Auntie's Miracles

Last week Monday I found out my Aunty Hina was in the hospital. She had a small stroke on Saturday and they were considering doing surgery. She said the stroke was minor and she didn't have any major signs. She said they found in the tests that she had a small blood clot and that a blood vessel in her brain that was 100% blocked. So the other blood vessels re-routed blood to that area of the brain so there wouldn't be any brain damage. She was so glad and proclaimed it a miracle. The doctors think it happened over time but she still says it was a miracle.

The blood clot that formed from her tiny stroke disolved and is not an issue. The other area they were looking at was her corroted (sp?) arteries. They supply blood to the brain on each side of her neck. So they ran a test and the results said it was 40% to 80% blocked. So they needed to run an angiogram (sp?). If it was around 70% they said they will want to operate.

So on my way out the door I prayed that the Lord would clear her arteries so she could go home and take care of her dog Mele. Guess what!?! The tests the next day said her arteries were fine and they hadn't changed since last year when they last tested her. She was good to go home! Another miracle! She went home yesterday and is glad to be home taking care of her dog.

Plus the blood clot that formed when she had this stroke ended up dissolving. So she has no clot now. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

And thanks to all you guys who were praying. I am so blessed to see her so blessed and acknowledging that it was prayer and God who blessed her.

A Funny Story
When I was visiting her the other night we were watching TV and she asked if I've ever seen the Joan of Arcadia show. I told her yes and that I totally relate to Joan because I talk to God and He a talks to me. I shared with her some stories about how I asked the Lord about things (I cant remember which story right now) and what he said. She smiled. Then the next day she told me she talked to the hospital chaplan and told her "my neice is Joan of Arcadia, ... she talks to God." I laughed when she told me and asked what the chaplan said. She said she just smiled.

My aunty is a local poet. She writes pidgin and local style poems. Here is one about her and her brother when they were little.

When I Was Young on an Island
by Diane Hina Kahanu

When I was young on an island
my brother caught gray baby sharks
on his bamboo fishing pole.
When he'd catch a shark,
he'd call the other kids and
we'd come running with clubs
of driftwood to beat the shark to death.

When I was young on an island
my brother made moray eel traps
of silver pineapple juice cans
and a can opener, the kind that
makes triangle holes. When he'd
catch an eel, he'd give it to the
neighbor cat and we'd all watch
the tiger-striped cat
take the eel out of the can
and eat it.

When we were young on Paiko Drive
in Kuli'ou'ou and we played war,
my brother invented the battle charge.
He'd wait for a hard wind to pick
up the sand and just when the wind
was strongest, he'd yell, "Charge,"
and we'd run, head down into a zillion
tiny bullets of stinging sand
hurled by the wind's hand.

When we were young on an island
my brother invented the jellyfish
test. He was an Apache Indian that day.
Tortured, he would not cry out.

We caught see-through jellyfish
in our hands and held them
while they stung us. Whoever
cried out first or dropped their
jellyfish lost. I remember sinking
to my knees with pain and finally
laying down in the cool, shallow water.
Only my burning jellyfish hand
held out.