At approximately 7:15 A.M., on September 20, 1989, the story begins in my Dallas, Texas home. I was standing in a bedroom when an excruciating pain occurred in my lower back. My skin turned ashen, the pain became increasingly more severe, and I could feel perspiration breaking out all over my body.

Obviously, something was seriously wrong. I called to my wife who was in another part of the house and when she joined me she took one look and said, "Shall we call an ambulance or shall we try to drive?" Since we lived only fifteen minutes from Presbyterian Hospital, I said, "let's drive." I managed to walk to the car which was in the driveway and get in.

We then started for the hospital. It was one of those days when everything went wrong, Murphy's Law. When we arrived at the hospital the front emergency entrance was blocked and and it was necessary to go to the rear emergency entrance. By this time I had slipped and twisted down onto the floorboards. We arrived at Emergency and attendants came out and assisted me onto a gurney and hurriedly rushed me into the hospital.

It so happened that a trauma surgeon, Dr. Andres Katz, was in the hospital and he was summoned, post haste. I can recall Dr. Katz, my wife, and several medical personnel hovering around me. I was in extreme pain by this time. After a quick examination, Dr. Katz said, "I feel I must tell you that you only have about a 10% chance of surviving this operation, if you have anything that you want to say, you should say it now." I looked up at my wife, Ruth, and said something like, "Well Honey, it has been a good run, I love you," and she replied something along the same line.

I didn't see loved ones or bright lights, a burning bush, or any of those things that we have read about, written by people on the brink of death, but I did feel and sense their presence. Divine help? Angelic intervention? Did God dispatch his messengers to help me! At this point, inexplicably, the pain ceased completely and I felt the most wonderful sense of peace and serenity as my vision began to darken. I felt someone holding both of my hands and a presence that was overwhelming. It seemed to envelop the entire area. I recall looking to see who was holding my hands and no one was holding either hand. I thought at that time that it was a painless, euphoric way to cross over to the other side.

I was taken into surgery approximately 40 minutes after leaving my home. As soon as I was wheeled into surgery, my wife called our two children living in Dallas, and our Internist, Dr. Henry Mobley,who joined her soon thereafter. He advised her that a large aortic aneurysm had burst and that, in his opinion chances of survival were practically nil. He suggested that she call our youngest daughter who lived in Sacramento, California, and have her come to Dallas immediately.

My daughter in California called and made a reservation on an American Airlines flight but when she reached the airport, the flight had been delayed due to mechanical problems. American called Delta and had them hold a departing flight to Dallas until she could board. She said she was totally panic stricken and intended to get off of the plane at Salt Lake City, during a short layover, and call the hospital. She said, as the plane was descending to land in Salt Lake City, she went from panic stricken to complete calm and knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was still alive and doing fine. She said she didn't know how she knew but she felt and sensed it, and it was a certainty in her mind. Divine help? Was this angelic intervention?

I was in surgery for eight hours. Upon completion, Dr. Katz joined my wife and the children and told them that everything had gone well and that the next 48 hours would be critical, that if I survived them, I had a good chance of complete recovery. I was in Intensive Care for four days and then released to a room.

Before an hour had elapsed, Dr. Mobley walked into my room with a big grin on his face and said, "How's the miracle man?" He told me that within the confines of his own experience that, medically speaking, there was no way that I could have survived and that, in his opinion, I had some divine help from above. He calls me the "miracle man" to this day. Divine help? Angelic intervention?

My only memento is a 22" plastic aorta. And that is my angel story. Did angels guide me through those crucial hours before surgery, during surgery, and during my days in Intensive Care? Divine help? Angelic intervention? Although my rational mind tells me that since I did not see or hear an angel, that an angel presence was a figment of my imagination. In my heart, and in the deepest part of my mind, I know that Angels surrounded me, held my hands, and helped me live through this experience. My doctor, my family, and myself believe in angels.

I have related this story for one reason only. I want people in dire need of help to keep hope alive, and know that there are other alternatives to see them through their difficulties. I want them to know that inexplicable help might be available from a most unexpected source, divine help, and/or guidance by angels, or both. This help has been provided to others and could very well be provided to you in time of need.

I Believe!