[0:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Us a Good Story. Today, we get the opportunity to share about one of the moments that changed our lives forever. Back in July 2007, after only two and a half years of marriage, I almost lost my wife. And only by the grace of God is Stephanie Mason here beside me and able to share this story. Okay, you guys, we have not talked about this much, but have been asked multiple times to share how I was actually electrocuted at work back in 2007. And even though it’s been over 17 years since the accident. I’m shocked at how emotional I still get talking about it. Yes. And how PO’d I get talking about this. It’s true. However, don’t worry because this is a great story. Steph actually lives at the end of this. But seriously, this is an amazing story of faith and God’s healing. And even though this was tough to discuss, I pray this episode somehow encourages and inspires you guys. We can’t wait for you to hear this conversation with my wife, Stephanie Mason.

[0:57] I’m Kevin. And I’m Stephanie. And during our marriage, we have dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery. Then doctors telling us that children were not in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis. However, today, we live a life completely healed and restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible. And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day. Welcome to… Tell Us A Good Story.

[1:26] Okay, friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the subscribe button on YouTube and Apple Podcasts or give us a review. Five stars, please. In our world, this is super, super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us. And thank you for sharing our posts across your social media. That really helps with engagement and with us getting guests. Yes. So, hey, if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, please share us with your friends. But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[1:59] All right, Steph, welcome to another episode of Tell Us a Good Story. This is a little different for us. It is, because it’s just us two. Yep. We don’t have a guest. We don’t have friends with us sharing stories. It’s just us sharing our own stories. Yep. And we’ve been asked to share our personal testimony with folks. You’ve been asked here recently. You’ve spoken at a women’s get-together. But we haven’t shared this a lot on the podcast over the last four or five years. No, we haven’t. Now’s as good a time as any. In its entirety, right? Yes. Yes. Like, we’ve shared bits and pieces.

[2:27] We’ve referenced things. Yes, but we haven’t shared it in its entirety yet. Yes. So, and most of these stories, folks, they’re in our book, You Met Her Where, that we wrote four years ago. Okay? So, now’s a good time to do this, Steph. So, let’s set the context. Okay. Let’s start with you. All right. And your story. Okay? So, all of this started… The summer of 2007. We were married at this point, just over two and a half years. And I believe it was July 24th, 2007, when our world changed. Completely changed. Can you share what happened that day for listeners after we had been married just over two and a half years? So it was a normal day. I was a surgical nurse and I loved my job. I love being a nurse.

[3:13] And I I wanted to help pay Kevin’s MBA tuition. Right, that’s true. I was going to go to Ohio State to get my MBA. That’s true. To get your MBA. And I was like, I’m the best wife. I am going to help him pay for his tuition. And so I started becoming a surgical nurse. And I loved it because it was one-on-one patient care. I had so much fun. So it was a normal day. And this day in particular, I was kind of a floater. They would put me in different rooms whenever they needed help, giving breaks, bathroom, lunches all the things so i was actually preparing a next case which was going to be like an orthopedic case okay okay and they needed a piece of equipment in another room well that room so happened to be a room where another nurse needed to use the restroom she was pregnant had to go the bathroom totally fine so i went in there relieved her and they were doing surgery and i was like oh my gosh you guys have the piece of equipment that we need are you using this And they’re like, nope, you can take it. Fantastic. So I look at the piece of equipment. It’s a bovie tower, right? It’s called a bovie tower. And for listeners that don’t know, it’s almost just like this metal tower that has shelves. And each shelf has a specific piece of equipment that you need for surgery. Okay. So this particular piece that we needed, it’s called a Midas Rex. And it basically helps to like drill bone down like pretty fine during surgery. So they weren’t using it. we were doing a brain case during the situation.

