I Broke My Own Ribs to Survive | Ep. 82

0:00This episode is brought to you by Quinn's.com. Go to Quinn's.com slash miracle files to show your support. I realize that I'm paralyzed down the midline. I know that my arm, my leg, my abdomen is completely dead. I can't sit up. To compound the issue, Randy lived alone. If help was going to arrive, he would have to find a way to call for himself. Then he remembered where his phone was. Downstairs. I'm in serious trouble. I am alone. And nobody's going to hear me. And then the panic started to come, and I could feel it. This is the miracle files. I'm Emily Jones, and I'm Holly Worthington. We're two sisters who love a captivating true story. But we're also seeking more light in our lives. So we're on a mission to find and share unforgettable, uplifting stories of God's miracles.

1:03We hope you'll join us on this journey. Welcome back to the miracle files. We have such a different, but amazing story for you today. And we say that a lot, but we hear that from all people. Like they never know what to expect from these stories. We like to keep you guessing. And this is another one that we just were so surprised by. Yeah. We should also mention before we start that there are some graphic details in this story. But it's also one of those that it's one you're going to be thinking about long as it's done. Yeah, you really will. And if you enjoy these stories, please remember to subscribe, leave us a review, share with your cool friends of family, only the cool ones. Just the cool ones. Just kidding. I'm kidding. We're not even cooler ourselves. So that would be really hypocritical. So just share it with all the people in your life. Share it with everyone. All right. Well, let's get into today's story. Let's do it.

2:06At 1.30 in the morning, 63-year-old Randy woke up for no apparent reason. He blinked his eyes open only to see nothing. And I turned to turn on my light because it's pitch black in my room. I keep a pristine sleep environment. Everything's blacked out. There's no electronics in the room. I reach up to turn on the light, and I can't feel the light at all. In the dark, a sickening sensation washed over Randy. His hand wasn't where his brain thought it should be. Randy reached across with his left hand and touched his right arm. His right arm felt cold. Dead. It was like a piece of sausage. It was the grossest sensation I've ever felt in my life. My entire mind recoiled. At first, Randy wondered if his arm had simply fallen asleep. But when he tried to move his leg, he found it just as lifeless.

3:07Something was very wrong. I realize that I'm paralyzed down the midline. I don't know if my face works. I don't know if I can speak. I know that my arm, my leg, my abdomen, everything on the right side of me, except the shoulder, is completely dead. Randy had spent decades working as a nurse. While part of him wanted to search for a different explanation, another part of him already knew what was happening. I know the symptoms of a stroke, and I thought within seconds that this may be happening, and I've tried to will my arm to move, and it would not move. I mean, every fiber of my being went into trying to make my arm move, and it was completely dead. And I reached over and touched it again, and I realized you're having a stroke. The dim glow in the dark hands on Randy's watch revealed it was 1.30am. He'd gone to bed at 11.30pm. And because I'm a nurse and I've treated stroke patients, I know that there's a critical

4:11time factor involved. You have roughly four, four and a half hours, maybe, to get to a hospital and get a TPA, which is the clot-busting miracle drug that saves stroke victims. If the stroke had happened while he was asleep, then as much as two hours of the treatment window had already disappeared before he'd even opened his eyes. And to compound the issue, Randy lived alone. No one was going to wake up and find him. No one was coming to check on him. If help was going to arrive, he would have to find a way to call for himself. Then he remembered where his phone was. Downstairs. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have mattered. Randy intentionally left his phone down there at night. Years before, after getting sober and rebuilding his life, Randy had committed himself to living differently. He had become protective of his sleep and careful about every habit that affected his health.

5:12The phone stayed out of the bedroom. It was a small decision he never questioned. Until the night, it became the very obstacle, standing between him and survival. I can't use my abdominal muscles. I can't sit up. I try to move my leg. It won't move. I try to reach over with this arm to my right leg. It's like a sack of water in a way 60 pounds. It won't move. It's not going anywhere. I was able somehow to roll over onto my side and sit up and dump my leg off. I thought, okay, the next step is to stand up on my good leg and kind of pogo hop how far I've got to go. But reality hit Randy hard the moment he tried to stand. Without the right side of his abdominal muscles to help shift his weight and maintain his balance, there was nothing to stop him from falling face first onto the floor.

