In my last posting, back in June of 2014, I was trying, ever so hard, to keep my own spirits up through the trials Tom and I were experiencing, but things got harder. Eventually it became quite overwhelming and I no longer had the energy to blog about it.
Now that we are on the recovery end of the experience, and re-gaining our strength, I want to document what has happened as well as catch up on some of the highlights of our more enjoyable experiences in Poland.
On June 19, 2014, Tom suffered a myocardial infarction, a heart attack. Thanks to President and Sister Edgren we got him to the emergency room of the Medicover Szpital in the Wilanow district of Warszawa. An angioplasty was conducted to clear the blockage in the artery and then a stent inserted to keep it open. Improvement was immediate and two days later Starszy R was feeling well enough to talk about returning to the apartment for a couple of weeks rest before resuming missionary activities. Elder Wing, missionary doctor in Frankfurt, informed us that Elder Schwitzer of the 2nd Quorum of Seventy had said, people like the Roulstones are 'tough bananas' and will not want to leave the mission.
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| Afternoon of June 21 |
The evening after this picture was taken Starszy R felt the left side of his face and his left arm go numb. It was determined he was having an ischemic stroke (a blood clot in the brain). After receiving a priesthood blessing promising returned health and the ability to finish our mission in Poland, he was rushed to a nearby neurological hospital for immediate treatment. The treatment was not without risk, however, because of the hole in his artery for the angioplasty and stent, the chemicals that would stop the clot in his brain could cause severe bleeding. Without treatment he could be permanently disabled, with treatment he could bleed to death. Starszy R did not want to live with disability. With complete trust in God, he opted for the treatment.
Initially treatment was successful, but in the middle of the night he had a relapse of some sort, was completely paralyzed on his entire left side and lost his speech. The treatment was repeated, and then he started to bleed beneath the skin from the angioplasty and stent insertion sites in the arteries in his arm and leg.. It was a nightmare, but prayers were being sent heavenward all across the globe and he survived.
A few days later he was transferred back to Medicover to continue convalescing. Being severely anemic from the blood loss he required three units of blood over the next few days - so we joke that he's now part Polish with all of that Polish blood in him.
It took two more weeks of rest, medication adjustments and physical therapy in the hospital before we could return to the apartment. During this time, though, we were told that we could no longer stay on a mission for the Church in Poland; we needed to return home to recuperate and then we could think about re-applying to serve a mission again. I guess these 'tough bananas' were squashed. We were very disappointed, but as time wore on and we began to understand the long-term effects of the stroke and how slow recovery would be, we knew it was a wise decision to eliminate as much stress as possible from our lives by returning home to relax, rest and rejuvenate. It was with very heavy hearts we would have to say goodbye to many people we had grown to love, so very much in such a short time.
'Last Supper'
Starszy R's final meal before leaving Medicover
Looking very 'Polish'
July 4 - "Freedom Day"
Unfortunately, back at the apartment Starszy R's condition did not improve. He continued to experience discomfort across his back and shoulders and down his arm. He was weak and often faint. When our friends and fellow senior missionaries, Elder & Sister Durrant, came over to our apartment after Family Home Evening on Monday, July 7 they helped me take him back to the emergency department at Medicover. Initial tests did not show anything wrong, but he was sick to his stomach in the night. This alarmed the lead doctor the next morning and she ordered further tests. She caught me in the hallway as I was preparing to return to the apartment and informed me Starszy R now had a large blood clot in his pulmonary artery which was blocking blood flow to his right lung and he would die without immediate treatment, but again the treatment could cause the bleeding in the other arteries to resume. We were back in ICU for a few more days. He would need another two weeks of treatment and careful observation in the hospital and then further monitoring of his blood levels as an out-patient for a few more weeks.
At one point we asked one of the attending doctors what more we could do. He said, 'pray'. That we were doing, as we know so many were doing in their homes and several temples all over the world.
We also enjoyed having Catholic priests check in on us every weekend. Some spoke English, some did not. I managed to stumble through my broken Polish to explain to them who we were: "Dzięn dobry. Jesteśmy z Kanady. Jesteśmy misjonarzami z Kościoła Jezusa Chrystusa Świętych w Dniach Ostatnich. Tak, możemy modlić się do Boga Ojca. Each one offered to pray with us, and even the ones who spoke little English would begin the 'Lord's Prayer' with us. We were touched by their sincerity and concern.
When one of the Catholic priests asked us what 'faith' we were we told him and then he told us, "I'm a Catholic priest". Yes, we could see that. He was dressed in something like this:
Although in the hospital, we still wanted to do what we could as missionaries. Starszy R didn't want me to spend every day, all day, in the hospital with him. He asked me to continue to conduct the advanced English conversation classes on Wednesday evenings and helped me plan the gospel messages to give.On Saturday mornings I continued to enjoy teaching students how to play hymns on the keyboards. I attended Warszawa II Branch meetings on the Sabbath and taught the youth Sunday School class. When Starszy R felt strong enough we wrote notes of appreciation and encouragement together for many of our new Polish friends, our brothers and sisters in the gospel.
Occasionally members and missionaries would visit; the sisters would bring me my favourite chocolate bar and the Assistants to the President would take our car and fill it with gas for me. We know we were surrounded by angels! But visits really tired Starszy R as he would exert himself to participate in the conversations and then be exhausted afterwards. Sister Edgren, Sister Durrant, and members of our branch often provided meals. What a blessing!
Unfortunately, these weeks in the hospital were not a steady improvement. It was much more like a roller-coaster ride with some good days and some bad days dealing with different complications. It was very stressful and we learned to savor each moment together and thank God for the simplest things.
Starszy R was released from hospital again on July 18 and we had to start making our goodbyes as Elder Wing, one of three LDS doctor caring for missionaries in all of Europe, and Elder Smith, in-field representative at Church headquarters in Europe, wanting to get us home as soon as possible, had booked tentative first-class flights out of Warszawa, and then Frankfurt, for Tuesday, July 23. But Starszy R wasn't strong enough. I asked them to re-schedule it for later in the week. The Church was taking such good care of us.
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| Starszy R with Godfrey from Warszawa I Branch - one of the many members who visited in the szpital |
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| Warszawa II Relief Society Siostry Anna Kulinicz, Małgorzata Neto, myself, Jacqueline Pickett |
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| Siostra Grazyna Ryng - one of my keyboard students After playing "Myślę o Tobie, Jezu mój" in Relief Society "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee" |
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| Fellow 'Canuck' Lisa Kosanavich living in Poland with her family |
Some of our advanced English conversation students
Siostry Tobler and Petersen cleaning windows for me!
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| Me with Siostry Tobler and Petersen |
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| Starszy R with Jacqueline & Mark Pickett |
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| Four Good Men Sławek Kodym with Starszy R, Starszy Pieper i Starszy Retallick These brethren delivered two beautiful photo books as gifts we treasure from Warszaw II Branch |
It was a good thing they changed our flights to Friday. We were so grateful for the skill of the doctors caring for Starszy R. They all spoke English, very well, as did many of the staff at Medicover, but we couldn't avoid some misunderstandings due to the language and our own inexperience with all things medical.
Over the weekend Starszy R was, still, very weak and faint and we were back in the emergency room on Sunday night. Everything was okay with his artery and lung so they shuttled him back over to the neurological institute for more tests there - nothing, but his heart rate was too high. Back at Medicover they kept him overnight for observation and it was determined we had misunderstood the dosage of one of his medications. This time they decided to keep him in the hospital until we flew out on Friday, July 25, 2014 so that he could be kept stable.
But we were not meant to leave Warszawa that easily.
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