TimeOfNeedForTimAndFamily

What started out as a normal day Monday, November 10th, proved to be anything but that for Tim and Leslie. 

It began with Tim calling to tell his wife he had a headache and was seeing spots when he got out of the tub. His blood pressure was high and he decided to rest for the day. When Leslie arrived home from work, she began dinner and went to check on him. She had him check his blood pressure and it said 175/80 - after googling if that was bad, it said get to an ER. On their way there, Tim passed out. It took 3 people to get him out of the car and onto a stretcher. After parking the car they said he had come to, but was weak and his blood pressure very high. 

The surrealness of this situation brought Leslie back to 19 years ago after the birth of their daughter, when Tim was struggling with back pain and shortness of breath. It turned out he had to have a triple bypass. You could imagine the whirlwind then! 

The hospital continued to run tests and admitted him. For two days they ran tests as he just slept in the hospital room. After running tests, a case worker came in and informed Tim and Leslie their insurance was out of network. You could imagine that surprise! The next morning with no answers he was released but didn’t look well. As Leslie signed the release papers, a nurse got him into the wheelchair and helped him into the car. Arriving home after a 10 minute car ride, Tim got out of the car and said he was having trouble walking on his right side. Leslie helped him inside and just thought he was feeling weak after lying in bed sleeping for 2 days. She got him upstairs and he wanted to take a bath. After coming to check on him he was sitting on a stool next to the tub saying he could barely get out of the tub and his speech was slurred. Panicked, Leslie called the hospital back right away and they said they couldn’t find a record of him and passed her to someone else who was very rude. Leslie happened to have her boss on the other end and she found another hospital for her to rush him to. They arrived as quickly as possible and the tests began again. While waiting for a room in ICU the nurse practitioner was able to access his records from the hospital they were just released from and noticed that his basilar artery had a lot of plaque build up and was hindering the blood flow to the brain. The next morning he was taken for an MRI which confirmed a stroke. They began PT, OT, and speech therapy right away. The case worker worked with their insurance to get him admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation center. Tim has been working very hard and is progressing daily. 

They remain steadfast in prayer and are standing on the promises of the healing power of Jesus! Leslie and Tim are believing for complete healing and restoration! They are also standing in faith for the Lord’s provision as this set back has had Tim out of work for the past 3 weeks. Although Leslie works full time, her income is designated to the family’s insurance. Their oldest is a student at the University of Utah, their daughter is a student at Dallas Baptist University, and their other son is at home working to go back to school. Their children are planning to help contribute to the family expenses but Tim has always been head over the finances in their family. 

Tim and Leslie live by the principle that they are blessed to be a blessing and are grateful for when they are able to help others. They did not imagine being the ones in need of assistance. They have no idea at what they are facing with medical bills, but keeping up with day to day life and finances is a need to be faced daily. 

Facing trauma and trials can always leave us with many questions, and it’s easy to get stuck in the why. Leslie and Tim are staying focussed on healing, recovery, overcoming, and testifying of God’s greatness through this valley.

If you have been blessed to be a blessing then join me in this moment to make the most of every opportunity through prayer & giving as a way to do good to a family in time of need. Thank you!