Episode 78

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Published on:

5th Mar 2025

78 | My husband's near-death experience & recovery

In February of 2017 my husband was playing in an intramural basketball game where he experienced a concussion that led to a life-saving surgery. I decided to interview my husband and his parents to share this miraculous story.

Currently enrolling for the next round of The Serenity (a high-level space for a tight-knit group of 10 female entrepreneurs to refine their strategy, strengthen their mindset, and build a business that fits their lifestyle)

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Transcript
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I'm Alex, and you're listening to the Mindful with Media podcast.

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Speaker: Many of you have heard me talk

about Matt's seizures and Matt's health.

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Matt is my husband.

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And this week is the eight year

anniversary of the accident

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that triggered all of that.

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And so I thought it would be special to

interview Matt along with his parents

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David and Christine.

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Speaker: about the accident.

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And just for some context, as you're

listening to this story, you'll hear

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Several different names mentioned, and

almost all of them are Matt's siblings.

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He's the 10th of 11 children, so they

were very involved in this experience.

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So without further ado,

here is the story of

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matt's miracle.

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David Fales: February 23rd, 2017

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Alex | Mindful with Media: And Matt

was at BYU, Idaho, getting ready to

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play an intramural basketball game.

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And I was driving home from work, and I

was gonna be late for the game already.

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And so,

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I just remember thinking, I gotta,

I gotta, I gotta get back to

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Rexburg so I can get to the game.

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And I remember running up this

hill toward the ice center, snowing

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outside, and I run inside to the ice

center, into a bathroom, get changed.

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And I remember having this feeling

like something's off, but I remember

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thinking to myself, Hmm, that's weird.

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Like, why would I be having

that feeling right now?

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And then Again, I didn't question

it, but this like the whole time I'm

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like getting changed and lacing up my

shoes and running to the basketball

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court it's just like it, something's

just off, but then I start playing

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and it's everything's good and fine.

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And I don't remember how

many, how long I played for.

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But I remember we were on offense.

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And the ball was passed to somebody

else on our team and it would bounce

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off of their leg or something.

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And it was rolling out

of bounds very quickly.

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And me being me, I'm just like, I got to

get that ball back in where it goes out.

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This is intramurals.

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Everything's at stake.

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And I see the ball pass the

the baseline and I'm like, dang

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it, I didn't get to it in time.

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, but I've only got like, maybe

max 10 feet to stop myself.

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And I remember in games previously,

I would jump off of these dividing

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curtains that are weighted at the bottom.

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Just to kind of stop myself.

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And I would just jump off with

one foot and land on the other.

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And for some reason, this game, I decided

to jump up and jump off with both my feet.

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And so I'm flying through the air

and both my feet hit this curtain

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and I'm like, wait, what's going on?

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Like, why did I just do that?

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And I remember the curtain went

out, my feet went up and my

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head smacked the ground and.

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I remember feeling my brain

shake in my head and thinking

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to myself, that's not good.

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And then, and then I was out

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yeah, they called an ambulance.

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Which came and got me, and as

the ambulance is driving there,

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they're asking me questions as

I'm starting to come to, and

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I think I'm there, like I'm, I feel like

I'm answering their questions correctly,

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but they just wanted to take me to the ER

to make sure everything was looking okay.

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So the ambulance gets there, they

put me on a stretcher, and that's

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when they take me to the hospital.

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David Fales: the Rexburg hospital.

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Rexburg.

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Alex | Mindful with Media: So yeah,

it's I'm just doing my best not

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to get, like, really angry with

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David Fales: of course.

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Alex | Mindful with Media:

the pastor memorial right now.

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David Fales: Mm-hmm

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Alex | Mindful with Media: So,

they take me there, and this is

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prior to them knowing anything,

to my parents knowing anything.

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So they Yeah.

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They do a CT scan of my brain.

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And x rays up my neck and

everything comes back normal.

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And apparently I have

concussion like symptoms.

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And so they give me a doctor's

note to give to my professors.

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At BYU Idaho and say, basically saying,

don't, like, he needs a break from

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school work and any type of, like,

mental work for the next seven days.

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So I get that note.

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I also get a prescription for ibuprofen,

I think it is, or Tylenol or something.

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Like a maximum strength or something.

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And They sent me on my way.

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So then my roommate, Zach was at the game.

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Austin met me at the

hospital to drive me home.

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And those are your roommates.

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So Austin takes you

home from the hospital.

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And David and Christine, had you spoken

with Matt at all up to this point?

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I think it was after I got home

from the hospital that I called you.

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Okay.

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David Fales: and at the time, he

was talking kind of slow, but he

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was still answering my questions.

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He could answer questions.

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He was just speaking slowly.

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And so I knew that something was wrong.

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Alex | Mindful with Media: Because what

day of the week was the initial accident?

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It was a Thursday.

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So that was a Thursday night,

and then what happened on Friday?

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So yeah, Thursday night

I'm talking to my mom.

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And I tell, I tell her what happened

and then my mom says to me, I'm going

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to call every two hours just to make

sure that you wake up because you

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told me that you've heard that.