[4:43] And I needed it for a back case. So I’m like, you guys aren’t using this. They’re like, no. And I go to lift it. And I was like, well, let me travel to see where this wire is connected. So when I go, I move this gray wire with my right hand. And at that point, an electrical current went through my right index finger,

[5:02] up my arm, and just dispersed throughout my body. At that point, a loud, like, pop, you could hear, and the OR, and sparks went flying. Okay. And talk about sparks flying in a operating room. Oxygen-riched environment. Which means what? Means, I would hope it wouldn’t explode, but you always hear like, you know, you’re not supposed to smoke around oxygen. You know, we’re pumping all of that into an OR. So not the safest place to have sparks in an OR environment. Yes. Right? So, you know, sparks are flying. There’s loud pops and everyone just doesn’t drop what they’re doing, but it’s surgical. so they had to keep their hands up. They freeze, like, what just happened? And they all look at me, and they’re like, are you okay?

[5:49] And at that point, like, yeah, yeah, I’m fine. And then I said, is the patient okay? And they’re like, the patient’s fine. Well, immediately my other nurse, who I just relieved to go to the bathroom, comes in the door and I had my scrub tech with me that I needed for my back case. So she’s walking out with me and she’s like, are you okay? And I’m like, you know, I’m gonna sound like a hypochondriac, but I just feel like my head is fuzzy. No, I just feel like my head is staticky. And, you know, I’m going to jump the gun here, but it was staticky, you guys, because at that point, my whole brain was being fried at that moment, but I didn’t know that was what was happening.

[6:31] So we go back, we’re walking in the hallway, I get to my OR that I’m prepping for this back case, and all of a sudden, people start finding out. People are starting to talk, what happened, what happened, and people are starting to come in the room to check on me. Well, my manager, one of the managers comes in and she stops, Kevin, probably a few feet from me and she’s like, oh my gosh, Stephanie, I can smell you. The burnt flesh, the burning permeation was just permeating from my body. And she’s like, I can smell you. Well, she says that and another person who handles our neuro equipment comes in. He’s like, you’ve got to see what this looks like. So I go out with my scrub tech and my manager, and we walk into the OR that I was in. And from where I was standing, about 10 to 15 feet, ash residue just covered the floors, covered the walls, this tower that had the piece of equipment. On the very bottom, there’s two metal sleds. They kind of look like toboggans, and you tuck the arms in so the doctor can walk around the OR table so he can get to the patient more freely so the arms aren’t flailing off or anything. So these two metal sleds were at the bottom of the tower and they were stacked on top of one another. And three holes blasted through both of those two sheets of metal. And it just kind of showed like the voltage that I got from that current.

[7:53] I was like, well, that’s not good, right? So then I go back to the OR and they’re like, we think you need to go to employee health. I’m like, oh, okay. I’m thinking, well, it was an accident, you know, just to cover everything. Which was worthless, but go ahead. Go ahead. I will refrain. I will try to filter my personal opinions here, but go ahead. So I go down to employee health and they’re like, how are you feeling? I’m like, I’m fine. I just kind of feel like my head’s staticky. And they’re like, okay. Okay, well, then they hooked me up to the EKG, and it showed that my heart rate was in AFib. So my heart got such a jolt that it wasn’t even beating the way a normal heart should. It was just like very fast. And then my blood pressure had dropped to like 70 over 50, which isn’t the best blood pressure at that point. And you’re at a hospital here. I’m at a hospital. And what do they do,

[8:43] Steph? Employee health. They sent me home. They send you home. They sent me home and they said, you should be fine. You’re fine. You should be fine. Walk it off, Steph. You’re good. No big deal.

[8:53] So I go back to my nurse’s station and I told them that they said I should just go home for the day. But I should be fine to return tomorrow. And let me preface this. I’m trying not to get my real feelings here, but as a husband, I’m furious. I know. That they were in a position to take care of my wife and they didn’t do it. Yeah. This is 17 years ago. It is. But it’s still hard because it changed our lives forever. It did change our lives forever. But an organization that was there to protect you as an employee didn’t do that. They sent you home instead.