6:13It was like timber crashing in the woods. He felt the crunch of his nose as it broke instantly. His lip split open and he fractured his right hand. The impact left him stunned. Blood filled his mouth. I'm laying in a heap on the floor and then it dawns on me that I'm in serious trouble. This isn't to be trifled with. I am alone and nobody's going to hear me and then the panic started to calm and I could feel it. The stroke was real. The silence of his house felt foreboding and the clock was still ticking. He tried to calm his thoughts so instead of focusing on the staircase, the phone, the hospital or the shrinking treatment window, he focused on a much smaller challenge. How to move. The answer wasn't simple and it certainly wasn't even dignified but it worked.

7:14Using the fingers on his left hand, he began dragging himself across the carpet. He would reach forward, hook his fingers into the fibers and twist his body enough to gain a little ground. Then he would do it again and again and again. Progress came only a few inches at a time and the effort took everything he had. His face stayed close to the floor because lifting his head required energy he couldn't spare. Whenever he needed to check where he was going, he would raise his head briefly, take in his bearings and then lower his head again. Every few feet brought a new wave of exhaustion. So luckily the door was open but I had to go around the corner, down a hallway, around a new old post, down a set of 17 stairs. And so it took me about 45 minutes going down the hallway like this and in the meantime the pain was enormous.

8:15My brain was swelling because of the injury. My heart rates off the charts. My body is really trying to die and the task was almost impossible because all I have is fingertips. I'm completely naked and every inch I went it scraped my face floor. I'm sweating, I'm bleeding, I've got broken bones and I've still got a hundred feet to go. And so I'm moving down the hall and it just became too much and I thought this is how it ends. As Randy dragged himself across the hallway floor toward the top of the stairs, a battle began inside his mind. One voice told him to quit. You make yourself somewhat alone because you don't get along with people very well and this is what happens and so you chose this. It felt as if an invisible force was kicking him while he was already down. But then another voice emerged. A voice of encouragement.

9:18I call it the pilot but it is the world of the spirit that says you're going to move forward. You don't have any choice. You are not going to stop. If you stop, you will die. The clock is ticking and no one is going to come to get you. With this other voice prodding him onward, Randy dragged himself forward. Inch by excruciating inch. The staircase eventually came into view and for a brief moment he felt something that almost resembled relief. Then he looked at it more carefully. Reaching the stairs was one thing. Getting down them was another matter entirely and his body wasn't even facing the right direction. Somehow he would need to turn a full 180 degrees around the post. Then I got to the new post and remember that half of me, 80 pounds of me, is a sack of water. It's completely worthless.

10:19I could not turn in any way. I have no grip. I was able, I don't know how I came by all this or figured it out. I picked my arm up. Through it around the new post and was able to grab the stair tread. If I yanked hard enough, it would wedge these ribs into that new post and turn me a little bit. But the first effort wasn't enough to move me so the second effort broke a rib. Randy cried out and squeezed his eyes shut. Kane exploded through his chest. For a moment, all he could do was lie there, gasping for breath and fighting the urge to quit. But then he noticed an unexpected benefit to his broken rib. And I realized that that gave me more room. And so I had to manually break four ribs yanking like this to turn my body 180 degrees to get to the stairs.

11:19And so the pain was so intense and you could hear it, right? You would hear the cartilage tearing. It was a wet kind of ripping sound and then you would hear a wet pop. And then I would get four more inches. I did that four times and was able to get turned around and then I'm perched like a seal over my stairwell, which is very steep and it's 17 steps. There was no time to dwell on it. The phone was still downstairs. The hospital was still miles away and the minutes still ticked on. What happened next is difficult for Randy to fully explain. The risk was obvious. Just across the bottom of the stairs stood two French doors. He knew one uncontrolled slip would send him tumbling and crashing through the glass doors below. But the voice of encouragement returned. And the voice is like it doesn't matter. There are no choices here.

