Neil Decker

During the first part of June I had a stroke, and I didn't even know there was a problem until I went to read my morning scriptures.  When I opened the Book of Mormon to read, I could only see half of the left column.  It was then that I realized I had a visual problem, so we contacted my ophthalmologist.  He examined me and sent me to my primary care doctor.  She sent me right to the ER for an MRI.  It showed that I had had a stroke on the visual part of my brain.  They sent me directly to the hospital for further examination and testing. They kept me in the hospital overnight and most of the next day to try to determine what caused the stroke. The doctor decided that I could go home if they fixed me up with a heart monitor to be worn day and night for 30 days. The therapist gave me some homework assignments such as word search, matching exercises, and reading. I chose to read the Book of Mormon from the start again, looking for special insights. This has been great!  After a week, my vision had improved and now I can see the full open book with all four columns. The only think I can't do yet is ride my unicycle. I've been riding it for over 30 years, and I just can't get on.  I am exercising faith and hope that I will be blessed with improved vision enough that I can once again ride my unicycle.

Another time when I had to exercise great faith was when your Uncle Jason died.  This was the hardest trial of my life!  What Jason did was wrong, but only Heavenly Father understands the why and the what.  I have faith that with God, all things work out.  Amy's great faith helped her, as a young mother with three young children, respond to a text from a young father with three young children of his own. He had lost his wife and needed a mother for his children. Now we can see the great miracle of it all.  These six children are not Amy's three and Wildee's three.  They are now a family with a happy mom and dad and six beautiful, happy, content children.