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People can die if they go

to sleep after a concussion.

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And so every two hours, I got a phone

call from my mom saying, are you okay?

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I said, I would say, yeah.

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She's like, okay, good night.

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Two hours later, same conversation.

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And so that's how the entire night went.

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And my recollection is around

maybe 10 in the morning.

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You will, like, you had your

last call asking if I was okay.

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And I said, yep.

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Doing well, and you said okay let me know

if you need anything, and then I got

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off the phone, and then between like, the

end of that phone call, and I don't know

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what time in the afternoon, sometime,

maybe like 2 or 3 in the afternoon, I

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find myself in the bathroom, throwing

up, just hours and hours of throwing up.

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You remember that?

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At this point, this is when

things start to get fuzzy.

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Okay.

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Like my recollection is

like, I'm not all there.

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David Fales: And that's

when Austin called me

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Alex | Mindful with Media: yeah, and I

remember Austin, he came into the bathroom

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because that's where his shower was.

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And he asked apparently he asked

me a bunch of questions and

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I don't remember any of them.

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But his last question, I do remember.

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And he said, or asked, should

I be concerned that you're

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not answering my questions?

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And I remember having my hands in the, I

don't even think they were on the toilet.

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Just like, sit, like, kneeling on my

knees by the toilet, like, turning my

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head super slowly and saying, Yeah.

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And that's, and then after that,

I don't remember anything until

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So did Austin call Christine hmm.

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Okay.

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David Fales: and so I told Austin

to get him back to the emergency

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room in Rexburg and so he did, and

so then I called the hospital and

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told them that I'm out of town.

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I'm coming, but I want

them to keep him overnight.

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For observation, they said, we

don't do that for concussions

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and they sent him home.

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And so,

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that point, I called, I found Matt's

Bishop's phone number and I said.

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you know, the hospital

won't keep Matt overnight.

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I know he needs to be observed.

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Is there some mother who can

watch my son until I get there?

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And so he drove over to Rexburg, picked

up Matt, and took him back to his house.

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So the bishop and his wife, Debbie, they

were the ones to watch Matt overnight.

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I was very concerned.

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And I said, I mean, David and I discussed

it that I needed to It was more important

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for me to get up and be with Matt

than to stay for the baby blessing.

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But we were discussing it back and

forth because I knew if I asked Matt,

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Matt would say, definitely don't come,

you know, you don't need to come.

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And so we didn't ask Matt, but I

felt like I needed to get up there.

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And so after David and I discussed it,

we discussed it with Rebecca, and she

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said, If it were my son, I would go.

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So I, I support you in

going and we'll miss you.

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But, and so, so the plan

was, at that point, we just

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thought it was a concussion.

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And so David would stay for baby blessing.

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I'd go up and be with Matt.

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And so, yeah, and we're in Austin

at the hotel when some of this,

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we had a hotel there, right?

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Right.

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And we were having this discussion and

we just kept saying, we got to get you

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back to Salt Lake as soon as possible.

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So you can drive to Rexburg.

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And I think we got, did we get

you a flight out of Austin?

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Yeah.

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Or was that off San Antonio?

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I don't remember.

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Anyway, we got the 1st

available flight the next day.

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Alex | Mindful with Media: No.

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So you flew into Salt Lake, flew from

Texas to Salt Lake on Saturday morning?

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Is that the

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. David Fales: Yeah, , I think I got there

early Saturday morning because , the

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Friday, the accident was on Thursday.

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On Friday, that's when he got really bad.

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And that's when I made the, we made

the final decision that I should go.

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And so I think I flew

out the next morning.

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, got to Salt Lake, drove to Idaho

Falls, and in my mind, I kept

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thinking, Matt is probably going

to be so mad at me that I came.

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He's going to look at me

and say, why did you come?

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But the part of me.

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Was this is really serious

and you need to be there.

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And so Debbie.

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had been taking care of Matt, and she,

and, and he was doing okay, and so she

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felt comfortable leaving him for 30

minutes while she came and picked me up at

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the Salt Lake Express and drove me back.

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So she was gone 30 minutes, and in 30

minutes, Matt had just, you know, gone.

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So when I walked in, he was

just staring at the television

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screen sitting on the couch.

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He didn't recognize me.

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He didn't acknowledge me.

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He was just, And Debbie and

I said, emergency room, and

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put her, put him in the car.

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And I think he started throwing up.

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I think I was back there holding

something for him to throw up in.

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Alex | Mindful with Media: Yeah, I

remember when I, when I got there Friday

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night, I get there and I remember them

explaining, handing me a pink bucket.

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And, but I don't connect that.

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They said, and they said, this is for

you to throw up if you need to throw up.

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So, so it's an easy cleanup.

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But all I heard was pink

bucket, easy cleanup.

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I didn't connect the two.

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And so that night I threw up, I think

eight or nine different times, but it's

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all the pink, the pink bucket was there

on the, on the, on the nightstand.

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But I just threw up in the same spot

of carpet for the easy cleanup because

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I needed, I knew it needed to be.

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Easy for them.

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David Fales: oh, I don't

remember this part.

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That's very interesting, Matt.

