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THE MOMENTFor each defining moment of our lives, there is a specific moment that keeps replaying itself over and over again in your brain. It comes back no matter how hard you try to make it go away for a while. That moment is the point your life takes a sharp turn into a place you didn't want to go. But you weren't given a choice. For the Ackers, that moment was April 27, 2001 at 5:50 a.m.EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER TWO "At 5:50 on Friday morning, April 27, 2001, I was just beginning to wake from the night's sleep. I heard Ivan moving around. Something, however, caused me to sit up. He was standing at the foot of our bed. He was trying to button his clothes and his fingers weren't working right. "What's wrong, honey?" No reply. I look through the morning twilight. There is something wrong. His face doesn't look right. I raise my voice and cry out, "What's wrong with you?" All that comes from him is a garbled sound like "blah, blah, blah." He has no speech. I dive for the phone. Think. Don't panic. 911. Give your name. Give your address. "I think my husband is having a stroke." This is all a dream. They are on their way. Next call is to my daughter, Laura. Her husband, Chuck, is a paramedic. They live a mile away. Second call to Diane, another daughter. Both girls have scanners. I don't want them to hear the call before they know what is happening. "Dad is having a stroke. Call the rest of the kids. We are on our way to the hospital!" Get the door open. Get jeans and a shirt over my nightie. Half the town is on the way. (We live in a small town, population 4,000 and have a volunteer rescue squad.) I know these people and I need to have clothes on. Somewhere during this time, I lay him back on the bed. He was still, staring straight up. I know he was on his feet while I was calling 911. He had no speech but the sounds he was making left no mistake what he was saying. He did not want me to call 911. "I am fine! There is nothing wrong with me!" When I laid him down, he stayed there. By then, I guess he knew he was in trouble. The police must have been on Main Street. Two squads were at the house within just seconds. The whole scene was surreal. The officers stood by the bed. Their radios were squawking. The officers were talking into the boxes on their shoulders. Chuck walked in next. He must have taken a whole minute and a half to get there. Chuck would know what to do. On his heels came the rest of the rescue squad. Our small home quickly filled with rescue personnel and police officers. We are well known in the area. When the call came over the scanner that it was the Acker house, the whole crew must have come. Some came in their own cars and some came in the rescue vehicles. Even the fire chief was on the sidewalk." MORE EXCERPTS: Prologue - Cancer Chapter One - Lung Cancer Chapter Three - Brain Tumor Cancer Chapter Ten - The Gamma Knife Personal Notes on the Battle with Lung Cancer Chapter Twenty - Cancer Survival  |