[9:25] So, anywho, please continue what happened on your way home. Well, you know, as an employee, you get frustrated, right? Like, you give your heart to your patients. You give your heart to your coworkers. You know, you are so proud to work there. Right. And I get the corporate environment. We’re checking the box. Hey, we sent her to employee health. Yep. We checked her out. Done, done, done. Okay. You’re good, go. So I go to the nurse’s station, and I said that they think I should go home, and they were so kind. They’re like, absolutely. And I am so grateful because one of the girls that answered the phone, her husband was actually the guy that handles our neuro equipment. And she’s like, my husband’s actually getting off. I feel like he needs to take you home. And we lived like right across the street from each other. It was close, yeah. So I was like, oh, well, that’s great, right? So I wait for him. He takes me home. And he said, what happened? And I told him exactly what happened. He’s like, huh. And I was like, why? He’s like, a week ago, I went to management. And I said, because the wire couldn’t handle the voltage from these machines. And he said, I told them, if this does not get replaced, someone will be electrocuted. And a week later, I was electrocuted.

[10:40] This episode is being presented to you by our good friend, Anthony J. Young. Anthony is a new author, speaker, and entrepreneur. And you can get his new book titled Necessary Pain, Understanding Passion on the Path to Greatness on Amazon or his website, anthonyjyoung.net. That’s right. His book came out recently and was a number one new release on Amazon when it launched. We are so proud of Anthony and his book will be a must read for the upcoming holiday season. You can go to Amazon or anthonyjyoung.net to get his new book. And thank you, Anthony, for being a proud sponsor of Tell Us a Good Story.

[11:15] So you get home. I get home. You weren’t home. You were at work and you were going to be home late. So I think I called you. And you didn’t really, we didn’t know the severity of it. Well, and I sugarcoated it. Yes. I’m not going to lie. So I didn’t realize how, what the situation was. I did not know that. I didn’t tell my family. Y’all know how close I am to my family. Didn’t tell my family. But I just, I didn’t feel the best. You know, my head was still kind of staticky. And I was like, well, let me just go to bed. Well, when I was laying down, my coworker, who I love, called me. And she’s like, you need to get back to this hospital now. I’m like, why? And she’s like, the doctors, the surgeons are finding out what happened to you. And they’re furious that they sent you home. They want you coming back. They need you to go to the ER, be hooked up to a halter monitor. They want to know exactly what was going on with my heart.

[12:08] Because the amount of vultures that I received, they said could stop my heart at any time. And I was like, ah, okay. Well, at this point, I’m not feeling good. Kevin’s not home. Somebody drove me home. and I was just like, I don’t want to go to the ER and then just sit for hours. I’m fine. Everything’s fine, right?

[12:29] So I went to bed and I remember praying that night. I’m like, God, please keep my heart pumping. Please let it keep beating and please let me wake up in the morning. Simple prayer. So I went to bed. You came home, didn’t feel you come home. I woke up the next day. I remember opening my eyes and I was like, ah, I feel great. I’m like, oh, thank you, God. I’m awake. I feel amazing. And then I sat up. And as soon as I sat up, my head hurt so bad. So it almost knocked me out. Like I couldn’t function. And it just, everything started from there. So talk about some of the side effects

[13:12] then from that moment that you experienced. And this happened for the next four years. Four years. Okay. I suffered from short-term memory loss, cognitive thinking issues, some mild anxiety, mild depression, hallucinations. My speech wasn’t the best. I mean, for the first week, you guys, several weeks, you could look at my abdomen and it just quivered from the amount of vultures that was still in my body. I mean, it was unbelievable. I was in and out of doctor’s appointments and these symptoms would come, but they didn’t come all at once. Like it was three years that kept adding on to it. New symptom after new symptom. Every time would happen.