12:21The only choices to move forward with resources that you have so start. Emily and I have been having so much fun looking at all of the different items that they have on Quinn's.com. Yeah, you actually got a cashmere sweater and I got cashmere gloves, which I'm super excited about. I've been looking for really good params. Love comfy. They are super soft. They're very lightweight. But cashmere keeps your hands a lot warmer than cotton. So I'm going to keep them in my car. The kids are not allowed to touch mom's gloves. They're going to sit on them. No, they will. I know. All right. We'll find the fall pieces. You'll reach for most at Quinn's. Download the Quinn's app for app exclusive offers or go to Quinn's.com slash miracle files. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Quinn's is now available in Canada and the UK too. That's qiuince.com slash miracle files.

13:23Randy inched his way forward again as he lowered himself from stare to stare. His injured ribs compressed and caught against each step just enough to slow his momentum. What had seemed like another disaster became part of what prevented him from sliding uncontrollably down the staircase. His broken ribs now saved him. By the time Randy reached the bottom of the stairs, he was exhausted beyond anything he had ever experienced. But for a moment, Randy felt a surge of hope. Somewhere in the next room, his phone waited. Randy couldn't remember whether he'd left his phone on the kitchen counter or the dining room table. And he didn't know how he'd ever managed to stand and reach it. But that was a problem for later. First, he needed to get there. Then despair set in again. Randy, wet with sweat and blood, couldn't get any traction at all.

14:28And the next floor is a highly polished white oak floor and I just had it waxed. It's slippery as can be. I can't move on the slick floor. It's like being on an ice lake. I'm not moving. As Randy clawed at the smooth unforgiving floor, his finger slipped, his arm trembled and he didn't gain even a centimeter of progress. The truth came crashing over him. Moving was impossible. For nearly two hours he had fought, refusing to surrender, always searching for one more option, one more impossible way forward. But now, lying broken on the hardwood floor, he could think of nothing else to try. For the first time that night, Randy stopped fighting. He was done. And I just lost it again. This is how it happens. I'm going to let go. And I know what surrender feels like.

15:30In certain senses, I've surrendered to an addiction. I've surrendered to love and divorce and all those things and how painful all that is. And this was not like that. I surrendered to the fact that this is probably my time. And it was almost a relief because the pain in the agony was so great. Randy's body and spirit were broken. Blood covered his face. His ribs thropped with every breath. It's almost impossible to describe this moment where if I had decided to let go, then I was going to be received in another world. And it wasn't that death was stalking me and something is trying to kill me, that there's just another place to go. And it was very warm and very inviting. And it was like, Randy, it's okay. You're just coming over here. That's all that it is. And if you want to do that, it's all right. And there was a great deal of relief.

16:31It was like, okay, yeah, I'm ready. When I rolled over on my back, which I knew was already a death sentence because I can't do a backstroke. And so I rolled over on my back and I just let go. And I said, let's go. I'm ready. With a feeling of peace enveloping him, Randy surrendered with a simple motion. He shrugged his shoulders. And that's when it happened. When my shoulder blades stuck to the floor like suction cups, and when I rotated them down, I moved four inches. Randy was stunned. He'd been certain it was the end of his story. But instead, he felt encouraged once again to move forward. I was like, okay, well, here we go again. I've got another chance. This is like chance number four or something. And so with a lot of effort, I was able to move across this sticky floor with my

17:31suction cup shoulder blades. Inch by inch, Randy made it to the kitchen. Only one obstacle remained. Finding his phone and somehow getting high enough to reach it. He prayed it was on the table in the dining room rather than the kitchen counter. The table was lower, giving him at least a chance. But deep down, he knew the truth. Even if the phone was on the table, there was no way his battered body could stand. Still, he had to try. He moved toward the table, clinging to the faint hope that somehow a way would appear. Then he stopped. In the faint glow of a salt lamp, his eyes locked on to something. And for the first time since the accident, a wave of gratitude washed over him. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And I looked up and the phone cord was dangling over the table.

