I Don't Care What Universe You're From, That's Gotta Hurt

Hey everyone, This email is going to be a bit longer. I got concussed this week, and I’m going to go into all the details. This week started off with a bang when I was getting ready Saturday morning, and all of a sudden, I passed out. The last thing I remember was tying my tie, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up on the ground with a massive headache that turned out to be a concussion. My companion, Elder Kuzmic, and my other two roommates helped me up and gave me a priesthood blessing before Elder Kuzmic helped me over to the information desk so they could call a car to take me to the hospital. They did all kinds of tests, including but not limited to: an interrogation to test my brain function, a CAT scan to see how badly I was concussed, a heart monitor test with wires all over my body, a light sensitivity test, "gently" poking and prodding at the impact site on my head, and a quick blood test. I’m halfway convinced they turned me into the Green Goblin, and I now have a secret dark side that wants to fight Spider-Man. (I had the good sense to record a voice memo after all these tests explaining my theory; I’ve attached it below.) The doctor at the ER decided to call the cardiologist (heart specialist), who thinks I might have a heart arrhythmia where the electrical currents that make my heart beat can sometimes travel too fast and raise my heart rate for no reason at all. It has a really long and ridiculous name I’ve never heard of, but in case you care, it’s called Lown-Ganong-Levine syndrome. The doctor told me that it’s not life-threatening; it just has the off chance of making me black out on rare occasions. They’re going to follow up on that later, but they mostly focused on my concussion. The whole time, I was worried I’d have to get sent home. I wondered why God would call me on a mission and help me know that this was where I was supposed to be if I had this heart condition that would prevent me from serving. My prayers were answered, and I was blessed to be able to stay out on my mission. I’ve already seen God helping me recover, as I’ve been able to find the strength to continue to learn and grow here in the MTC despite the setback of a concussion. I know that God helps us through our trials and helps us grow stronger because of them. To me, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the doctors were able to help me and that I’m able to stay here. They told me that normally people with my severity of a concussion usually have a cracked skull, but that my brain was only bruised, and I could continue my mission if I was careful. I know that God has helped keep me safe—not from all harm, but safe enough to continue to do His work. Update on my heart condition: They’ve hooked me up with a heart monitor that I have to wear for 24 hours so they can get a read on what’s going on. Earlier, I said that I felt like I was becoming the Green Goblin, but with this device over my heart, I feel like I’m becoming Iron Man and have my own arc reactor. Only time will tell. But yeah, I’m doing well and hanging in there. Prescription pain meds are doing wonders, and I’m right back to learning Spanish and feeling the Spirit. Even though it seems like I’ve seen enough doctors to last my whole mission, I’m grateful for the care I’ve gotten and the Lord’s hand in helping me work through this trial. Love you all and hope you can see God’s hand in your life somehow as well. My invitation is to look for ways that He is or has helped you. Tha-tha-that’s all folks! Make sure to tune in next week! -Elder Teeples Pictures and a voice memo: Me trying to rest on the hospital bed The door to the CAT scan room Thumbs up and wired up The sky looked quite neat the morning I got concussed The coolest pic I’ve ever been in Playing Pac-Man at the health clinic Iron Man heart monitor Ran into Dainy working at the MTC doc








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Time Has Come

Image
To all who have been reading up until this point, or even if you're just reading this email: thank you, and I appreciate you. This was the last full week of my mission. From being set apart as a missionary on Sep. 26, 2022, to going home for two weeks on medical release in between the MTC and the field, to being here today—all in all, it's been the greatest opportunity and experience I could possibly have asked for. This past week was busy as always, and we saw a lot of miracles. We were able to teach a part-member family where the mom really wants to come back to church and help her daughter learn the gospel. We're seeing miracles from our friends who watched General Conference. There's a ton of potential in this area. I'm a bit sad to be leaving, but I know God definitely has a plan for the people here, and the work will continue. Another fun thing that happened was that my branch president asked me to speak in sacrament meeting. He didn't know when he asked t...
Read more

Yesterday Is History, Today Is A Gift

Image
¡Feliz año a todos! Haven't done this before, but it feels fitting to share the entire movie quote with you all: "Tomorrow is a mystery, Yesterday is history, but Today is a gift; that is why it is called the present." This quote causes me to reflect on how I'm spending my time and focus. Reflect on past experiences and make goals for the new year, but don't let them distract from or take away from the now. Before we get into it, it's gotta be said: About time I send an email, it's been since last year!! This week was a solid week. We were able to meet the family of a member in the ward's brother. He'd invited them to the ward Christmas party and (with the help of the other Elders) gave them a tour of the church. Their daughter, the member's niece Emily, who's in her 20s, especially was excited to see the baptismal font and wants to be baptized! Had an awesome lesson with the parents, Juan and Amelia, where we taught them about Jesus Christ...
Read more

Stay On Target, Stay On Target

Image
Crazy week, new companion, old area but also new area. Confused? Me too. Long story short, my area (the bike area) got dissolved and combined with the car area. Now, my new companion Elder Jones and I cover the entire ward and get to use the car. Our friend Tamie was supposed to get baptized yesterday, but unfortunately she's really, really sick and has been pretty much stuck in bed. As a result, she wasn't able to make it to church, and we'll have to postpone. I know that the Lord provides a way and will help us find it, and that she'll be baptized soon enough. Please keep her in your prayers; life has been tough for her. We found this guy named Frank, and he's super cool. He asked his pastor about baptism and wasn't satisfied with the answer, so he was super ready and glad to hear our message about the restored priesthood authority and the correct way to do baptism. We invited him to be baptized, and he accepted! Hopefully, there will be much more to come, wit...
Read more