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Yeah, and she told me the first time

she realized there was a problem was

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he was sitting at the bar, because he

was seeing if he could eat a little

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something, and he threw up on the bar,

and then just acted like it was normal.

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And then he realized he was showing up in

the bedroom in the same spot repeatedly,

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but something in his brain was telling

him to don't mess up the whole carpet.

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But yeah.

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Wow.

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I hadn't forgotten some of that,

because you got there and Matt

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was so ill or so incoherent.

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You said we're going to the emergency.

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but I think it's, it's important

to note that it was, the emergency

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room was not the Rexburg hospital.

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It was the Eastern Idaho

Regional Medical Center.

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In Idaho Falls.

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Yes.

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Alex | Mindful with Media: Because

that's where the pros lived.

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David Fales: Yes.

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They were like five minutes from it.

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It was amazing.

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But it's a bigger regional medical center.

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Falls big, huge medical.

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It was a big medical facility yeah.

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Alex | Mindful with Media:

can take him into the ER and

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then what happened from there.

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David Fales: Okay, so we go in, and

they just look at him, and immediately

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go into action, and take him back.

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They say, we'll do paperwork later,

and they order a CAT scan, and

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they start, you know, trying to

figure out what's wrong with him.

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And I give him what I do know about

the concussion, the basketball game.

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Going to Rexburg Hospital twice,

and, anyway so, the emergency room

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doctor, as soon as they got the CAT

scan, Saw bleeding on the brain.

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Yeah, he said, he showed me that,

he says there's some dried blood,

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so it means that his brain did

start bleeding, but then it stopped.

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But there's also a fresh bleed.

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So it's bleeding right now as we speak.

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And he said, sometimes the brain

can reabsorb blood, but other

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times you have to do brain surgery.

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But the brain surgeon

will make that decision.

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A few minutes later, the brain surgeon

walks in and looks at it and he goes,

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We have to do brain surgery right

now or your son will be dead tonight.

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And so I signed the paperwork.

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And by this time, we had called

Bryce because I was in this hold

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right there because we're right

at the point of the surgery.

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But I'm in Bernie, Texas with Rebecca

and Doug and Doug's parents, Nancy

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and Kirk Peterson, because they were

there for the baby blessing as well.

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And we kept saying, there's

going to be somebody

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to give Matt a blessing.

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I don't know, Rebecca

or Doug called Bryce.

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Which is Doug's brother in law.

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Doug's brother in law.

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He's married to Crystal.

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And I remember

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Nancy and Kirk.

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I knew, I knew Matt, knew Bryce.

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I remember them talking to me

about how, what a good man he was.

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He would be someone who could Give a

blessing to Matt, , well Bryce came and

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he brought his home teaching companion,

Chris, I remember his last name, and so

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the two of them walked in together in,

in just, you know, not very long at all,

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like within ten minutes, because they

were getting things ready for the surgery.

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It was really a miracle

the way it all flowed.

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Bryce could get there when he did.

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Yeah.

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And so we just had a few minutes with Matt

before he was going to be wheeled away.

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But I know Bryce.

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And he's just this fun, loving, happy guy.

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And I've seen Bryce and Matt

play basketball together,

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you know, in the backyard.

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And I knew they were such good friends.

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I always saw him so happy and positive.

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When he walked into the

hospital, he looked so sad just,

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I couldn't believe what had happened

to Matt and he couldn't believe that he

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was being asked to give him a blessing.

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And my, my feeling was that you were

dying and I just stroked your hair

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and just gave you some kisses on the

forehead, just saying my goodbyes

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because I, I was sure you were dying.

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And then Bryce, he starts

the blessing and he says,

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you know, by the power of the Holy

Mount Catholic Priesthood, I give you

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this blessing and want you to feel

the love of your Heavenly Father,

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the love of your Savior, my love.

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And then he paused, and remember, the

reason I remember this all so well is

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that I wrote it down and I just read it.

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But he said, and I, in that long pause,

I thought, okay, he's going to just

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bless Matt to pass on peacefully.

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You know, he's going to die.

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I can, I can accept that.

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And then he said, Matt,

you're going to be okay.

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You're going to be okay.

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You're going to be completely healed.

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I mean, this is a voice of surprise.

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You're getting this message

from Heavenly Father.

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That's going to be okay.

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And so then, they start to wheel him

away, and the doctor says, I'm trying

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to save your son's life, but most

likely, when he comes out of this, he

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won't be the same son you knew before.

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Alex | Mindful with Media:

I remember you telling me

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Dr.

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Allen said

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something to the effect of if

he does survive, he'll most

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likely never walk or talk again.

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David Fales: But because of that

blessing, All my fears of Matt

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dying or having problems, you know,

not being able to talk or walk or

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those kind of things they're gone.

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I just, I just felt the power

of that priesthood blessing

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that he was going to be okay.

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And there's another part of the story.

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We're down in Bernie Johnson's,

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Rebecca and Doug's home and Kirk

and Nancy are there, Doug's parents.

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And we've known that, you know,

Bryce is going to give this blessing,

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and, and, anyway, we, we were

all praying, we each took, I

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think we each took turns praying,

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for the doctor and for Matt's healing.