18:34It wasn't on the countertop, which is 10 inches higher. If it was up there, I'm doomed. And I'm laying on the floor and I reach up to the table. It literally just barely gets to the edge of the table. Just enough at full extension to get my little finger through that little loop that just happened to be hanging off of the edge of the table. As if somebody knew I was going to have to get a hold of that thing. Randy could hardly believe the miraculous positioning of the phone cord. It was confirmation that he was receiving help. Yet at the same time, he knew he had to be careful. Even as precious seconds slipped away, he had to be strategic about how he retrieved the phone. I know it's plugged into a hub. If I pull the hub, everything comes unplugged because it's too heavy. If I pull the phone cord too hard, it's going to become unplugged. There's a lot that can go wrong in this particular moment. Just like everything else that's happened, a lot put have gone wrong. It didn't.

19:36And so I tug it and I tug it and I tug it and I see the phone edging over. And it finally gets to the edge and it falls and it hits me in the face and bounces across the floor five feet away. Randy Winston pained yet again but forced himself to keep moving. A few feet later, he reached the phone. Then he discovered that even dialing 911 was going to be harder than he expected. The screen was covered in blood, so was his hand. Under normal circumstances, entering three numbers required almost no thought, but lying on the floor after a massive stroke, it felt like a task designed to test the limits of human frustration. I only have one hand and kind of this thumb and it's covered with blood now and I cannot get 911 in. I just cannot do it to save my life. But Randy hadn't come this far to give up now.

20:37Summarying every ounce of determination, he tried and tried again until finally the last digit was entered. And I got 911 and found a head of voice. The EMS garage was two miles from my house. It was right nearby and they were here in two minutes and they were trying to pick my lock. I'm up here going just tear the door down. You guys, please don't bother with any finesse. We don't need that. And so they were able to get in. They had to rip the entire door frame off of the front of the building, which was very expensive to replace, but I don't care. And they got up here and they carried me out in a sling and put me in the back of the ambulance and I remember being very, very cold and I had no idea from that point where we were going. But it turns out that I'm three miles from a leading stroke centers in the state of Colorado and they had an entire stroke team waiting for me when I went in the door.

21:39And the doctor looked at me and he said, you know, I've got to advise you the risks and the benefits of this medication and everything else. And he said, you're having a left anterior parietal stroke and it kills one in five and you are 80% of the way to being one of the ones in five. The medication we want to give you, we only have another couple of minutes to give it and it hurts one in 30. And I'm like, just let's go and I don't remember anything after that. And with that, Randy's healing journey began. I woke up in the ICU and my best friend who is the strongest Christian man I know. I don't know how he knew I was there is holding my hand and crying. And I'm like, well, why are you so upset? And he said, have you looked at yourself?

22:40And I said, no, I haven't. He gave me a mirror. And I mean, I have got blood and bruises and beat up and it looks like I've been shot with a shotgun or something because they've given me like 15 anti-coagulant injections and every one of them looks like a gunshot wound. And I've got IVs in both arms. I'm on an oxygen mask and I'm still paralyzed. But I'm alive. Randy was alive and remarkably in time, he would make a full recovery. For over two hours that night, Randy had carried the full weight of his survival all alone or had he too much had aligned the voice, the peace, each decision, the phone cord being in exactly the right position for him to loop one finger through. Every movement had mattered. Every ounce of determination had mattered. And the timing was undeniable. Later, Randy learned something that still leaves him shaking his head.

23:44He had made it not by an hour, not by half an hour. The medication that ultimately saved his life had been given just 12 minutes before the treatment window closed. 12 minutes. That number is impossible to ignore. But when people ask Randy about his experience, they're often surprised because he says the miracle didn't just occur that night. He says his miracle story started decades earlier. I was delivered by a power greater than myself, but let me tell you, it took 35 years of effort for that spirit to make me strong enough to get through this two hour ordeal. It didn't happen because I said one thirty second fox will prayer. It happened because I lived the life of faith and adherence to certain principles. Everything had to be right. I had to be a nurse so I could understand what was going on. I had to be super fit so I could carry my body half dead. I had to be in a house that was three miles from the EMS and three miles from the hospital.

