A miracle in the life of Brad Persky

By Sheila Graham

Mr. Persky and his wife, Kay, pastor the Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee, churches.

On Wednesday, Dec. 20, Brad, 18, began to experience flulike symptoms. His head ached, his throat was sore and he was nauseated. He went to bed.

When Brad got out of bed, his feet hurt. He looked in the mirror and noticed he was covered with red blotches. He went back to bed.

When his roommate, Kwan Borden, junior class vice president, from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, returned about midnight, he was surprised to see the light was still on. Kwan looked to see if Brad was in his bunk and was shocked to see Brad's face drained of color except for the red blotches.

Kwan called campus security. Security called the University of Texas Medical Center in Tyler, and an ambulance was sent to Big Sandy to pick up Brad. Brad's parents, who were on campus to attend homecoming weekend, were notified at 12:40 a.m.

"When we got to the hospital, the truck carrying Brad pulled up right behind us," Mr. Persky said. "When they opened the doors, I said, `Hi, Brad. It's Dad.' He just nodded. Then I looked at his feet. They were two big dark red blotches. We learned his blood vessels were breaking down."

After tests the doctors told the Perskys they were 99 percent sure Brad was suffering severe meningococcal disease.

"I asked how bad is this?" I said: "We believe in prayer. Do you have a chapel here?"

"Yes," a doctor replied, "and, he's going to need all the help he can get."

After the Perskys prayed, the doctors told them they had contacted Children's Medical Center of Dallas, and they were going to fly Brad there. They had an experimental drug that might help.

Brad was in the intensive care unit awaiting the medical helicopter. About 3 a.m. Mr. Persky called his congregations' prayer network.

Then he asked if he could anoint Brad. "The doctors said Brad was highly contagious, that this was an epidemic-type disease. If I went in there, I would have to be vaccinated afterward. I said OK. I anointed Brad about 3:20 a.m."

The helicopter arrived at 3:30.

Mr. and Mrs. Persky drove two hours to Dallas. "Kay was crying and praying all the way to Dallas while I was trying to block everything out so I could concentrate on driving," said Mr. Persky.

In Dallas, doctors told the Perskys they get about 75 cases a year, and Brad was in one of the worst conditions they had seen. Eight doctors were working on Brad.

Every organ of his body was being attacked by the disease. Doctors told them Brad could lose fingers, toes, his ears, arms, feet and legs. Red platelets in his blood, which should live for 30 days, were dying in one day.

Though they had been giving Brad the experimental drug since 7 a.m., they told the Perskys not to expect any results for 36 to 48 hours. Brad was only the sixth person in the world, they said, to receive the drug.

Finally, Thursday morning at 11 a.m., the Perskys, who had been joined by their 23-year-old twin sons, Neal and Ted, were able to see Brad, who had been placed on a respirator.

Mr. Persky noted that his son's hands were cold and his feet were now dark purple. The only place they could find a pulse was in his groin. The doctors told the Perskys Brad could lose both feet.

The nurses told the Perskys they were preparing Brad for his second day, which would be his worst. They expected him to swell from the fluids about one-third larger than normal by the next morning.

But, by 2 p.m. the same day, the nurses said Brad had begun to stabilize. By 6 p.m., color had returned to Brad's face.

When his parents returned in the morning, the doctors and nurses were standing outside Brad's door smiling. They were not wearing masks. Brad was no longer contagious, and he had had a good night.

Brad had not swelled as the nurses had predicted. His vital signs were improving rapidly.

Though the doctors were chemically thinning Brad's blood and keeping his blood pressure high, five days after he became ill, on Dec. 25, his blood pressure became abnormally high and the doctors ordered a CAT scan.

They found that Brad had had a massive stroke on the right side of his brain three days earlier.

Mr. Persky anointed Brad again. He and his son Neal both laid their hands on Brad as Mr. Persky prayed.

Brad is a member of the Young Ambassadors, and the group came to sing for him. Mr. Persky led them to the hospital chapel where they all held hands in a circle and prayed. "They know God heals," Mr. Persky said.

With every setback, Mr. Persky said, God would give them some encouragement. "God orchestrated these things to give us all hope so we would never stop praying."

Brad Persky later went to Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. He lost only part of his toe and on Friday, Feb. 2, he had some skin-grafting on his left heel. This will not inhibit the future use of his left foot.

Brad's mental faculties have returned. Therapists said he is able to do college level work.

Brad will return to Bowling Green Feb. 26 where he will regain his strength to walk on his feet again. Brad is planning to return to AU next fall.

The Perskys pray that there will be no life-lasting problems with Brad's liver and kidneys. They know God will continue to listen to their prayers, and they thank everyone who has been praying for Brad.

Mr. Persky said this trial has drawn his family closer than they've ever been before. And, no one could convince him that prayers aren't answered and miracles don't happen today.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God,1996