Brad Pistole

I woke Yvonne up around 12:15 a.m. while having a seizure. She called 911, and I was rushed to St. Edward Mercy Medical Center. After I became aware of my surroundings and talked to a doctor, he released me to go home. He wanted me to return later that morning around 10:00 a.m. to run some tests.

After returning home and trying to go back to bed, things got worse. My head began to "split wide open" with a headache, and I started throwing up. So we returned to the emergency room around 6:30 a.m. They immediately ordered an MRI on my brain, and the results were certainly no where near what we had expected to find out.

I was informed by one of my good friends from West-Ark, Dr. James Word, that the test had revealed a large brain tumor on the left side of my head. We immediately requested the presence of Dr. Queeny, the same neurosurgeon who had recently performed my grandfather's aneurysm surgery.

He suggested that under the current situation involving my age, the location, and the size of the tumor, he would recommend my traveling to University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS) Hospital in Little Rock to deal with the specialists there. We immediately made an appointment that day with Dr. Al-Mefty at UAMS, and the first available appointment was a week and a half later on Monday morning, April 12th.

We spent the next week setting everything in order, not knowing when we would return. We left for Little Rock on Sunday afternoon, not knowing how our lives would soon change. God had already been long at work in this situation, and I continued to be amazed over that for days that were still to come. During the previous week at work, I received calls and cards from everywhere. I heard from friends in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina and Italy. We received a visit from two of our closest friends from Joplin, Missouri -- Andy and Joan Wilson. Their kindness and their acts of love left us absolutely speechless!

God continued to provide incredible strength to me on Sunday night, April 11th, when we arrived in Little Rock with my family. Two of my great friends in Youth Ministry surprised me by flying to Little Rock to be with us Sunday and Monday. Greg Spink from Overland Park, Kansas, flew to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and picked up Mark Crain, and they flew to Little Rock to take Yvonne and I out to eat. Another good friend from Little Rock, Mike Harris, picked them up at the airport, and we spent the evening eating, talking, and sharing. They stayed with us all day Monday at the doctor's office before going home.

The news from Dr. Al-Mefty on Monday put everything into reality. The tumor was very real and very large and the best option was to remove it as soon as possible. This raised many questions, and he had most of the answers. There would be risks of partial to permanent paralysis on my right side, loss of eyesight in my left eye, loss of some speech and motor skills, and an obviously long road to recovery. This would involve three months of "little-to-no" activity, one full year of medicine and follow-up appointments, and one full year of suspended driving privileges. He set the surgery for Thursday, April 15, 1999, at 12:00 noon. This is one tax deadline I will never forget!

I cannot even begin to express how many people were praying and petitioning God on my family's behalf during the two week period before the surgery. I received hundreds of cards from people, elderships, ladies' classes, and congregations that I have never even met. This led me to absolute peace in God. I was totally relaxed as they wheeled me away into surgery at 11:30 a.m. on April 15th, and I praise God for what he placed within my heart on that day!

I was in surgery from noon on Thursday until 8:30 that night. Things went extremely well and another one of God's countless blessings was the fact that two of my close friends, Wade Fox and Jason Parker, were 4-5 feet away from me all throughout my surgery. My family and friends had the benefit of their updates every couple of hours.

I came out of recovery around 10:00 p.m. and remember very clearly my wife, mother, father, grandmother, two uncles, and Andy Wilson coming to see me. God had worked through my surgery in a very powerful way.

However, all of the amazing parts of my recovery were far from over. I had originally been told that I would be in the hospital 4-7 days, and they released me Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., only 2 1/2 days after surgery. I walked out with all 65 staples in my head, a swollen head and eye, and a little bit of double vision. ISN'T GOD INCREDIBLE?!

I have continued to improve by leaps and bounds from day to day. Each day the swelling in my head and eye continues to improve, and my hair is starting to grow back and cover the scar that comes with my new look.

The first half of the results from my pathology report has returned and shows a benign tumor. I will return to Little Rock in early June for a follow-up MRI and checkup with Dr. Al-Mefty. If things continue to improve and no problems arise, he may possibly release me in September or October to the care of the doctors here in Fort Smith.

I will never be able to express to everyone the love and appreciation I feel for all of the prayers and actions in regard to my family and me. I especially want to thank my immediate family. They have put their lives on hold to help me through this. God continues to move in incredible ways, and I hope that we all pay close enough attention to understand "Who Is In Control." Let's continue to watch God work!