MY TESTIMONY

When I woke up on August 3 2021, my only goal was to finish moving into my new home. After loading up the back end with old junk, I jumped in my old dodge truck and headed to the city landfill to dispose of it. Once I got there, I began to reach and pull for everything in sight. Items that were loose and not in a box, I could grab 2 or 3 pieces at a time. But when I reached for a brown box that was right in front of me, it’s like an electrical shock went all over my body.

Not seeing the clear, broken vase leaning next to it, when I grabbed the box, I GRABBED THE VASE TOO.

Where I was dumping my trash at, there was a scale house about 100 yards away. With blood gushing everywhere, I didn’t waste any time trying to get where some help was. Once I was at the scale house, I slung the truck in gear before even making a complete stop. Blowing my horn as I exited the vehicle, the attendant ran outside. Oh My God son, what have you done, she asked. I said, Ma’am, I done cut my hand real bad. Please, call 911.

When the first responders team arrived, all they could do at that time was bandage the hand up and get me to the local emergency room so the team there could close the bleeding wound. When we arrived at the local hospital, after sitting and waiting to be escorted back to a bed, they finally called my name. The first thing the practitioner did was cut the dressing off that the first responders had done. Staring at my hand with blood still dripping everywhere, the practitioner finally started to make good sense. He said Mr Fields, it’s time to get this thing sewed up. But by now, I’m already feeling like I’m about to bleed to death, because I’ve been bleeding non stop since the cut. I’ve bled all over the hospital bed and on the floor. So much blood that a small pan could’ve been filled.

Before the nurse started to stitch me up, he first gave me an injection down in my thumb to numb the whole hand. After a minute or two, I could feel it working, and that’s when the nurse practitioner began closing the wound. I could see him pushing the needle in and out of my skin, stitch by stitch, and within minutes it was over. That nasty cut in my thumb had finally been closed up. But that was just temporary. Now I have to have surgery, and everything that I just had done to my hand had to be undone and re-done by an Orthopedic Surgeon.

Before leaving, the nurse explained to me what I had done to my hand. He was telling me that the cut was at the base of my thumb & index finger. I cut the thumb all the way down to the bone and damaged the Flexor Pollicis Brevis(Thumb Muscle), making it hard to fully control a couple of my other fingers. All I could think of at that moment was, that I didn’t wanna lose complete use of my right hand, because my right hand is like my best friend. That’s my dominant hand that I do everything with. I felt so helpless and way out of place. I hate being in a situation where I feel defeated. Thinking that I couldn’t do anything with my hand, made me feel like my whole life was crumbling.

On August 7 2021, me, my wife Lawanda and one of her sisters headed out to Albany Georgia. It was 5:30 in the morning and I was scheduled to be at Phoebe Surgical Care at 6:15 to report for surgery. I fell behind as I began driving the speed limit of 55mph, because I was trying to watch out for all the deer that were running wild. By 6:45am we were parking in the parking lot at Phoebe Surgical Care.

I went in, reported to the desk and since I was already late, I was directed where to go to get prepped. So finally, I was placed in a room, dressed in my hospital gown and cap. I was about to freeze because it was so cold in the room. Several nurses came in to introduce themselves, and one started an IV drip to going. A few minutes later one of them was pushing me to the floor for surgery. When I got to the operating room, I remember my Surgeon telling me that he was gonna give me a nerve block in my right shoulder. He explained to me that the purpose of the nerve block was to numb my whole right arm, so I wouldn’t feel anything during surgery. I already had something like an oxygen mask on, but I was told to count down to 0 from 10. I remember hearing myself say ten…nine, and then I was out like a light.

I remember waking up to somebody or some type of object standing over me. My vision wasn’t real clear because I was just waking up from surgery but quickly, I attempted to push whatever it was in front of me away. Of course I tried to swing at it with my right hand, that was my natural reaction since I’m right handed. But I could hear the nurse saying, no sir Mr Fields, you don’t need to try and move yet. You’re in the recovery room and you’re fine. Y’all, when tried swinging with my right hand, it felt like a bag of bricks was lying on top of my arm. The nerve block that I was given before surgery was in full effect, and it was working well too. I couldn’t move nor feel anything on that side. Soon I could feel the sleeping medicine wearing off, and I asked the of of the nurse did I have to spend the night, and she replied no sir, someone will be taking you back to your suite shortly, so you can get dressed and go home. I said ok, Thank You ma’am.

A few minutes after that, a male nurse was pushing me back to my suite. When I got there, my wife and sister in law were there waiting. My wife helped me get dressed, and soon after that I was dismissed. I was just ready to eat and get home to my bed. I didn’t feel any pain yet, but I knew it was coming soon. The dead weight on my left side was more aggrevating to me than anything else. I knew once that wore off, I’d feel better.

As we got into the truck, I gave my sister in law the key and said, “Let’s Get Home Fast”…lol.

I laid my seat back to get a nap, and I remember my wife saying that she wasn’t feeling good. She said she felt like she was coming down with a cold. I had to be in a deep sleep, because the next thing I knew, my wife was helping me get out the truck. We had made it home safely. Once we were inside, I was able to get a bath and something to eat before I got in my bed. I asked my wife was she feeling any better and she no. She took a bath and then she came and got in the bed.