[13:53] And it got to the point where I would probably have the minimum of three doctor’s appointments a week. And I would go to these doctor’s appointments and I would come out and I’m like, where did I park? Right. Like trying to remember. I remember going to the mall just so I could like get away. And I remember calling my mom panicking because I couldn’t even remember where I parked the car. And I’d like had tears in my eyes. I was freaking out. I’m like, mom, what is happening to me? I’m in my 20s. And is this what my life is going to be like? You had this short-term memory loss. Yeah. Okay.

[14:27] And there’d be times where I would get home and you’re like, why didn’t you call me and let me know you were running late? I’m like, I did. Yeah. Thinking like, oh, okay. Well, then you would check my phone. I’m like, oh, you didn’t call. You didn’t call. So it never worked. You totally didn’t call me. It never worked in my favor. Not in your favor, it didn’t. When I was trying to use that for my favorite, never worked, never worked. But we would go out to dinner or we go to church. Right. And you would see somebody and I’m making this up. Right. But it’d be like, Hey, Bob, how’s your new job going? He would tell you 30 seconds later. Hey, Bob, how’s your new job going? 30 seconds later. Hey, you can do a job, Bob. How’s it going there? And looking at you, you look fine. You look normal. You didn’t realize it was internal, right? A brain injury here that you’d been internally fried. Yeah. Right. And everything is out of whack. And so looking at you, people didn’t understand that until they started talking and you’re like, something’s off here, right? She keeps asking the same questions over and over again. Well, and that’s what was tough, right?

[15:24] I was so self-conscious about it to where we would go on dates with our best friends. And my husband, y’all, if you ever go out with my husband, he loves him some unsweetened tea. He will drink unsweetened tea like it is his job. So he’ll go to the bathroom two to three times during dinner, and I would death grip his leg. Don’t leave. Don’t you dare leave me. And these are our best friends. And then I’m death gripping the table like, I’ve got to go to the bathroom. Let me go to the bathroom. room. But I was like, I was so insecure and nervous because I knew it was happening because you would tell me it was happening. Like, oh, you just asked them that. So I was scared that it was going to happen. And I just, I was so embarrassed by it. And I remember going to the doctors and folks, I would get so frustrated. I mean, half the stuff they’re trying to explain this stuff. I don’t know what they’re saying. Okay. I’m not in the medical field. I don’t understand a lot of it. A lot of times I’m like, Hey, draw a picture, right? Draw this out, write this out. What are you talking about? And I remember the one time Steph, we went to the doctor and she’s like, Hey, have you tried this medication? Yes. How about this one? Yes. How about this one? No. Okay. Let’s try with this one. I’m like, Whoa, timeout doc.

[16:33] Are you just guessing here? Like, I’m so frustrated. You’re just guessing. I can Google this crap as good as you can. Like I was getting really upset. And that was also, I think the last time I went to the appointment. I was like, and this is why Kevin doesn’t come to appointments anymore. I was like, I am like, oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed right now. I am totally embarrassed you, but I was so frustrated because that’s when I realized they’re just practicing medicine.

[16:56] They’re practicing. They don’t know. And talk about the research that you found that you tried to find with the organization that you reached out to. So here’s the thing, you guys, with brain injuries, they’re so hard.

[17:08] A, to diagnose, to cure, because when you fry all those brain cells, those nerves have to reconnect, reconfigure. And will it happen? You hope, but you don’t know what’s going to. And with electrical injuries, lightning strike victims, any of the sort, you usually have an entry point and an exit wound. I didn’t have that. So they’re literally guessing of what I’m trying to tell them of what happened, what my symptoms are. What are my symptoms this week? How am I feeling next week? It was always a guess. And I was done. We wanted children. And the doctors are pretty much like, well, good luck with that. Yeah, I don’t think that’s in the cards for you guys. So let’s not worry about that. That was devastating. And I was like, I’m done. I want healed. I’m 20 something years old. I shouldn’t be experiencing my life like this. I’m not working. I’m barely a wife to you.

