All Things Aussie

Rochelle is a native of New Zealand, who in the US on a work visa. She was seen at the Mayo Clinic for the worst headache of her life. We were called to transport her to Mayo Hospital ER.

The "worst headache of your life" is a textbook clue that a patient may have a subarachnoid hemorrhage. A head CT will confirm or deny the existence of a ruptured blood vessel.

After taking report, we loaded Rochelle in the ambulance and got a baseline set of vitals, an EKG and checked her blood glucose. My attempt to establish an IV was a miserable failure. We rolled toward Mayo and I got to know her a little better.

I asked the usual questions and learned that she had partially torn both Achilles tendons. The injuries have prevented her from participating in some of her favorite activities.

Now it was time to ask if she wanted to be healed or I could chicken out and just transport her.

Rochelle travels a lot in her job, so we talked about the places she'd been since coming to the states. She'd seen more places than most people who've lived here their whole life. I told her that I'd just received an invitation to go to Brisbane, Australia to teach. She thought I would love it and encouraged me to go. Then I told her why I was asked to come there.

A few weeks ago I had a dream just before waking. (These are often the most important dreams. God gives them to us before waking to help us remember them) In the dream, I was being sent overseas as a representative to establish trade with a small group of people. When I woke, I checked my e-mail and found a message from a man who lives in Brisbane. He invited me to come there and teach him and a small group of friends about healing.

When Rochelle heard me mention healing, she asked what kind of healing I do. I explained then asked if she wanted me to give it a shot. With a hopeful smile she said, "I'd love it!"

We started with her Achilles tendons. I prayed over them a few times, but she felt nothing. I told her no worries and asked about her headache. The pain was 8/10, which was still the worst she'd ever had since she rarely has headaches.

I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence upon her and commanded the headache to leave then asked how she felt. The pain was less and she felt at peace, so I continued commanding the pain to leave and blood vessels to be healed. After a few minutes, her pain was much less and she was very relaxed.

She told me she was a spiritual person and asked what church I attend. This question has aways caused problems for me, but I'm getting more comfortable with it. I told her I work every Sunday, so the ambulance and Facebook are my church and God has used both in some amazing ways.

It was a long transport so we talked about the things I would experience if I were to visit Australia - including the lovely tropical east coast beaches and a local delicacy - the famous kangaroo burger.

"They're delicious and really good for you with almost no fat."

Part of me had trouble envisioning myself eating a cute little kangaroo, all bouncy and cuddly and sweet. I mean, they're kangaroos - not cows.

We arrived at Mayo and transferred Rochelle. I gave report to the nurse and a card to my new friend and told her to send me an e-mail to let us know how things turned out.

In the event that she did have a subarachniod hemorrhage, (and it wasn't healed) the diagram below explains one of the approaches to surgical repair.

Pay close attention and take notes. There will be a quiz next week.

(Click on the image for a larger view)