The day was still early, it’s was only around 2pm, and I just knew that we would get up later that evening and watch some tv or perhaps sit outside for awhile like we usually would. My wife and I both slept about 7 hours. As a matter of fact, when I woke up, I heard her in the kitchen stirring around. So I got up to see what she was doing. I walked in the kitchen, and asked her how was she feeling. My wife said TJ, I’m not sure what this is but I’ve got to fight it off. She was over the stove preparing a mixture of lemon peels, orange peels, onions and some “BLESSED” Olive Oil. If you noticed, I said blessed oil. That’s to let you know, that with every breath we inhaled from that mixture and from every warm cup that we would drink, The Lord our father was included. After my wife had a few cups, she went back to sleep. At this point it wasn’t much I could do to help her. I had just had surgery, but I still needed to be cautious of the cold she was coming down with. To be honest, I catch a cold very quickly, and mine always start with sweats.

I watched tv until about 9:30pm, and by then, the feeling was starting to come back in my right arm.

In the middle of the night, my wife Lawanda had got a cough. Every now and then it seemed hard for her to control it. She even got on her knees and prayed, and she didn’t let that cough get in her way either. When morning came, I got up with my usual schedule. I would leave home around 7:45am, go to the store to fix my morning coffee, light my cigar and ride around until about 9:30am. I had been doing this for the longest. So, when I returned home, my wife was in her ministerial studies. I don’t care what else she had to do, her studies were gonna be first. She seemed to be feeling pretty well. But I asked her anyway how was she feeling? She then said that she had a very bad headache. She said TJ, whatever this is that I done got, I’ve never experienced it. After her studies she wanted to go to the store and grab a few items. So we went and returned home. We got the bags in the house and I noticed the items she had bought. My wife went and got prepared for war…lol.

She bought chicken noodle soup, cough syrup, Vitamin C gummy’s, Vitamin D gummy’s, lemons, oranges and Gatorade’s. She went and got equipped to fight fight off what we was hoping to only be a cold. For the rest of the day, we didn’t do much. I had been taking medicine for the pain in my hand, and that had me feeling somewhat nauseated. But we did have a chance to sit out and get a little sunlight.

When night came, Lawanda, my youngest daughter and I all had a warm cup of the “blessing juice” my wife had made. We all got a bath and got ready for bed. The next morning I got up on my normal routine but I noticed a feeling of fatigue, and I had broke out in sweats. I knew then something wasn’t right. But I went ahead and got my coffee, and ended pouring it out because I couldn’t taste it. That’s where I really got concerned, because my sense of taste was gone. I called Lawanda and said get ready, I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes, we’re going to get tested for COVID. On our way back home from being tested I didn’t wanna worry Lawanda. Instead, I asked her how she felt. She said her taste and smell was gone and she still had a headache. I never mentioned it to her, but I was very tired and had started running fever. I was just so ready to get back to the house. As soon as we got home, I got out to go in the house and could barely make it to the bedroom. I couldn’t believe it, I not only had just went thru surgery, but I was face to face with COVID-19.

I had no idea that the next 17 days would be seventeen of the worst days of my life.

During this fight against COVID, my wife was able to still fulfill her duties as a wife. Her symptoms wasn’t as severe as mine was. But everyday she made sure that I ate and got a bath. My bedroom was right across the hall from the bathroom, and I couldn’t even make it that far by myself. Lawanda would help me to the bathroom and back in the bed. I didn’t have the strength to get up and try to move around, but my intentions were to motivate myself enough to get up out that bed and move.

Every hour or so, Lawanda was checking on me. She had moved to the front of the house and I had the bedroom alone. She prayed everyday until I started to regain strength enough to pray for myself. I really didn’t have an appetite, but I had to eat enough so the medicine I was taking wouldn’t make me any sicker that I was. At times it was hard for me breath. I would sleep on my side and on my stomach hoping for comfort. It seemed like either way I couldn’t get comfortable for nothing. Day by day, I could feel the changes in my body. I had been running fever off and on every single day. I even had thoughts of dying, not that I was giving up but because COVID is a tough and nasty virus, and I didn’t know how to square up against it. I even promised myself that going to the hospital would be my last option. I felt like that, because I knew I would only end up on a ventilator, and my chances to live was much greater being at home fighting for myself, than having a ventilator do it.

I honestly didn’t think I would live to see August 26, 2021. On that day I looked back two weeks prior, and I could not believe the deep valley I had risen from. My wife had prayed for me everyday while I was stuck in the valley, even while she had been going thru as well. But when I regained my strength, it felt so good to stand on my own, but it was a much better feeling to kneel and pray for myself. I felt so much better, and the only problem I was having was getting my breathing under control and getting rid of the cough I had.

On August 27 2021, it was a major blessing to wake up feeling better than the day before. I realized that I been in a fight with Covid-19, the deadliest virus alive today. But I came out a winner. My heart go out to sooo many others who lost their battle to COVID. May God bless their families. All I can say is that this virus is serious. But God!!

Lord I Thank You For The Test Given To Me To Complete My Testimony.

Lord I Thank You!!