March 10th, One Year Later

So as we are in the hospital waiting to be induced, I said "I do not feel very we..." That was the last thing I remembered for the next twelve hours.

I woke up just around 11am in a hospital bed and I remember asking if we had the baby yet. The told me no and what had happened. I tried to act as if I knew what happened but there was a reason I never got into acting. The doctor came in and talked to me regarding the issue and that a spot of blood was on my brain from when I passed out. Apparently, I hit my head directly on the hospital floor and that is what caused the issue. Apparently I was awake for a certain amount of time afterwards and even when they did the first CT Scan on me. To this day, I do not remember any of this.

The doctor told me they wanted to see how the brain looked now to see if the bleeding had stopped. So at about 1pm on March 10th, I went in for my second CT Scan. It took just a few minutes but I knew something was wrong. I was so incredibly nauseous that when I cam out of the scan, I told the nurses they had ten seconds to find a waste can.

As they brought me back to my room, I remember asking my father a question and I will never forget his response. I asked if I was going to have to have brain surgery. He told me, "Travis, you are not going to need brain surgery. Just sounds like a concussion. You will be fine." The way he said it, I knew he was not sure about his answer. My dad may be finding this out for the first time as he reads this; however, his response shook me to the core. When he believes something, he is certain. But, you could tell he was scared. Heck, we were all scared.

The picture above is the second CT scan. If you look at it, the clear part just to the right of the middle, is supposed to be in the middle. Also, the large lighter shade to the left (was on my right side) is the blood clot. Before, it was just a small dot of blood and had expanded to that in about 12 hours time. I of course questioned the surgery if it was necessary; however, I am glad everyone else said to do it. Whew!

Around 2pm, the doctor came in and said, "It does not look good. The bleeding has gotten much worse and we need to get in there to stop the bleeding." My mom left the room to go tell my wife and my dad lost it. However, in that moment of ultimate fear, God sent someone into our lives that calmed us down. A pastor from our church walked in and prayed with my dad and me. He read from Psalm 34. To summarize what it said, David is praising God while going through a trial. It was so incredibly relaxing to remind us to praise Him through trials and to praise Him through glory.

I had to sign a document that stated I could pass away and I would not sue the hospital. WOW! So about 3:30pm I get wheeled to where my wife is and is preparing for an arrival into the world. We prayed, we cried but we trusted that God would get us through this trial.

I went under around 4:15pm or so. Next thing I know, the doctor is feeling my feet and asking me to wiggle my toes and then my legs and then my fingers. I was trying to figure out why he would and there was no issue. Then I remembered where I was. They were making sure they did not do anything during the surgery that did damage to other nerves. I called my wife and told her I was in recovery and she seemed happy, as was I. I went back to my room that was filled with family and friends. It is overwhelming to this day to have remember that, seeing everyone who came out to support us.

I was feeling so much better. I talked to friends and family for a few hours before I had to get some sleep. I talked with Stephanie a few more times before I dozed off. Baby would be coming soon, just not sure when yet. Last thing I remember from March 10th is waking up when my brother came in from school. He slept in the same room with me, on a lovely bench in the room. It was padded but not comfortable. He did not want to miss the birth of his first nephew; however, he was there to support me as well.



Next Blog - March 11th - Wake up, we need to wheel you downstairs!!

Phoenix Part 3: End of baseball, insurance for two days and a certain Bible Study leader

The 2005 baseball season ended in early September and we went on trying to get sponsors to renew as well as dealing with issues from the past season. In early November, they announced that the 2006 Surprise Fightin' Falcons season was being suspended. Everyone was let go immediately except for myself to pack everything up and ship it to Reno. The Mesa team was suspended too and I packed their stuff up as well. They asked me to move to a few other teams and I looked at one; however, there was a strong pull to stay in Surprise (I was not sure at the time why). I decided I needed to check out new avenues for a "career." I had no idea what I wanted to do but was completely burnt out on baseball!

I had a few interviews in a range of areas. It ranged from a car salesman to a parks and recreation assistant to a ticketing company. I turned down the Car Salesman job. That was not a rode I wanted to head down. Nothing was really working out and then a job with an insurance company was available. The position was to be trained for a Insurance salesmen. My grandfather held the position for many years after WWII and I thought it would be a nice change of pace for me.

I arrived for the interview and there was a typing test. At this point, I should have known something was up. Why on Earth would there care how fast I typed for selling insurance?? Anyway, I went through a few screens and they offered me the job. I accepted and started on Martin Luther King Day 2006. I started at 12:45pm on that Monday. That first day was a little confusing as I was understanding that on the following Wednesday I was to take a test that was needed for insurance sales. It made sense to learn the product you were selling so I started to look things over after work that night and the next morning. I started to question things on that second day there when I learned that I would be an insurance OPERATOR for at LEAST the first year. If you know me, I am NOT someone that sits still easy. I kept going back and forth the rest of the day and at the end of the day, I made my decision. That place was NOT for me. I told the leader of our insurance class and he recommended me to sleep on it. I told him I would but my decision would more than likely not be changing. I drove him and kept going back and forth on if I was doing the decision. It felt as though that God was telling me that I needed to wait and not rush for a job. That seemed a little tougher as money was definitely needed at the time. I will admit I rushed into that job and who knows what would have happened if I would have stayed on there.

In the meantime, I had started to get back involved in a Bible Study at the church I had tried to attend. The leader of the group and I talked on the phone several times about things that had been going on in the group as well as what had been going on with my job situation. I started to attend and thought it was time to really get involved in the group a little more. I started talking to a few people there but never really talked to many people or plan to hang out with any of them. I talked to a guy named Erik and thought he was a good guy to meet up with and chat about life and God and watch plenty of sports. I was randomly talking to the Bible Study leader and she encouraged me to keep coming back even though connections were not being made. I told her I would and went on through my birthday. Erik was also looking to leave the group and did a few weeks before I did. I still talked to the leader of the group after that. There were times Erik and his girlfriend (now wife) myself and the leader would head to dinner and just hang out. It was nice to hang out and relax with friends as the job situation was still in flux.

I emailed a sales director at a hotel we had worked with while at the baseball team. He said he was actually going to be putting in his notice and asked if I would be interested. I, of course, said yea. It seemed like a good fit, especially only looking at 45 hours a week and the pay was better than I ever had previously. I sat down for an interview on a few different days and got offered the job. I felt a HUGE WEIGHT lifted off the shoulders and started to understand what God was talking about with me being patient with His plan. There are so many times that we rush into a decision simply because we THINK it works out for us; however, He KNOWS what is right for us and is teaching us through the process as well.

Right after I started my job at the hotel, I left the bible study I was attending for a few months. I let the leader know and she was not too thrilled with me. I was not growing with the group and was looking for a few different opportunities to get involved with other groups at church. We would stay in contact at church and hang out in groups we were sure.

We were right, in a way...............

Phoenix Part 4: When a phone call from Seattle and a friend's wedding combine to lead to a future.