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And I think we had talked, Christine,

you had mentioned about the priesthood

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blessing or something to that effect.

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I think we had had some cell phone

conversation and you had told me that

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the doctor didn't know if Matt would

ever be the same after this operation.

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And so we're down in their home.

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And kneeling around this Ottoman and just

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Pleading with the Lord

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for Matt to live and be blessed

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according to this priesthood

blessing he had received.

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And then I remember myself walking

upstairs to the bedroom where

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we were going to be staying.

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I go up, and I just remember

where I got to know God.

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I knew Him, but I knew

Him in a different way.

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So I pleaded

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for my son, who I loved

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so much and would do anything for.

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And I will, I will never

forget kneeling by that bed.

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I can see it as clear

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tonight as it was eight

years ago this week.

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And so then we waited for the operation to

get over and to get a call from Christine.

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Alex | Mindful with Media: Just as part of the priesthood blessing, I

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remember I was in this, I don't know

what else to call it, fuzzy state, like

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the state in between consciousness and

unconsciousness, and I think I knew

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Bryce was giving me a blessing, but

I didn't hear the entire blessing,

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but I do remember hearing the words,

I bless you to make a full recovery.

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And in my mind, I had no idea I was

about to go in for brain surgery.

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And so I thought to myself, a

full recovery from my concussion.

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Was it really that bad?

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Like, what's going on here?

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And it was just a really, amazing

opportunity to to hear those words,

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like, why did I not hear any of the

other words of the blessing except for,

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I bless you to make a full recovery.

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So yeah, I just wanted

to interject that too.

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David Fales: I'll interject something.

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This is Before the blessing.

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Cat called me, and she

said, what's going on?

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I've heard all these things.

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I remember her saying, tell

me Matt's going to be okay.

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And then I'll know he's going to be okay.

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And I said, Cat, I can't

say that right now.

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I don't know.

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He goes, Mom, tell me

he's going to be okay.

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I said, I've got to go.

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I cannot tell you that right now.

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I didn't want to say, well,

actually, I think he's dying.

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And so I just said, I can't tell you

right now but then after the blessing,

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it was like, he's gonna, he's gonna live.

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He's not gonna die.

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But my initial feeling was.

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He is dying right before my eyes.

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I'm watching my son die.

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And it was like, oh Okay,

this isn't what I expected

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But if this is thy will, you know, I

know you'll help me through this and

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Yeah, but after that blessing it was

just like okay now it's time to have

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perfect faith no matter how long his

recovery takes I have to have perfect

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faith that he is going to be healed.

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And the interesting thing is,

previous few weeks, I'd been

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studying a lot about faith.

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I'd also been reading

books about the brain.

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Both came into play.

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And then our kids started coming.

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No, there's one more thing.

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So he comes out of the operating room.

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Or the operation is done

he's in the ICU and you Dr.

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Alan talks to you, I think.

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Yes, I must say.

385

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: was he?

386

:

David Fales: At this time.

387

:

How long was the surgery?

388

:

About three hours.

389

:

About three hours.

390

:

And so Debbie Rowe was there, she called

her husband he was over in Rexburg, so he

391

:

and the eldest Quorum President Andrew,

they came over, so I had the three of

392

:

them there, and then Bryce stayed and

his home teaching companion Chris stayed.

393

:

So the five of them just sat

with me in the waiting room.

394

:

Wow.

395

:

The whole.

396

:

Time.

397

:

And this is, this is like midnight.

398

:

Okay?

399

:

Yeah.

400

:

And then Michelle arrived.

401

:

She was the first to arrive.

402

:

And she was with me when Dr.

403

:

Allen came out and said, Well, it

actually went better than I thought.

404

:

However, I did have to remove

a large, like a, a little cutie

405

:

size portion of the brain.

406

:

Okay.

407

:

And I just remember Michelle

bursting into tears.

408

:

And, but I'd read some brain books,

so I just knew how the brain can

409

:

rewire and work around that problem.

410

:

So I, I wasn't.

411

:

I was concerned about that, but it's very

startling to have somebody say, yeah, we

412

:

took out a cutie sized part of your brain.

413

:

I mean, that's Of your son's brain.

414

:

Yeah.

415

:

And so he, you know, briefly

described what to expect.

416

:

, So then Michelle came, Angela came up from

Salt Lake, and Andrew came up from Boise.

417

:

So they were the first

three that came that night.

418

:

And then finally towards morning,

I said, you know, I, I don't want

419

:

to leave, but just go to the Rose

and sleep for a few hours and come

420

:

back and we'll, then I'll go home.

421

:

And then David came with Ben, I

think, and yeah, cause I flew into

422

:

Salt Lake, Ben picked me up at the

airport and drove me to Idaho Falls.

423

:

And Kat was she, I think maybe it was Kat.

424

:

Yeah.

425

:

So they were the next three that came.

426

:

So, yeah, that was on Saturday

or Sunday, that would have

427

:

been Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

428

:

Yeah.

