26th October 2012, by Paul Tan-
Freak Accident
Like any other ordinary Saturday, I played basketball with my friends in my neighborhood court. But March 25, 2006 was no ordinary Saturday for me; I slipped and knocked my head, before fainting into a coma for 21 days. When I regained consciousness, I became half paralyzed on the left side due to 65% brain damage.
At 1:30 pm on that Saturday, I was sent to the operation theatre with seven holes drilled into my skull to remove the excess blood from my brain. After four hours of operation, I was sent to the Intense Care Unit (ICU) before the surgeon realized that the base of my brain stem was also bleeding. And I was operated for the second time.
While I was in coma, the surgeon told my father that patients with my kind of injury mostly would not survive. Even if I survived, I would be a vegetable for life. Only 1-2 percent of these patients would walk again, based on the surgeon’s experiences of operating hundreds of patients with injuries like me. Unfortunately, I was in the 98-99 percent category.
On March 29, that same week, the surgeon told my mother that the injury had caused deep structural damage in my brains. To make matters worse, they only discovered four days after the operation that my eyes still had contact lenses. Both of my corneas were badly scarred by fungal infection. The eye specialist said that I would be blind unless I had cornea transplant.
He never Forsake me
After hearing about my news, the youth group in my church came together and cried out to the Lord for my life and a miracle that very night.
The next day, on March 30, my mother went to ICU to check on my condition the night before. The nurse told her that both of my upper limbs from my elbow onwards moved. And they had to tie both of my wrists to the side of the bed for my safety.
My mother whispered to me, “Paul, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand.” I responded. Hallelujah! God was beginning to heal me at that time.
More crises happened after that, but God faithfully took me through crisis after crisis. One of the crises that occurred in the hospital was rigors, a condition involving fits with a very high fever. Again, patients with rigors had high chances of becoming a vegetable. Being a vegetable meant I would be like a sleeping zombie, with no feelings or thoughts, merely existing in this world. But God was with me. After 21 days, I came out of coma, slowly and surely recovering back into normal.
Also, during my stay in the hospital, God comforted my mother by showing her friend a vision. My mother’s friend saw a big and tall angel standing by my bed. First, he plucked one feather with his right hand from the left wing, and then another feather with his left hand from the right wing. After that, he placed these two feathers on both of my eyes.
While he was at still the hospital, the eye specialist was amazed with the transformation of my grey eyeballs, which looked like the eyes of a dead and stale fish, into round, dark and healthy ones. The eye specialist, who was not a believer, owed Paul’s recovery to God because it was a miracle in the medical field.
Two months after the first and second brain surgery, I had another operation to place in two pieces of titanium plate mesh and ten titanium screws to replace the two piece of bone flap, taken out during the second operation.
Alive and Glorifying God
Today, six and half years from the accident, I am a living miracle: I can breathe without a machine, my memory is intact, I can walk and talk, and my vision is almost 20/20 without transplant. Praise the Lord.
Thinking back, I thank God for His goodness during these desperate moments. The surgeon, operating theater, and life support system could be unavailable when I needed the operation. Had I gone through it later, the surgeon said I would have lost my life.
Also, I had fits monthly for three years since I was discharged from the hospital. But since that incident, I was asked to take supplements to help the brain cells grow called Ambrotose Glyconutrients and Stem Tech. And together I took them, which helped me to be fits-free for 2 years 6 months now. Praise the Lord! According to the neurologist, fits cease when all the brain cells grow.
Although my left limbs’ functions are not fully restored yet, I believe that one day God will miraculously restore and I will be able to run, leap and play my guitar once more. All glory to God! My friends would ask me if I ever felt depressed or angry with God. My answer is no because the Lord’s joy is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10)! If Nick Vujicic, a man without limbs, could live a joyous life, how can I not?
Note from writer of CM: Paul Tan had been an active youth leader in FGA KL before the accident happened. During the course of his recovery, he was sent to India to recover, where by he completed the whole bible in 41 days. Now, he is progressing every day although he required assistance from a walking stick. Paul is passionate about youths and children, believing that youths today need to practice patience in love and abstinence from intimate relationships. Paul is also involved with the “Make a Wish” organization to fulfill a dying child’s wish. Because he was given a second chance in living, he wanted to give hope to children losing hope to live. A grateful and joyous lad, Paul’s positivity in life encourages us to live a life of joy to the Lord amidst trials and tribulations in life. He is now studying at Royal Priesthood Bible College in FGA KL, and plans to be involved in ministry in the future. He is also working for FGA KL.
Watch Paul Tan’s testimony to encourage you to take heart to be strong and have faith:
To know more about Paul, go to his blog below:
http://secondchanceofliving.blogspot.com/ (Paul’s more recent blog)
http://ycblogspot.blogspot.com/ (Paul’s blog in 2006)
