Carrying the message of hope
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,785
Carrying the message of hope
I had the most amazing day yesterday and I wanted to share it with you.
I was at an AA meeting earlier this week and during prayer requests one of our members stood up and told us about a man in need. He had been visiting in West Virginia and while he was there he attended a meeting. At the meeting they were requesting prayers for man who had been visiting the Akron area to take in some of the AA history. While he was here he was in a motorcycle accident and was in a local rehab facility.
When he got home to Akron he spread the message to us. He asked for prayers and for volunteers to go to this man and take him a meeting. I got with him after the meeting and said I would go. Yesterday we went. There were eight of us.
When we first got there he was in physical therapy so they showed us to a large therapy area in the back were we waited. The looks we got from the staff was sort of comical. Here are eight people that do not look like they belong together but we do. We walked in with a purpose. I see it in my mind like the comment from the Blues Brothers, "we are on a mission from God". I don't mean to make light but it sort of felt that way.
After a while his wife came back to see us. When she first walked back there she had this puzzled look on her face. She had no idea who we were or why we were there. After we explained she told us about his condition and the accident. He was t-boned by an F-150 pickup truck.
When he got to the hospital they did not expect him to live. The doctors told her to prepare herself. They told her that for three days. He had many blood transfusions to the point that most of what he had was now replaced. His leg was severed at the scene so he lost his right leg. He also had some head trama. He woke up at the end of the third day. He was in the hospital for three weeks and now in rehab so he has been here for almost a month.
As she spoke you could see the love she had for him, she is a strong woman, but you could see the gratitude and the shock that we were there. She could not believe that none of us had ever met him and we told her the story of how we heard about him. She told us that he had a hard time connecting the dots. He thought he was in a different state. He went in and out of being there in the today and being somewhere else. He has been in AA for three years. His three year anniversary is September 15th.
He finished therapy and and they brought him in the room. We all greeted him and told him who we were and why we were there. At first I think he thought he knew us but could not remember who we were. He appeared to comprehend why we were there they but still confused.
We got the meeting started. We all recited the Serenity prayer. We read How it works from the BB taking turns to read the steps. When it came to him we handed him the BB and he read. It was like you could see the light flicker.
Then we read The Promises. We went around the room and introduced ourselves. A couple people spoke up and shared mainly about being there. We asked him if he wanted to add anything and he wanted to read from the BB. He turned to Dr. Bob's nightmare. He started to read. "he carried this message to more than 5,000 alcoholic men and woman.." He stopped. He said "That is really 4,999 because I am one of these people".
I have never felt like I did right then. As more time passed you could see the light get brighter and brighter. His wife started to cry. She said he has not been that aware since the accident. It was like nothing I have ever experienced in my life. We all felt it. We talked a little more and he shared a little. He told us his name and that he was an alcoholic. It was like he was in fog but now could see the way out. I have tears now just thinking about it. We put our names and numbers in a BB and gave it to him. His father showed up towards the end and was dumbfounded. His physical therapist also came down. His wife explained to her who we were and why we were there. You should have seen the look on her face.
We wrapped up the meeting. His wife, his father, the therapist and the eight of us all joined hands. He insisted on standing for The Lord's prayer, which he did with the help of his wife. He led the prayer.
We talked a short while and then we all went outside with his wife. She was in shock how much he seemed to come back over that hour. We arranged to come back every Saturday while he is still here. He has a long way to go. His sugar is sky high and he may have an infection in his amputated leg so they are taking it slow but it is positive.
I feel so blessed to have been a part of that. There is nothing I have ever went through that can compare to that experience. I just do not have the words. I feel so grateful to have been able to carry the message of hope to another alcoholic and his family. His wife truly felt relieved. She can deal with the 1000 others things that are going on but this was something she could not do. This is for us to do.
His wife mentioned that the number eight always seemed to follow him and appear in his life. She wore a necklace with a figure eight pendent. His hospital room had an eight in it. He woke up on July 8th, there were eight of us.
I was at an AA meeting earlier this week and during prayer requests one of our members stood up and told us about a man in need. He had been visiting in West Virginia and while he was there he attended a meeting. At the meeting they were requesting prayers for man who had been visiting the Akron area to take in some of the AA history. While he was here he was in a motorcycle accident and was in a local rehab facility.