429

:

And so I, I'm pretty sure Michelle,

Angela and Andrew were with me, but in the

430

:

ICU and the nurse said, we're going to.

431

:

Take out the medicine that's

making him stay asleep.

432

:

They said it might take a few hours or

a few days before he really wakes up.

433

:

30 minutes later, I'm holding Matt's hand.

434

:

He squeezes my hand, opens his

eyes, and shuts them again.

435

:

We were so excited.

436

:

And I told the nurse that, I told the

nurse that, and she said, No, that's

437

:

impossible, that couldn't have happened.

438

:

And then I think, and this must have

been after Ben arrived too, and I think

439

:

I had gone home to take a little nap,

to take Rose home, and so they were

440

:

making jokes with Matt and saying.

441

:

If it's, the answer to this

is yes, blink your eyes once,

442

:

if it's no, blink your eyes.

443

:

So he was responding.

444

:

He was responding.

445

:

And, and sometimes he'd

actually start to laugh.

446

:

No noise would come out.

447

:

He'd go, oh, he's laughing without sound.

448

:

And when we told this to the

nurse, she said, that's impossible.

449

:

And so she came in and started asking.

450

:

Duh, duh, duh, blink your

eyes once, he blinked them.

451

:

So then the Dr.

452

:

Allen comes in, she tells Dr.

453

:

Allen, he says, that's impossible.

454

:

And so he comes over and

starts asking that question.

455

:

Say, you wiggle your

toes, he wiggled his toes.

456

:

I've never seen anything like this before.

457

:

So even in them, I see you.

458

:

The recovery has begun.

459

:

Yeah, it was amazing.

460

:

And somewhere in there, well,

Ben was on one side and Andrew

461

:

was on one side, I think, too.

462

:

And they were making jokes with you, but

I think it was like a little bit later.

463

:

But at some point, our children

wouldn't leave the hospital.

464

:

But they just, they take turns

going into the ICU and then being

465

:

in the waiting room, because

they said only two at a time.

466

:

Although our children

did not obey the rules.

467

:

And sometimes there'd be

four or five in there.

468

:

But once he was once he was moved out

of ICU, And nobody wanted to leave.

469

:

And so that's when the rose said, well,

let's at least give you some sleeping

470

:

bags that they can stay on the floor.

471

:

And it was on 1 and Michelle was on 1 and.

472

:

I don't know if Cat was, but, and then,

then the Rose, they opened up their

473

:

home and we took turns sleeping there

and then going back to the hospital.

474

:

But everybody was, somebody

was always with Matt, if I

475

:

remember right, two or three.

476

:

No one would ever leave.

477

:

Angela, Michelle, and Kat

were there for nine days.

478

:

And Ben and Andrew were there for like

three or four days, and they went home,

479

:

and they got their family and brought

the family back the next weekend.

480

:

So they were in, you know, coming, and

then Elizabeth flew in from New Hampshire,

481

:

and Annie flew in from Mississippi.

482

:

Annie and Parker came to get it.

483

:

So yeah, just

484

:

no one wanted to leave Matt.

485

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I think I've

heard some story about the Rose and buying

486

:

their house or moving into that big house.

487

:

David Fales: yeah.

488

:

She said that they had lived in

another house where they had raised

489

:

their kids and thought that they

would just stay there forever.

490

:

I mean, as old as they loved it.

491

:

And then they said they just got

this impression they were just

492

:

supposed to go buy this other house.

493

:

They didn't really know why.

494

:

Big house.

495

:

Big house.

496

:

Big house.

497

:

And when we showed up She told

me this story and he said, now

498

:

I know why I bought this house.

499

:

We were there for like five or

six weeks, weren't we, in and out?

500

:

Almost two months, Matt and I,

but the rest of the family was

501

:

coming and going during that time.

502

:

It was after you were in the

hospital, like 12 days, and we can

503

:

talk some more about that, but the

Yeah, they just opened up our house.

504

:

They just said, come, stay

as long as you need to.

505

:

Anybody's welcome, just treat

the home like it's yours.

506

:

it was.

507

:

It was amazing.

508

:

It was at a beautiful home and

all these accommodate these beds

509

:

and set up for grandchildren.

510

:

I mean, it was awesome.

511

:

We were there.

512

:

There's upstairs playroom and

yeah, yeah, they were such kind.

513

:

So kind to us.

514

:

So compassionate.

515

:

They loved you, Matt,

and they loved us too.

516

:

Yes.

517

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I remember I

was in ICU with just Ang and Michelle, and

518

:

they're both crying, but Michelle's crying

more intensely, I guess, than Angela.

519

:

And I remember this is conscious,

like memories that I have.

520

:

And she says to me, Michelle's not crying

because she's sad, she's crying because

521

:

she's happy that you're doing so well.

522

:

David Fales: Yeah.

523

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: And then,

524

:

David Fales: They became

tears of joy for us.

525

:

Well, no, he was sad, but she

didn't want to depress Matt.

526

:

That's true.

527

:

How serious things were.

528

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: and yeah, she

says she's happy you're doing so well.

529

:

And then she asked me immediately

following, how do you feel?