[18:03] So I contacted the National Institute of Health in New York. And I’m like, okay, they handle the most rare cases. They will help me, right? So I contacted them, left a voicemail. They called me back and they said, Mrs. Mason, we are so sorry.

[18:18] We can’t even help you because the patients that we treat in your situation are dead. They’re all dead. There’s nothing we researched. So at that point, you guys, I was so defeated. I’m like, what the flip is happening? You’re helpless. What am I going to do? Like there’d be days where it was all I could do to get up out of bed, shower, I would have to lay down. And then I would watch TV. But, you know, at that point we could fast forward TV, which was just amazing. But I couldn’t fast forward because I would get a headache. And then if, you know, they were talking too fast, I would get a headache. Or if Kevin went from one living room to a kitchen, he would go too fast. That would give me a headache. And then he would like cook something. And then I would get sick because of the smell would make me a headache. It was just nonstop. And they gave me exercises to do with you, right? Okay, let’s do some math here, Stephanie. Okay, what’s two plus two? That’s four. What’s three plus three? That’s six. What’s two times three? Five. You couldn’t flip it. No. You couldn’t flip it. If you were doing one thing, you couldn’t flip to multiplication from addition. Couldn’t do it. Well, I remember asking. They’re like, you need to redo math. I was doing it at a first grade level. I was buying kindergarten math books, first grade math books from Barnes and Noble. It was like two plus one, and I’m using my fingers. And you guys, the depression.

[19:40] I felt like I was such an incredible nurse. I was there for my patients. The doctors needed something. I already had it. Like I was a planner. I was a waitress. I would have a table of 10 people. I didn’t even need to write anything down because my memory was so good. And at that point, I couldn’t even add two plus one. Well, Steph, you had worked so hard to get through college, get through nursing school, get your license, start in your professional career. You’ve done everything right. Everything. And then here we are, I guess, four years into your career. Something happens totally out of your control. And then again, I would get frustrated because there would be times where the middle of the night, you’re in so much pain, I have to rush you to the emergency room. And you have a strong level of pain, right? You have a high threshold for pain. And I did this multiple times where I would rush you to the hospital and they would pretty much give you this cocktail of medicine and just knock you out for 24 hours or whatever. And then I would take you home and you would sleep for 24 hours just to cope with it.

[20:39] And so it was frustrating because that’s not what you signed up for. You didn’t sign up for this. Well, and it got to the point where I’m telling my doctors, and then they started getting concerned because they knew how much pain I was in, but they’re like, the ER is going to stop treating you because they’re going to think you’re there just to seek pain medicine so you can get that high. So then they started offering me injections of morphine that I would give myself, which again, would knock me out, but then I wouldn’t have to go to the ER. So I was like, okay, this isn’t good. This isn’t how I want to live my life.

[21:11] Steph, did you know that Tell Us A Good Story has a YouTube channel? Wait, seriously? So apparently you don’t watch it. Absolutely not. That’s what I thought. But it’s because you know I don’t like to watch myself. That’s true. That is true. But friends, we have a YouTube channel we would love for you to check out. So if you would like to see video clips of us with prior guests. Or some entire episodes. Or videos of my wife here scaring guests with her excitement. Oh, that too. You can see all of that by going to YouTube and searching Tell Us a Good Story. And don’t forget to hit the subscribe button. Yes. But as always, you guys, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[21:46] One of the frustrations that we had was when we got married. Yeah. Immediately, it’s when you have kids, when you have kids. And we told family, chill out. Yeah. Give us five years. Yep. We’re going to be in a five-year plan here. Okay. That’s what we had told family. I remember that first year, my mom had given us baby books as a Christmas gift. Your parents had given us in a high state rocking chair for like a child hinting at we’re expecting grandchildren. Okay. So we were going to be on this five-year plan. Well now doctors are telling us stuff. Hey, kids may not be in the cards for you guys, right? Just forget about that. And by this point, we’re in our 30s now. I’m in my 30s. You’re probably 28 or 29.