When he got home to Akron he spread the message to us. He asked for prayers and for volunteers to go to this man and take him a meeting. I got with him after the meeting and said I would go. Yesterday we went. There were eight of us.
When we first got there he was in physical therapy so they showed us to a large therapy area in the back were we waited. The looks we got from the staff was sort of comical. Here are eight people that do not look like they belong together but we do. We walked in with a purpose. I see it in my mind like the comment from the Blues Brothers, "we are on a mission from God". I don't mean to make light but it sort of felt that way.
After a while his wife came back to see us. When she first walked back there she had this puzzled look on her face. She had no idea who we were or why we were there. After we explained she told us about his condition and the accident. He was t-boned by an F-150 pickup truck.
When he got to the hospital they did not expect him to live. The doctors told her to prepare herself. They told her that for three days. He had many blood transfusions to the point that most of what he had was now replaced. His leg was severed at the scene so he lost his right leg. He also had some head trama. He woke up at the end of the third day. He was in the hospital for three weeks and now in rehab so he has been here for almost a month.
As she spoke you could see the love she had for him, she is a strong woman, but you could see the gratitude and the shock that we were there. She could not believe that none of us had ever met him and we told her the story of how we heard about him. She told us that he had a hard time connecting the dots. He thought he was in a different state. He went in and out of being there in the today and being somewhere else. He has been in AA for three years. His three year anniversary is September 15th.
He finished therapy and and they brought him in the room. We all greeted him and told him who we were and why we were there. At first I think he thought he knew us but could not remember who we were. He appeared to comprehend why we were there they but still confused.
We got the meeting started. We all recited the Serenity prayer. We read How it works from the BB taking turns to read the steps. When it came to him we handed him the BB and he read. It was like you could see the light flicker.
Then we read The Promises. We went around the room and introduced ourselves. A couple people spoke up and shared mainly about being there. We asked him if he wanted to add anything and he wanted to read from the BB. He turned to Dr. Bob's nightmare. He started to read. "he carried this message to more than 5,000 alcoholic men and woman.." He stopped. He said "That is really 4,999 because I am one of these people".
I have never felt like I did right then. As more time passed you could see the light get brighter and brighter. His wife started to cry. She said he has not been that aware since the accident. It was like nothing I have ever experienced in my life. We all felt it. We talked a little more and he shared a little. He told us his name and that he was an alcoholic. It was like he was in fog but now could see the way out. I have tears now just thinking about it. We put our names and numbers in a BB and gave it to him. His father showed up towards the end and was dumbfounded. His physical therapist also came down. His wife explained to her who we were and why we were there. You should have seen the look on her face.
We wrapped up the meeting. His wife, his father, the therapist and the eight of us all joined hands. He insisted on standing for The Lord's prayer, which he did with the help of his wife. He led the prayer.
We talked a short while and then we all went outside with his wife. She was in shock how much he seemed to come back over that hour. We arranged to come back every Saturday while he is still here. He has a long way to go. His sugar is sky high and he may have an infection in his amputated leg so they are taking it slow but it is positive.
I feel so blessed to have been a part of that. There is nothing I have ever went through that can compare to that experience. I just do not have the words. I feel so grateful to have been able to carry the message of hope to another alcoholic and his family. His wife truly felt relieved. She can deal with the 1000 others things that are going on but this was something she could not do. This is for us to do.
His wife mentioned that the number eight always seemed to follow him and appear in his life. She wore a necklace with a figure eight pendent. His hospital room had an eight in it. He woke up on July 8th, there were eight of us.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,649
Wow GracieLou, you brought tears to my eyes. The power of the spirit is unimaginable but periodically you can feel it flowing through you. Your story did that for me. What an experience, thank you for that!
An incredibly moving post! My prayers go out to this man.
An incredibly moving post! My prayers go out to this man.
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Getting to where I want to be
Posts: 502
Originally Posted by tomsteve 
awesome!!
makes me wonder if it was God workin for him or for you!
makes me wonder if it was God workin for him or for you!
Beautiful story.
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