Help The Hembrees

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, our sweet and dear friend, Debbie Hembree, had a stroke on Tuesday, February 15th. I wasn’t prepared that day to hear what Alyssa was saying to me on the other end of my phone, none of us were.

This can’t be happening was my first thought. As I pulled myself together and started to pray, all that came out of my mouth was, “Dear God, please don’t take my Debbie”. That was as far as I got. Sobs eventually gave way to just silent tears as, I began texting everybody I knew to pray for Debbie, Carl, and Alyssa. That is what Debbie would always do for me, pray. She was my prayer partner in every phase and step of my life and now the woman that I dearly loved was not able to pray with me. What would Deb do I thought but I knew, Deb had taught me well. I began to pray with power, confidence, and faith, knowing that God was in control of this situation and He had already worked it through.

At the same time that I was praying and texting everyone I knew, Debbie was being stabilized at one hospital and prepped to be then flown, yes, I said flown, (for those of us that know Debbie well, she does NOT fly, ever), to a trauma hospital where surgeons and a surgical team were waiting. Carl and Alyssa knew that Deb’s condition was "not looking good" and that the odds were not in Debbie’s favor. But God does not deal in odds and this is where her MIRACLE STORY begins.

Not only was the surgery successful but Debbie was moving and talking while in Recovery and within two hours after the surgery, Debbie was talking to Carl and Alyssa on the phone, like nothing ever happened. We, my friends, are witnesses to a MIRACLE!

Even the medical team cannot explain this miraculous healing. They are stunned, amazed, and some are even speechless as to how she was in such critical condition upon entering the hospital and was able to talk and move, and have a phone conversation with Carl and Alyssa only two hours after surgery.

We know that it is the hand of God that orchestrated every single detail and put the right people in the right places at the right times to bring about such an event. That is the ONLY explanation for how Debbie came home on February 21st, (after several days in ICU, step-down units, enduring countless blood draws and lab work, MRIs, and CTAs), and has absolutely no effects from the stroke. To her body, it is like she never even had a stroke. How is that possible? God! He worked through Alyssa, recognizing the stroke symptoms that her mom was displaying and called 911, the off-duty EMS neighbor that was home and came down to assess her while the rescue team was en route, the EMS team who knew exactly what she needed and got her to the hospital quickly, the doctors and nurses at the first hospital who worked in unison to get Debbie stabilized and prepped for the helicopter flight to the trauma hospital, the flight crew that continued to keep her stable and care for her, the surgeons and doctors who performed the surgery and brought her through the recovery process, the other medical specialists that assessed her after recovery, all of the amazing nurses who cared for Debbie throughout the long nights and days that she was in the hospital, and especially all of you, Debbie, Carl, and Alyssa’s community. Your prayers brought the Hembrees their victory.

However, as with all catastrophic medical events, the Hembrees will now be faced with significant medical bills and this is where we can all help in another way, in a tangible way. Debbie, Carl, and Alyssa have lived in this area all of their lives and have helped so many of us in countless ways over the years. I can’t think of any family that is more generous with their love, time, friendship, and support as the Hembrees. I’m sure that each of us can recount a story in which Debbie, Carl, and Alyssa have been there for us in the midst of a crisis, cried with us in our sorrows, rejoiced with us in our joys, and sat with us when we needed a friend. Now, it is our turn to do that for them.

So many people have reached out and said, “How can we help?” This is how you can.

Please donate so that we can help our dear friends know that they are loved and loved well.