[22:26] And the idea that we may not be parents ever was tough. And at this point, there’s a lot of friends on social media that are now getting pregnant, that are starting their families, having children. There’s also friends where their teenage kids were having children who didn’t want children out of wedlock, all of that. And so talk about how tough it was for you and the idea that we may not be parents, how tough that was. You know, you’re home. Like I had nothing to do because I couldn’t work. Like I said, I could barely leave the house because- Barely be upright. Yeah. I could barely be upright. You know, cooking a meal for you, I was proud if I could do that. I would clean the house. And then so I’d be on social media. Facebook had just started around that time. But at that point, all you saw were people having babies. Yes, that’s all that came to you. And you just like, I yearned to have a baby. Like it was heartbreaking.

[23:23] And I was like, oh God, like, this is what I want. So at one point, I’m like, God, okay. And you know how I said before, new symptoms would happen. New symptoms would happen. Well, August, 2010, 10, my cycle stopped. And Kevin, I was so excited because what does that mean? It means you’re pregnant. It means you’re pregnant. Typically. In the normal setting, yes, it means you’re pregnant. So I’m pregnant. Did I tell you? Absolutely not. Because I was going to keep it a surprise. And I couldn’t wait. And I don’t know what it was, but I was like, I’m going to wait even longer. Because at that point, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m like, I’m going to give myself two weeks. I didn’t take a test for two weeks because I was like, okay, the test is even going to be stronger in two weeks. I’m going to see that double line. I’m going to see the word pregnant. It’s going to be amazing. So I finally, you know, you went to work. I went and bought a test and I took it. I’m like, it’s going to say pregnant. And I looked and it said not pregnant. And I was like, gutted, gutted. And I’m like, no, just it’s one more symptom. I can’t take it anymore. I was devastated. But part of me, I’m like, no, but like, maybe I just didn’t wait long enough. So I waited two more weeks. And I’m like, okay, it’s going to be a month. I still haven’t had my cycle. Now I’m pregnant. So I took another test. And it was negative. And I was like, you’ve got to be kidding me.

[24:53] Like, yeah, like gutting, gutting. Yeah, it’s gutting. So I go to my OB and she’s like, Stephanie, like, we’re going to give you medication to start your cycle. I’m like, okay. So she had tried to do that. Nothing happened. My cycle wasn’t starting. and i remember one sunday and you had gone up to the altar for prayer yes and i just sat there and i’m like oh okay i’m like i’m gonna give him some time and our best friend paul went up there to pray with you and you came back and you had tears in your eyes i’m getting tears in my eyes right now yeah and i was like huh i’m like i wonder what he’s going through i’m like well he’ll tell me. And you didn’t tell me. You didn’t talk to me on your way home. I think we were going to go shopping or something. And you finally told me that you went to the altar because you wanted a baby. Yeah. We had been given a tough report that week. And that week, it hit me. You may never be a dad. You may never coach your kids in teeple. You may never get to experience taking your kids to the park.

[26:14] Going to your kids’ school for the Christmas play and all that. It hit me. And so I went up and I asked for prayer because you had been given a negative report and stuff. When I went up, I started to talk.

[26:27] And then i couldn’t talk and so they started to pray and i i think they got an idea of what you know what the issue was but they just started praying over me and i couldn’t talk and so after they were done i sat down in a chair and i still couldn’t talk we get in the car i still couldn’t talk i was i was that distraught that emotional that the reality is hitting me at that moment i may never be a dad okay and it’s it’s hitting me in the face the world is hitting me in the face. The thing I’ve worked hard for my entire life to that point was to prepare for a family, to provide for a family. And at this point, my wife has such a bad quality of life. It’s awful. It’s awful at that moment. And then we may never be parents. And at this point I’m in my thirties,

[27:13] right? And it’s hitting me. So that’s where we had to, we had to change some stuff and we had to learn about faith, right? This journey of faith and trusting God through these storms.