24:49All of these things had to be in perfect concert for this to happen this way. And there is no human way anybody could design. That kind of a thing. I was given everything that I needed to get through the most grueling, torturous experience of my life. And it was miraculous. So here I am. In hindsight, Randy sees the miracle so clearly now. But what means the most isn't just what happened that day. It's the realization that through it all, he was never truly alone. Oh man, Randy's experience was so unbelievably brutal. And yet it's also so clear that he was truly never alone. And Randy doesn't exactly describe God in the same words that many traditional Christians would.

25:50But he says he has no doubt that God was with him during this entire ordeal. Yeah. And we've said before, like we don't believe that God just does miracles from one particular type of people. It's just clear from the story there was divine intervention. Yes. Oh my goodness. What grit Randy had to get through this. I know. I couldn't believe it. And when you feel like giving up, just listen to this story. You know, seriously, I feel like that's one of the most important messages in the story is don't give up. Just keep pushing absolutely. So after we heard his story, it just made me more curious about strokes. Like I learned way more about strokes from his story than I have ever known. But I was like, what happens to cause this like scientifically? And what about this four hour window? So I did a little research and there's really a couple kinds of strokes. Usually it's caused either by blood flow that is blocked from your brain or there's bleeding in your brain. Yeah.

26:51So that's the way super serious medical emergency. And this medicine, if it's given within that four hour time window, it can usually prevent permanent damage or death. Yeah. And I feel like it's really important to share the symptoms of a stroke with our audience. So I got this from the Mayo Clinic, but they said these are the signs to look for. Trouble speaking and understanding what others are saying, numbness, weakness and paralysis in the face, arm or leg problems seeing in one or both eyes headache or trouble walking. And then they also said you can kind of test to see if someone has a stroke by remembering think fast and fast as an acronym. So it stands for face. So ask the person to smile. Does one side of their face drop? Arms? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward or is one arm unable to rise? Speech? Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is the person's speech slurred or different from usual and time? If you see any of these signs, call 911 or emergency medical help right away.

27:54Well, and obviously Randy was alone and he didn't have a phone, but still amazing that he was a nurse. He was able to recognize all of the symptoms and he was able to get to his phone such a miracle. It is such a miracle. And I love that he receives that heavenly encouragement, you know, that kept him going in. That voice. And it's amazing that he has now fully recovered, but beyond that, he says that this experience has impacted his relationships with his friends and family. So I wanted to share what he said about that. Yeah, so I live alone. I have family nearby and I've got very close friends, but it's not to the point where if somebody didn't hear from me for three days, that they're going to call or 24 hours. I mean, I could be here for a week. My body would have rotted on the floor here until somebody figured it out. And that was a very strong learning lesson for me, you know, it's made me more conscious of my vulnerability socially. And I've tried a lot to reach out and make sure that I have a lot of connections and that

28:57people are going to miss me if I'm going for a day. I'm praying a little deeper. I spend a little more time in meditation and I look into the eyes of the friends that I have with a little more depth now because they could be gone in a minute. They could be gone tomorrow. That is such a powerful thought. Yeah. I know. And when we sent our transcript of this episode to Randy for his review, he also sent his back a text message that I wanted to share because he now shares his message of hope with a lot of people and he says that he especially has been able to share it with hundreds of people in recovery. And this is what he said. They may think that their prayers aren't heard, that their good actions aren't being recognized, that they're living a life based on spiritual principles isn't working out so well. The reality is the prayer you say today, the good food that you eat today, the person that you reached out to and helped today may very well be the thing that saves you 30 years

29:59in the future. So don't neglect the day. You don't know what the future is going to need from you. Yeah. And that's true. You just want to reiterate, you may sometimes feel like your prayers aren't being heard, but they absolutely are. And that's such a comforting thought to know that they are being heard. Yeah. So true. Well, thank you, Randy, for sharing your powerful story with us. Keep spreading your message of hope. And thank you everyone else for joining us today as well. We hope you all have a wonderful week. Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle to share contact us at themericalfiles.com or find us on social media, we release new episodes each Monday. Yeah, so don't forget Miracle Mondays. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content as well. Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles. And don't forget to look for His light in your own lives.