources that they considered, such as a tumor or a brain aneurysm. Since Beaver Valley does not have this technology, doctors decided to ask my parents to send me to a bigger hospital. Therefore, they called my parents (just left from Belle Center), saying something like the following: "We need to transfer Nathaniel by LifeFlight, either to Columbus or Pittsburgh. We know that Columbus is closer to you, but Pittsburgh would be quicker, and we would really like it to be quicker." Can you imagine my parents in this situation?
The flight went well, landing me at Allegheny General Hospital in about twelve minutes. Once there, I was soon joined by my uncle. After a few hours, my parents arrived, and soon I was taken from the emergency room to the intensive care unit. After several hours, I went through an MRI, which was so peaceful that I fell asleep. Through this time, it was determined that I did not have an aneurysm, a tumor, or anything else dangerous.
While I was in the hospital, I had a wonderful time with the staff at the hospital. I had a wonderful stream of visitors, including six ministers, one licentiate, multiple ruling elders, and many people who weren't ordained at all. Tony, Wilson, and Jensen visited again on Wednesday night, and several other students would have visited if I had needed to be in the hospital longer. Similarly, the College has been so helpful: giving free room and board to my family, sending out emails on my behalf, giving me indulgences for missed classes and assignments, and even sending its President and Chaplain to visit me in the hospital! And I have almost a dozen cards from people: several different classes, the Pearce Hall basement, the group that meets at Filberts' on Tuesday nights, and more.
My problem is called an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, a congenital condition consisting of a ball of blood vessels near to the surface of the brain. A combination of several factors makes mine rather un-dangerous: although it could hypothetically pose a problem, it apparently is far more likely to cause more seizures or the symptoms of a stroke instead of being drastically dangerous. I have been warned to be careful of seizures or of any stroke symptoms, such as severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, paralysis, and loss of sight, for they may be signs that the AVM is becoming more dangerous and may need quick surgery.
Thanks to all of you who prayed for me! I have felt closely the presence of the LORD through this whole ordeal, and among the chiefest signs is the great number of people who have been and are still praying for me. People here at Geneva sent a notice of my condition and an urgent request for care to everyone on campus. Others posted notices of my condition on Covienet. Several thousand people were praying for me, all around the world! And I didn't even have a serious problem! How many people are released from the hospital in great condition just two days after being lifeflighted into it? What a wonderful set of blessings from the LORD! Thanks so much to all of you!
I should give all of you a short discussion of my experiences over the last few days:
At 6:10 on Tuesday morning, I woke up in bed. Since it was still early, and since Tony had set his alarm for 6:45, I decided to go back to sleep. However, instead of awaking in bed as I expected, I awoke in an ambulance. As it transpired, Tony awoke under me, with me convulsing. He tried to awaken me, but failed, so he called the RA, Wilson. Similarly, he could not awaken me, so he called the head resident, Jensen, who similarly failed and then called 911. As I was being loaded into the ambulance, Dr. Ken Carson, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, walked by, and he soon phoned my parents.
When I arrived at Beaver Valley Hospital, I was quickly taken into the emergency room. There, they took my parents' phone number to give them an update. I was soon joined by Tony, Wilson, and Jensen, who soon left to bring back items such as my glasses and my watch, and one of Mom's brothers, who lives twenty or thirty miles north of here. During the time in the emergency room, I suffered another seizure. After a CAT scan, doctors found blood on my brain, but the scan could not tell what its source was. There were many possible sources that they considered, such as a tumor or a brain aneurysm. Since Beaver Valley does not have this technology, doctors decided to ask my parents to send me to a bigger hospital. Therefore, they called my parents (just left from Belle Center), saying something like the following: "We need to transfer Nathaniel by LifeFlight, either to Columbus or Pittsburgh. We know that Columbus is closer to you, but Pittsburgh would be quicker, and we would really like it to be quicker." Can you imagine my parents in this situation?
The flight went well, landing me at Allegheny General Hospital in about twelve minutes. Once there, I was soon joined by my uncle. After a few hours, my parents arrived, and soon I was taken from the emergency room to the intensive care unit. After several hours, I went through an MRI, which was so peaceful that I fell asleep. Through this time, it was determined that I did not have an aneurysm, a tumor, or anything else dangerous.
While I was in the hospital, I had a wonderful time with the staff at the hospital. I had a wonderful stream of visitors, including six ministers, one licentiate, multiple ruling elders, and many people who weren't ordained at all. Tony, Wilson, and Jensen visited again on Wednesday night, and several other students would have visited if I had needed to be in the hospital longer. Similarly, the College has been so helpful: giving free room and board to my family, sending out emails on my behalf, giving me indulgences for missed classes and assignments, and even sending its President and Chaplain to visit me in the hospital! And I have almost a dozen cards from people: several different classes, the Pearce Hall basement, the group that meets at Filberts' on Tuesday nights, and more.
My problem is called an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, a congenital condition consisting of a ball of blood vessels near to the surface of the brain. A combination of several factors makes mine rather un-dangerous: although it could hypothetically pose a problem, it apparently is far more likely to cause more seizures or the symptoms of a stroke instead of being drastically dangerous. I have been warned to be careful of seizures or of any stroke symptoms, such as severe headaches, dizziness, slurred speech, paralysis, and loss of sight, for they may be signs that the AVM is becoming more dangerous and may need quick surgery.
Thanks to all of you who prayed for me! I have felt closely the presence of the LORD through this whole ordeal, and among the chiefest signs is the great number of people who have been and are still praying for me. People here at Geneva sent a notice of my condition and an urgent request for care to everyone on campus. Others posted notices of my condition on Covienet. Several thousand people were praying for me, all around the world! And I didn't even have a serious problem! How many people are released from the hospital in great condition just two days after being lifeflighted into it? What a wonderful set of blessings from the LORD! Thanks so much to all of you!
# posted by erudil @ 23:37 