[27:26] Friends, we have been asked to speak at a few events recently in regards to sharing some of our story, and it has been an absolute honor. We have a lot of personal stories to share that will hopefully inspire, encourage, and maybe even make you laugh. So if you’re hosting some type of event or need a guest speaker, we’re here to help. That’s right. Just go to kevinandsteph.com and click on the contact button. Like Steph said, let us know if we can be of help in any way, whether it’s our personal testimony of healing and hope or me just telling some jokes. Oh God, please, you guys, please don’t ask him to do that. But seriously, just go to kevinandsef.com to contact us. And as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[28:07] So let’s talk about how things turned right i was finishing my mba i went to high university got my mba so didn’t go to high estate yeah went to ou got my mba finished and we were going to go to florida to celebrate like as soon as i was done because this is like a two-year sprint where i mean i can’t imagine doing this with kids now of how much time it takes getting your your graduate degree. But got that and preparing for Florida, what happened? So it gutted me to see you like that. Gutted me because I’ve been going through this, but you had been so encouraging and so positive. And then to see you like this, it gutted me. I’m like, I’m doing this to my husband.

[28:52] You’re feeling that way because of what happened to me and I can’t fix it. I can’t do anything about it. So it killed me to see you like that. So we go to Florida, and I was like, no, there’s something stirring in me. I’m like, I’m done. I’m done being sick. I’m done with these new diagnoses. I’m done with these new symptoms happening. I’m done with my husband hurting. I’m done. So I brought two books with me on this trip, and it was our pastor, Pastor Gary Cassee, his book, Faith Hunt, and it was Jackie Mai’s Supernatural Childbirth. And I’m like, I’m going to build my faith up so much that I’m going to be healed and I’m going to have a baby. And I am done with everything that I’ve suffered with for the last three years, right?

[29:48] So we get on this vacation and I’m reading these books and I reread these books and I continue to read these books until my faith is so built up that it didn’t matter what anybody said. I believed I was healed. Not only healed, I believed I was pregnant. We knew it. Like, you know that, you know, when you are in such faith, you guys, you know that, you know that, you know that you have what you believe for and nothing can stray you from that. So I’m laying on the chair at the pool and I’m finishing this book and it just hit me that I was pregnant and I look over to you and I said, Kev, I’m pregnant, right? And you’re like, wait, what? And you said it in a way like you were announcing to me that I was pregnant, which made me about fall off the pool chair. Yes. You almost fell.

[30:43] Yes. Yeah. I was like, wait, are you serious? Yes. And you’re like, whoa, I’m believing that.

[30:49] I’m totally in faith. I believe I’m pregnant. I’m believing I’m pregnant. You’re like, seriously. I’m like, Kevin, it’s done. And you guys, it was like my faith was so built up that by the end of the trip, Kevin believed I was pregnant. Oh, you’re okay. Like, we’re pregnant. We were picking out baby names. We would go to the mall and pick out baby items. We’re discussing how we’re going to tell our parents. Yes. That you’re pregnant. We were fully convinced we were pregnant. And then what happened? You get one of those awful migraines again, where in the past, I would have rushed you to the emergency room. And this is in Clearwater, Florida. Yep. We’re in Clearwater. It was the very last night. We were catching a flight early the next morning, and I was in so much pain. Like, I’m in the fetal position. Like, you guys, the pain is unbelievable.

[31:40] And Kevin’s like, begging me at this point. He’s like, please let me take you to the hospital. And I said, no, because they’re going to give me some type of medicine, and I don’t want to harm our baby. Again, so fully convinced. So he’s like, okay. So I’m like, just pray, just pray. So we get through the night. We go home the next day on the plane. I get home, I take a test. And I was like, I’m so excited to see this test. And I take the test and it’s negative. And I was like, it doesn’t matter. It did not matter what the test said because I knew I was pregnant. But I remember I was being in so much pain. I’m like, God, I know I’m pregnant. I believe I’m pregnant. But this pain I can’t take anymore. Please protect our baby. And I remember injecting myself with morphine. And I was out for 24 hours.

