The Kennedy family is going into the New Year praising God for all the blessings and miracles they have seen Him perform this year.
While the most obvious miracles are more recent, Roger Kennedy knows that all of it really started with his first heart attack last year.
“The first time I had a heart attack was last year. I was at the house, and I wasn’t really going to say much about it. Cricket said she was going to call Terry and get her to come by. I was wet with sweat, real clammy, and started throwing up. She said she was calling an ambulance,” remembered Roger. “When they got here, they told me I was having a heart attack. That happened on October 5 last year. They told me I could have a back injection a year after that heart attack, and I was looking forward for that year to be up so I could get a back injection.”
It was close to the one year anniversary of his heart attack when things started to go wrong this year.
“On September 27 this year, he thought something hit him in the leg, but he didn’t remember when, where, how, or anything. What all the doctors and nurses believe is that nothing really hit him. They believe he had a blood vessel burst, and that caused the hematoma. His leg was swollen. He had hurt all day with it and thought he was having muscle spasms,” explained his wife, Cricket. “He was hurting so bad that when I was outside in the driveway, I could hear him screaming from inside the house. I called the ambulance, and they left me on the highway getting him to the hospital ER. They did some type of ultrasound and found that it was a hematoma and sent us home because they said there wasn’t anything they could do for him there that we couldn’t do at home.”
They had no idea that the hematoma was just the beginning of a nightmare for them. Just three days away from his one year anniversary, Roger suffered another heart attack that was much more severe.
“He never bounced back that week. All he wanted to do was sit on the couch. He didn’t want to get up or do anything. On Friday, all day long, he had chest pains. He never told me. Friday night, all night long, he couldn’t breathe. He never told me. Saturday morning he got up and was having chest pains. He never told me. I didn’t know all this was going on. Finally, he got real clammy, sweaty, and started throwing up. I told him I knew those signs and he said to call an ambulance because he wasn’t going to make it. I called and they took him right to the hospital,” expressed Cricket. “They took him right in and did a stent. As they were doing that, he was having a heart attack. He actually died that night. They brought him back, and they brought him out because we were all in the waiting room. They let us all in to see him because there was no hope. He had that heart attack on October 2 of this year.”
Despite the doctors giving them no hope, the family thanked God for what He had already done for them and started to witness God showing them more miracles.
“They got him in ICU, and he stayed there for several weeks. He was totally out of it. His kidneys shut down. His liver shut down. Everything in his body shut down. He coded 11 times in three days. They kept saying he wouldn’t make it,” declared Cricket. “They called the whole family in there that Sunday afternoon, and we were all standing there waiting for him to draw his last breath. They said he wouldn’t come through it unless there was a God miracle. I don’t think they even believed that God was going to perform a miracle. He just came back to us. It was a miracle itself that he even came out of surgery, and then that happened the following night.”
It wasn’t long before more prayers were answered, and medical staff was baffled by the miracles they were seeing done. Things they didn’t believe would be possible were happening.
“He stayed there for weeks and couldn’t get his kidneys or liver to function. He was on dialysis by then. The doctors told us that if he even survives that he would be on dialysis the rest of his life. His kidneys and liver had not come back,” recalled Cricket. “Then, gradually it started coming back. All of a sudden, one day he woke up and they had taken him off dialysis. They said it was unreal and that they couldn’t believe that he came off and that his kidneys were working 100 percent.”
The family was elated when he had shown enough improvement to be moved to Anderson South. Their excitement soon faded as he relapsed, and they were once again given no hope.
“Eventually, he was well enough that they decided to transfer him to the ICU at Anderson South,” remembered Cricket. “He stayed there several weeks, and one Sunday night they called me and said that he’d taken a turn for the worse and that I needed to get my family and for us to come on up. They told me not to drive fast because he would already be gone before I could get there.”
Once again, the family was able to witness a miracle once they made it to the hospital.
“His nurse was a big guy and strong as an ox. My best friend had taught him in nursing school and had taught him how to do CPR. He had gotten on top of Roger before we could get there and did CPR on him. He told us when we got there that he knew he broke two bones because he heard them and felt them and had done it enough times to recognize it,” proclaimed Cricket. “Before that, Roger hadn’t moaned or been in pain at all. When that happened, he started hollering real bad because of the broken bones. They got the ambulance to take him back over to Anderson North. They got him situated over there and did an x-ray, and there were no broken bones. Roger didn’t moan anymore and didn’t hurt at all. God healed those bones between those two hospitals.”
Although Roger can’t remember anything that happened for about a month, he will never forget what he witnessed when he was in rehab one day at Anderson South.
“All I could see was the care and concern that each doctor and nurse had, and I had a whole new respect for what everyone in those fields have to go through to do what they do,” declared Roger. “When I really started knowing what was going on was when I was in rehab. When they would get me up, they would have to put some strap under my legs and around my back and lift me up; it would move me into a cage type thing and then open up to set me in the wheelchair. There was a little nurse there whose name was May Boyd. She was a prayer warrior and prayed, and there was just something special about her. You could tell she talked to God all the time. There was one time that I was supposed to be going to therapy, and I was hurting so bad at the time. The therapist, Jason, and two other men were there, and they were real strong. They were putting me in that hoist, but I was in a bad bad way at that time. May looked at Jason and told him he better take care of me, and she reached over and touched him. When she touched Jason, I remember seeing something go across Jason and those other two guys. At that point, it was like Jason knew what to do, and he brought me and set me back down. I believe that what I saw was God transferring something from her to him to let him know what to do. It was just a few minutes later that they were able to put me back in the hoist because I was okay again.”
The whole time he was in the hospital, the family would make sure to stay together and take care of Roger. They know that all the miracles performed were thanks to the prayers lifted up on his behalf.
“We had a little section in the courtyard in front of Anderson’s that we called the Kennedy Courtyard,” said Cricket. “People would bring us food, and we had food spread out, and we had tables and brought our lawn chairs because only two were allowed to visit in the room at a time. We brought plates, and everybody would just sit out there and eat, talk, and pray.”
After two months, Roger was finally able to come home on December 17. He has steadily been improving with his therapy, but he knows that his life is more than just being able to move around and walk again. He witnessed to others while he was in the hospital, and he believes that he isn’t done witnessing yet. Instead, he just has a stronger testimony to share with others.
“I do believe God has a plan and purpose for everything. I do believe God has a plan and purpose for me and that my work isn’t finished here. I tried to witness to all of them up there and tell them how great God is. Before they put in my pace maker, I told them that they didn’t need to worry about me if I lived or died on that operating table because I know I’m going to heaven when I die. Whether I live or die, God has me,” professed Roger. “I still have a little ways to go, but I’m walking on my walker now. It’ll take a little time to get everything back, but I’m ready to get back into church and see everybody and see what God has in store for me as far as what He wants me to do and be the witness He wants me to be.”
Roger and Cricket feel blessed for all the miracles they have witnessed on their journey and are thankful for all the prayers that have been lifted up for them throughout this journey.