530

:

And up until this point, I

hadn't said any words at all.

531

:

And I'm in the ICU and I remember telling

myself in my brain that had just been

532

:

operated on, and I don't know if I knew

it had been operated on, just form a

533

:

quick, short, concise sentence and say it.

534

:

And so I remember doing that and

responding somewhat gravelly, kind

535

:

of like Voldemort from Harry Potter.

536

:

I'm happy.

537

:

And it, and it came out such as,

538

:

so quiet.

539

:

And I just remember they

both started crying more.

540

:

I probably would have started

crying more if I could have.

541

:

I just remember it being this very

sweet, intimate experience with the

542

:

two of them, the three of us together.

543

:

Very, yeah, just amazing to me.

544

:

David Fales: Yes, and, and then

at once again, they couldn't

545

:

believe that he could speak.

546

:

He could say, I'm happy because

they, they, they told me, I told

547

:

the nurses, he said, I'm happy.

548

:

He couldn't say, yeah,

it was just miraculous.

549

:

And then it wasn't too long

thereafter at some point they

550

:

were getting, they got him up.

551

:

Was it two days later or a day later?

552

:

They got him up to see if he could walk

because he was making so much progress.

553

:

Yes, like two days.

554

:

And I'm in the waiting room.

555

:

Were you there with me?

556

:

No, I was home napping.

557

:

I don't, who, . Anyway, I was there in the

waiting room down the hall from the ICU.

558

:

I see Matt, two nurses

on each side of him.

559

:

With a walker.

560

:

With a walker.

561

:

And he's walking.

562

:

I think I called you right away.

563

:

I says, Matt's walking.

564

:

So I immediately came down to see it.

565

:

Matt just walked through the

waiting room and down the hallway.

566

:

And I remember I got a ,picture.

567

:

And I was like, this is Hosanna.

568

:

So, it

569

:

was such, it gave us so much

hope, Pat, that you could walk

570

:

that soon after your operation.

571

:

It's like the After being

told he may never walk again.

572

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: So, how

long was he in the ICU and then what

573

:

was the recovery like after that?

574

:

So, my

575

:

David Fales: Go ahead.

576

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: is that

I was in the ICU for three days,

577

:

David Fales: I think so.

578

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I was

on the recovery floor for two days,

579

:

and then I was on, and then I did

rehab, the rehab floor for a week.

580

:

David Fales: Sixth floor.

581

:

Yeah, sixth floor.

582

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: So that was in

583

:

David Fales: think you're

real close on that.

584

:

So,

585

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I remember.

586

:

David Fales: what I know is , they,

they I thought he'd be in ICU longer,

587

:

but it makes so much progress.

588

:

He was making so much progress.

589

:

If he's walking and talking,

he can't be in ICU any longer.

590

:

In fact, they had this, they had

this speech therapist come in

591

:

and start working with him in ICU

because he was already talking.

592

:

And so he needed to

learn how to really talk.

593

:

So , she said, I've never been

in ICU before, but because

594

:

you're talking, here I am.

595

:

And then he went up to the third

floor, and we thought he'd be there

596

:

for at least a week, recovery.

597

:

And ended up, I guess,

just a couple of days.

598

:

But I remember going up and meeting the

nurse who was coming out of your room.

599

:

And he said, You know, Matt's going

through all the stages of recovery,

600

:

but it's not happening day by

day, which it usually happens.

601

:

It's happening in hours.

602

:

We see him go through all these

steps of recovery in hours.

603

:

Anyway, he said it's he had

never seen anything like it.

604

:

And so after a couple of days and

he was up on rehab because next

605

:

place he had to go, you know.

606

:

Okay.

607

:

So that was three days in the ICU.

608

:

I think, I think you're right.

609

:

And then two days in the other,

and then seven days up on the sixth

610

:

floor, because at some point there's a

couple of things that happened there.

611

:

Right.

612

:

But I think one was, we were

there over another Sunday.

613

:

And we asked if we could have

the sacrament for our, because our

614

:

family, Our whole family was there.

615

:

Our whole family were just,

Well not whole, but almost.

616

:

, so many people were there.

617

:

Brothers, all your sisters, and

618

:

, We were down there and we

were all gathered there.

619

:

We had permission to gather in this room.

620

:

Do you remember this at all, Matt?

621

:

It was on a Sunday.

622

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: Yeah, yeah.

623

:

David Fales: Rowe brought, Bishop

Rowe brought the sacrament.

624

:

Oh, yeah, Bishop Rowe brought the

sacrament and we had a sacrament prayer

625

:

and we had a little, little singing or

a little talk or something and, but then

626

:

there was this Wii machine there, I think.

627

:

It was something like that.

628

:

It was a gaming machine of some sort.

629

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I think

it was an Xbox Connect, something

630

:

David Fales: Xbox connect, but it

was this something this machine

631

:

going on and cruise was into it.

632

:

Everybody was into it.

633

:

And I kept thinking mass

just had brain surgery.

634

:

He's just here and you were up.

635

:

I think you were dancing.

636

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I was,

there's a video of me like just,

637

:

it was a, we were racing like on

track, like a simulated track.