[32:32] So the following week, I call my OB because again, my cycle hadn’t started. And either I call my OB or she called me and she’s like I want you to take this medicine again try it again to chart your cycle and I’m like okay and she’s like but you have to take one more pregnancy test but you need to wait several days in between I’m like okay so we had gone to church Saturday night still believing I was pregnant woke up Sunday morning Kevin was still asleep and I took a test.

[33:03] And there was two lines. And I was like, oh my gosh, I’m pregnant. I am pregnant. So long story short, I’m pregnant. I tell you, like we were on such a high. Doing a happy dance around the house. Like losing our daggone minds on that Sunday. Hey, that’s one way to wake me up. That’s for sure. You actually woke up that day. Like he, I would not, Kevin, get up, get up, get up. Like he woke up and it was the most amazing thing. So that Monday I have to call the OB. I’m like I just took a pregnancy test and she’s like okay when was your last cycle and I’m like six months ago and she’s like uh and she’s like we’re gonna need you to come in I’m like okay.

[33:46] So I go in and right I remember right before I went in I had you take bring me another test because I wanted to see the word pregnant yes right you got the test for me I took it and it said not pregnant, not pregnant. And I was like, in the name of Jesus, I’m not receiving this. I saw two lines. Throw that away. We’re going to throw it away. You guys, I held the pregnancy. I wrapped it in toilet paper, the positive pregnancy test. And I just held it. I’m like, no, it says I’m pregnant. I believe I’m pregnant. So we go to the OB appointment and I said, babe, I need you to believe that our baby is the shape of a peanut because if it’s in the shape of the peanut. It’s bigger than a pea and we’re farther along. And he’s like, okay. I think sometimes you just pacify me. You’re like, okay, babe, whatever. I would love to pray for a peanut baby.

[34:37] So we did the ultrasound and I’m like, God, please, please, please. And you’re not supposed to beg, but I was just so, I just wanted to see something in that ultrasound. So she did the ultrasound and our daughter had arms and legs and you guys moving around she was all over the screen and we counted back i was pregnant in florida and every negative test it was positive it was positive because your hormones were so out of whack from all the symptoms all the side effects that it wasn’t showing up on those over-the-counter pregnancy tests it didn’t matter we were pregnant matter.

[35:17] So I was pregnant with our daughter, Emmy. And what happened during that pregnancy with your side effects? Everything went away. Every side effect went away. It was like everything came back into balance during that pregnancy. And it was amazing. So we had our daughter, Emmy Marie Faith, for the faith it took to have her. And you guys, it was incredible. It was just It’s like the goodness of God. We had her and it was amazing.

[35:47] So Steph, that was just the first part of the story, right? Of things that we started to go through, right? We’ve gone through… Crazy stuff right so just just rattle off real quick unfortunately we’ve gone through more we’ve got through more it wasn’t just that it was almost like every time we wanted a baby something happened for us to like like it was like a faith journey every time you wanted a baby like okay where’s your faith at to get that baby and we’re done having babies we are done having babies guys we’re done with that no more but we now have three children okay all healthy and whole but rattle off some of the other things that we went through that we’ve also included in the book because this is just

[36:20] the first part of the things we’ve had to go through. Yep. So after we dealt with the electrocution, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Yes. And then after the brain tumor, Kevin was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And then after non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, you know, we did suffer a miscarriage. And then unfortunately, our son was born with two holes in his heart. Yes. So we will eventually we’ll get to this stuff. But we are sitting here. Yeah. we have three healthy children we do now all in school healthy and whole and it’s all because the goodness of god it is friends we want to encourage you to please follow us wherever you listen to this whether it’s on the apple podcast app iheart radio spotify or one of the other platforms you guys it’s completely free and while you’re there feel free to give us a rating or a nice review thank you for listening to tell us a good story.