On September 29, 2002 I think that I was getting a message which was: SLOW DOWN! It had been a hectic weekend. I work full-time and I care for two children (one in elementary school and one in middle school), a husband, a house, a dog, two birds and numerous fish. Don’t get me wrong –I am grateful for every one of my blessings. But, I also feel like there is never enough time to do all of the things that I need to do. I know that I don’t NEED to do everything, but I do TRY to do everything.
This particular day, I had taken the kids to a birthday party, run to the store while they were at the party, then I picked them up. We got home and I had dinner starting on the stove. I was putting groceries away. I had wash in the washer and dryer. I was watching the kids while my husband worked in the basement. My husband was bringing up lots of boxes and trash from the basement and putting them in the garage. Since I obviously didn’t have enough to do, I thought that I would cut up the boxes for recycle, in between what I was already doing.
I found a box knife. I went into the garage. I was hurrying. The box was about four feet tall and very thick. The box knife was dull. I was thinking, “I need a new blade.” I had to push the blade out extra long – about three inches – because the box was so thick and the blade was so rusty and dull. Then it happened. I was pulling down very, very hard and the box knife slipped and went into my left thigh. It went all the way in. I don’t remember pulling it out – but I must have.
There was dark blood everywhere. I put my hand on my thigh and made it to the garage door. The angels were there because my husband had come up from the basement and was standing by the garage door. I think I said his name, and he said, “Oh my God.” He ran for some towels, and I began to get sleepy. I lay down on the garage floor. There was blood everywhere. I told my daughter to turn the stove off, just to give her something to do and to make her go away. Then my four-year-old son opened the door. He said, “Mom, are you going to die?” I told him that I wasn’t, but I was fading fast.
I had the bleeding stopped by applying pressure, so my husband put me in the car and probably got me to the hospital faster than any ambulance could have. I remember telling him to slow down. I was very sleepy and fighting to stay awake.
The hospital was a mad house and when they first looked at me in triage, they thought I could wait. I was in a wheel chair, and I could hardly stay in it. I wanted to lie on the floor. When they finally took my blood pressure, it was 40/24. The triage nurse said, “That can’t be right. You should be…” and I said, “Dead?” Then I went out. I started convulsing. I heard voices saying, “She’s fighting it.” A lot of hands lifted me on a table and they started cutting my clothes off. I had IV’s put in both arms. I kept fighting. When I complained about my shirt the nurse said, “Be quiet. We’re trying to save your life.”
They brought my blood pressure up, but they couldn’t feel a pulse in my left foot. They called for a vascular surgeon. I was stable so my husband went home to take care of the kids. The doctors had told him that they would be keeping me. My daughter said that when she saw her father, she thought that he was going to tell her that I was dead. I was in a lot of pain. The wound was really hurting now. I could hardly move my arms due to all of the tubes and wires, but I knew that I had one chance. I FORCED myself to do Reiki on my leg. It was very hard. I wanted to rest. I don’t know how long I did Reiki. I just kept doing it.
Finally, the vascular surgeon arrived. She did a sonogram of my leg and veins. I had definitely cut an artery. Then she seemed surprised and confused. I asked her what was wrong. She said, “Well, everything seems fine!” She was under the impression that I was in bad shape.
My blood pressure was now normal, and my leg was still sore, but it had a pulse. When my husband returned to the hospital, they told him that they were letting me go! He couldn’t believe it. They had been getting the paddles ready – I had been going out on them! Now, I was going home.
Since my clothes had been cut off I had nothing to wear. I left in two hospital gowns and hospital socks. I walked out of the hospital that same day. They said that I had given them “quite a scare.” I spent the next week at home, and I developed some early blood clot symptoms. When the blood clot symptoms would start, I would do Reiki. The symptoms would stop.
I have a nasty scar, but I am fully recovered. I can honestly say that I use Reiki daily – for just about everything. Did it fix my leg? Well, on New Year’s Eve my husband said that he doesn’t want to go through another year like 2002. He referred to it as the year that I almost died. We are certainly believers. Have I slowed down? No, but I do stay away from sharp objects!
By Lisa