638

:

And, and I was just like, running, and,

639

:

David Fales: Yeah,

you're doing this stuff.

640

:

Alex | Mindful with Media:

about what had just happened.

641

:

Done,

642

:

David Fales: Yeah, I, I was quite upset.

643

:

I think I got a little upset too.

644

:

I said everybody, we gotta

have sensitivity to this.

645

:

Let's calm down.

646

:

But what was interesting about that

is, in my mind, trying to have this

647

:

perfect faith, the thought came to me,

you'll see him dance again, because I'd

648

:

had this vivid memory of You dancing

at your companion's wedding reception.

649

:

We had been to not long before yeah.

650

:

And you were dancing, having so much fun.

651

:

And this memory came into my mind.

652

:

You'll see Matt dance again.

653

:

And so when you were doing this

thing, it kind of looked like dancing.

654

:

And I thought, I didn't

think I'd see it this fast.

655

:

Stop!

656

:

Stop!

657

:

And it was just, it was just a, I

think everybody was just, just so

658

:

happy that you were able to say

some things and you were walking in.

659

:

We all kind of heard this message from Dr.

660

:

Allen,

661

:

so it was a joyful time, but

it was also some concern to us.

662

:

I'm sorry I'm crying so much.

663

:

Brings back so many tender memories.

664

:

Yeah.

665

:

I love for you, Matt.

666

:

So I think that was like, it was on a

Thursday when the accident happened.

667

:

Saturday was the, was the operation.

668

:

Sunday, you were still

in the ICU and Monday.

669

:

So this would have been

the following Sunday.

670

:

So you would have been like a week

removed from your operation by this time.

671

:

And we were having this great time.

672

:

And, I remember there was something

else at some point, the, we got a

673

:

picture of you and Michelle on the bed

that eventually was published in the

674

:

Cody Enterprise, which we had shared.

675

:

I think it was a selfie.

676

:

Because I asked you if we

could take pictures and you

677

:

said no, but Michelle took

678

:

Alex | Mindful with Media:

Which I have no clue.

679

:

Thank you to Michelle.

680

:

It's like, don't ask me, I

don't know what's going on.

681

:

David Fales: yeah.

682

:

Yeah, so I didn't take any pictures.

683

:

But Michelle took pictures,

because Michelle does that.

684

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: Then

685

:

David Fales: of him walking.

686

:

And I said, I said, David, he

said not to take any pictures.

687

:

Anyway.

688

:

But we had so much.

689

:

We followed your rules, Matt.

690

:

say this.

691

:

, one more thing before that is the up

in the dining room area of the sixth

692

:

floor I don't know what day this was

There was a you made friends with

693

:

these older people that were up there.

694

:

You were you were a younger one If I

remember right, only younger one at

695

:

that point, only one younger one there,

but these older people were there in

696

:

this recovery floor and Matt makes

friends, , basically with all of these

697

:

older women and men that were up there,

Matt being who Matt is, everybody loves

698

:

Matt and this one man what was his name

699

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: Kenny,

700

:

David Fales: Kenny, he said, and

Matt, you can tell this better, but

701

:

something about, I wish someone could

play the piano for me or something.

702

:

and I remember thinking because Kenny

had said that his wife had passed

703

:

away and how she always played the

piano and there's always so comforting

704

:

to him and He looks at man he goes

you play the piano And I thought

705

:

oh no, he's going to sit at the

piano and he won't be able to play

706

:

and he's going to be so crushed.

707

:

I'm sorry that man, asked

him to play the piano.

708

:

And so Matt gets to the piano,

puts his hands on the keys and

709

:

looks there for a little bit.

710

:

Then he starts playing and I go,

Oh my goodness, another miracle.

711

:

He can play the piano.

712

:

, Matt goes to the, to the piano and

plays near my God, to the, which he

713

:

had memorized before his accident,

way back at some point in your life

714

:

and you sat down and, but from memory

after this brain surgery, like.

715

:

Let's say 10 days after it and plays from

memory Nearer my God to thee on the piano

716

:

. Yeah.

717

:

But as far as all these old people he made

friends with, and I'm jumping over, and we

718

:

can go back and talk about some of those

things too, but when Matt is, the doctor

719

:

talks to Matt, they take out his stitches.

720

:

Tells him that he's free to go now.

721

:

What's that?

722

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I said,

I, I would just like to clarify,

723

:

they were staples, not stitches.

724

:

David Fales: Yes, absolutely.

725

:

Thank you for clarifying.

726

:

Yeah, there is pretty dramatic.

727

:

They were staples.

728

:

Wow.

729

:

Big staples.

730

:

We felt so bad when you got

him out, but you were brave.

731

:

He said, well, I can't leave

until I say goodbye to my friends.

732

:

And so he had to go back to

the dining room, say goodbye to

733

:

all his friends before he left.

734

:

And they all just loved

him some, cried and yeah.

735

:

This one woman specifically, she

said, I just got to keep Matt with me.

736

:

You know, I just love Matt.

737

:

I just, I don't want him to leave.

738

:

But yeah, yeah, he had to

go say goodbye to everybody.

