JJ’s Story
The following is a story about JJ Bassin (but everyone calls him Bokkie) told by his daughter Melanie Visser – South Africa.
I write this because my father can’t remember a thing….
On September 6th, 2018 our lives changed forever. My sister called me crying and said that I must come quickly because there was something wrong with our Dad. When I arrived at the doctor’s office the medical professionals were trying to save my father’s life, or at least just to get him to breathe again. Nobody knew at that stage what was wrong or what had happened to him. My Mom told us that when she woke up, our father was very confused and didn’t know where he was, so they immediately took him to the doctor.
My father was intubated at the doctor’s office and then transported a hospital 30km away. There they immediately tried to stabilize him, but the doctor told us that he suspected an aneurysm bleed. We didn’t even know what an aneurysm was. The doctor told me that there was nothing they could do for my Dad and that only God could help him. I said, “Well, luckily we have faith and believe in God”
At this time, my father was transported to another hospital 106km away to see Dr. Branka, a neurosurgeon. Dr. Branka did tests and confirmed that my father did have an aneurysm and also told us that he had suffered two strokes. After explaining what an aneurysm was, he then told us about the procedure he was going to perform. He said that we had to take our father’s age into consideration when thinking about survival. Our father was about to turn 70 in just five days.
After spending two months in the ICU with some good days and some bad, we decided to take Dad home and not to transfer him to a rehabilitation center. He couldn’t walk or do anything for himself but between myself, my husband, my sister, Mom and our children we helped him with everything. It wasn’t always easy, but we were always grateful for each and every day. At the end God showed us that he still performs miracles on earth! We feel that God healed our Dad, who today is almost his old self. The only thing that bothers him is his eyesight. He can see but not as well as before. We thank God every day for this Miracle!