THE AMERICAN AT SLOW

Dr Don Newbury is a longtime speaker and former university president who writes weekly.

There will be those who will insist that I have received my righteous desserts. However, I choose to believe that I have been blessed with incredible luck despite a fall from my church platform. Fortunately, the heartbeat and breathing have been restored countless times.

This happened during the traditional Sunday morning service on October 24 at the Burleson First Baptist Church. Now a few days later I’m still alive to talk about it.

I offer credit and thanks to many, starting with blessings from On High. I got a life extension. No matter how long the overtime is, I will keep asking myself, “Why me, Lord?” “…

EXTENDED STAY

Those reading this (who matters?) May want more details, and like the guy who caught the “biggest fish with everyone”, I’m happy to comply.

First, I had open heart surgery in 1998. After four bypass surgeries, mitral valve repair, and determined medication, I was supported by a surgeon’s prediction that I could live 15 additional years “if I took care of myself”.

I did “so-so” on care and I was in my 23^rd year of fairly good health – until recently. Then, in front of several hundred people gathered for worship, I passed out, falling from the platform while welcoming people to our church….

TEAM WORK

It had a much more disruptive effect than a crying baby, a young one rushing to the bathroom, or an elderly adult with a choking spell. Totally beside himself, I fell forward, lectern in tow. Dr. Ronny Marriott, our senior pastor and Howard Payne student during our presidency there, grabbed me before I made a thud.

He immediately stretched me out on the carpet. Worshipers gathered in prayer and an “unconscious angel,” Jen Owens, rushed to help. A nurse practitioner and church visitor, she shredded my clothes and began comprehensive CPR. Then an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) machine did its job, electronic paddles activated by Jay Tasker, a member of our church’s security team.

Things were ‘touch and go’ even on the ambulance ride to Texas Health / Harris Hospital Fort Worth, a facility known as a premier cardiac treatment hospital… ..

DEVELOPMENT

At the Harris’ Klabzuba Heart Center, good things continued to happen. Excellent medical professionals were quick to help, installing a critical stent, as two of the old bypass grafts had widened. Two days later, a defibrillator / pacemaker mechanism was installed, and about 50 hours after I was admitted to the hospital, I was able to return home.

I was advised to stay within three feet of my phone as it is now constantly monitored, providing up-to-date information to my doctors. I asked, of course, what should I do if I misplace my phone.

“Do not lose your phone”, was the answer….

THANK YOU SO MUCH

I owe a lot to a lot. My wife Brenda, my daughter and son-in-law Jeanie and Ryan McDaniel, my grandchildren Jonah and Addison. They observed the rescue efforts before I was transferred to the hospital. A lot of people thought I was screwed. (Lyrics to the old-fashioned song occurred, “We thought he was gone, but the cat came back.”)

Pastor Ronny deserves my eternal thanks. The doctors did not believe that I had no injuries, thanks to its cushioning from my fall. (This is the same guy who pointed out a week later that the attack could have been fatal had I been in the audience, where I sometimes fell asleep when his sermons weren’t fully engaged.

Little of that to be understood… ..

A LIFE THAT COUNTS

There is irony even in this experience. In the waiting room during my ordeal was our son-in-law Bryan Choate, who was in the same location almost 15 months ago when Julie – his wife and our eldest daughter – succumbed to a pulmonary embolism at the age of 50 years.

He encourages us, as do his children, Ben and Brittin. The same goes for Jana and Kyle Penney, our daughter and son-in-law in Tyler, and their children Juliana and Kedren.

Finally, the grace our late daughter consistently credited with “making a difference” is truly nurturing and comforting. I want to end my course with a life that matters, thanking everyone! …

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