The Stroke
Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had suffered a massive stroke affecting both sides of my brain and a portion of my brain stem. I developed considerable swelling in my brain cavity. After several x-rays, it was determined I would be admitted to the hospital. Fortunately, my cousin was a registered nurse and supervisor at that hospital. She and my dad conferred with doctors. The doctors wanted to perform surgery on my brain. However, my dad and my cousin decided against it.
I was soon diagnosed with having suffered a severe blood bleeding stroke as opposed to a blood clotting stroke. In laymen's terms, a bleeding stroke occurs when a blood vessel bursts in your brain, causing bleeding into the brain. A blood clotting stroke happens when a blood vessel forms a clot or blockage of blood flow in a blood vessel in the brain. They're both serious; I could have died from either.
If I had died then, I most certainly would have gone straight to Hell on a rocket! It's funny now, but boy am I glad God gave me a second chance! With what I know now and a description of Hell, which I will share with you in a later chapter, I know for sure I was blessed and spared from eternal damnation, by God's amazing grace and mercy.