Painful Tears of Joy

It was 11:30 pm. I was exhausted from the day. As I rested my head on the pillow I heard that familiar, gentle, but strong voice of Holy Spirit say, "Wake up and look at your husband." My mind was fighting ; I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep; but again, that still quiet voice within my heart, got a little stronger than the first time and said, "Look at your husband."

While forcing myself to turn around and open my eyes, all of a sudden he jumped out of bed and stood up. I jumped out of bed and ran to him; he didn't know where he was or what he was doing . I pushed him down on the bed, ran to the phone and called his brother. About twenty minutes later Carlos came,we picked him up and placed him in the car. I could not call an ambulance because they would have taken him to the nearest hospital; I knew I had to get him to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Joe's eyes were rolling behind his head; he was going into a coma. I brought a wet cloth to keep him awake. Every time I dabbed his eyes, he hit his face and said, "Stop it!" I left my children asleep in bed, in just a few minutes my parents came rushing over to take care of our daughters. Thank God this happened at night; if it took place during the day it could have taken two hours or more to get to the hospital.

On July 27, 2008, at 1:30 am we arrived at the emergency room. They immediately hooked him up to all kinds of machines; he was going into a coma from liver failure. His eyes and skin were bright orange, his body was being poisoned from all the toxins. The doctors immediately injected him with lactulose, remember, this helps the body to release the poisons. If I had this medication to begin with at home, he would have never gone into complete liver failure from toxins and ammonia poising his brain.

If you have cirrhosis of the liver or knows someone who does, please make sure you inquire about this medication, it could prevent further complications. After the doctors were finished with that procedure they immediately placed him on a respirator because he was having trouble breathing.

It was about 1:45am when his four brothers, two sisters and parents came rushing to the hospital. Everything happened so fast, I remember all the doctors rushing and moving so quickly. They knew exactly what to do. After a little while, I asked the doctor if he was going to be okay, their answer was, "I don't know, I hope so, but he may not come out of this." There have been cases that people remain brain dead or die at this point.

Joe was in such a state of mind that he does not recall anything. Praise God for His power and leading of the Holy Spirit. I stood face to face with the spirit of death; I looked into those bright orange eyes and spoke the Word of God directly to the illness. "You filthy spirit of death, I rebuke you in the Name of Jesus. You will not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. Loose him in the Name of Jesus!"

I also stood around the bed with his family and I asked them to hold hands and pray with me. I recall one sibling saying, "It's not working" and I said, "I know, but I know it will." About one hour later, I found a poster with pictures of a nurse, an apple, a bathroom and so forth and showed it to Joe. Don't forget he was on a respirator and couldn't do anything. As I named the pictures, I told him to point to the correct one. He struggled to lift his hand and could barely point with his finger, he amazingly did and was correct on all the answers. I knew he wasn't going to be brain damaged.

After a while in the ER we had to wait in the waiting room while the doctors completed some tests. All I could do while waiting in the waiting room was to lie on a bench and cry. I sobbed by myself and then got up and went into the hall. I noticed a woman pacing the floor and said to her, "You look like me, are you waiting for a family member?" She told me her husband was in the operating room having a liver transplant. I explained to the woman that my husband will need one too and she talked to me for over two hours.

All of a sudden, a door swung open and the surgeon walked out and spoke to "Sue" I was shocked as I stood in the middle of the conversation between the surgeon and "Sue" they were talking with ease and assurance that everything went well, I was in amazement. They had such a wonderful rapport with each other, it seemed as though they were reminiscing about a great event. I immediately introduced myself to the doctor when they were finished with their conversation. I explained my husband is in need of a liver transplant and I asked for his business card, he handed one to me and walked away. In that short time, I knew I wanted that doctor to perform the surgery, he seemed so confident. he also told me there were many wonderful doctors and I couldn't ask for a certain one.

When I was able to see Joe again, it was about 6:00 am. We stayed with him around the clock. Thanks to his family and my parents who cared for Bethany and Jessica, Joe was never left alone.