739

:

Very amazing.

740

:

So sweet.

741

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: And so what was

that time from when he left the hospital?

742

:

You said you stayed with the Rose

for a little bit longer after that.

743

:

David Fales: right because he had

to have outpatient, outpatient care,

744

:

physical therapy, rehabilitation for, I

don't know, speech for walk for there.

745

:

Several different people he had to see.

746

:

And things that he had to, you know,

they worked with different therapists

747

:

with, . And we stayed with the Rose

about It was almost two months.

748

:

Almost two months.

749

:

Because he had a six week checkup with Dr.

750

:

Allen at some point.

751

:

And I was going back and forth from Cody.

752

:

Because, you know, we were in the middle

of just a few years into our business.

753

:

And I was going back and forth.

754

:

And we went, at some point, we went

to the follow up visit with Dr.

755

:

Allen, and that's where

756

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: Yeah,

basically, yeah, at that appointment,

757

:

the, I don't remember if it was four or

six weeks, the follow up appointment,

758

:

He essentially counseled me to go home and

rest for the next six months, and don't,

759

:

not do anything, but don't do anything

too extreme just, your brain can heal, and

760

:

I think I responded and said, Well,, I'm

actually planning to go back to school.

761

:

The middle of April, I think April 17th.

762

:

And he said, and I said, Oh, that, then

I asked, how do you feel about that?

763

:

And he said, how do you

feel about bad grades?

764

:

And

765

:

David Fales: this.

766

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I said,

if they come, then that's fine.

767

:

But I genuinely believe that I

can do this and God will be with

768

:

me and I can, I can do this.

769

:

And he said, okay.

770

:

So then I went back to school.

771

:

David Fales: And as he was saying

that, Matt, to your point, he says,

772

:

I have patients

773

:

who can't even talk at this point, can't

even walk, have all sorts of issues,

774

:

and you want to go back to school.

775

:

And , I think he was just in his own

way grateful, and he was happy for you.

776

:

And then I think we started walking

out of his, out of the office, I don't

777

:

know if you were there, Christine.

778

:

Yeah.

779

:

Well, he, the doctor started

walking out, then he turned around.

780

:

Yeah.

781

:

And he said, he said to me, he said,

did you get a priesthood blessing?

782

:

And I think you said yes, or I said yes.

783

:

And he says, works every time.

784

:

He wasn't a member of the church.

785

:

Alex | Mindful with Media:

Oh, interesting.

786

:

David Fales: So, yeah so I knew

Matt wanted to go to school.

787

:

He told the doctor, the doctor said,

well, you wanna get bad grades?

788

:

Go ahead and go back to school.

789

:

So, kind of gave his permission.

790

:

And so I can't sleep.

791

:

How is he gonna go back to school?

792

:

how, who, how is he gonna do things?

793

:

Da da da.

794

:

I'm all, I'm worried mom,

you know, worried mom.

795

:

And so I decide.

796

:

I have to move to Rexburg, and

Matt needs to live with me, and

797

:

then I can help him this semester.

798

:

I present my plan to Matt.

799

:

He says, no way!

800

:

I'm not living with my mom!

801

:

And so the next night I'm all worried.

802

:

What am I going to do?

803

:

Then the thought comes to me.

804

:

The next day I say to Matt, Okay,

I know you don't want to live

805

:

with me, but I have my agency.

806

:

I choose to move to Rexburg.

807

:

And if you want to come over and see me

once in a while and, you know, have a meal

808

:

with me, you're welcome to come visit me.

809

:

But I will live in Rexburg

this next semester.

810

:

He looked at me and goes, Well,

as long as you're going to live

811

:

there, I may as well live with you.

812

:

Yay, answer to prayer.

813

:

So he finally humbled himself enough

to, shows how independent he was.

814

:

He just wanted to get back to his

real life and do everything, you

815

:

know, that he had done before.

816

:

But we found a little apartment.

817

:

And it had.

818

:

Two little bedrooms.

819

:

, so I think I think I rented a U

Haul and brought the beds over.

820

:

We brought some things

down for his apartment.

821

:

The bed that Angela brought some things

over from her apartment, decorated it,

822

:

and yeah, we made it, we made it homey.

823

:

And, yeah, and then the next

semester, he, he was able to go back

824

:

with his roommates and graduate.

825

:

And I would drive over on Fridays

or Saturdays, because Yellowstone

826

:

Park was open during this time

because it's open during the summer,

827

:

so it's four and a half hours.

828

:

So I would, I would, I would leave

on Sunday night, I think, and

829

:

come over Friday night, didn't I?

830

:

Yeah, but before the park

was open, he'd have to fly.

831

:

And we had different family

members that would pay for his

832

:

ticket to fly to come be with us.

833

:

And so I would fly from

Cody and Idaho Falls.

834

:

I did a couple of times, but then

when the park was open, I would just

835

:

drive over and I come over Friday

night, be there Saturday and Sunday.

836

:

And then I would go, I would drive back

Sunday night or Monday morning to Cody.

837

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: So how long

have you been in Rexburg, Christine?

838

:

David Fales: How long was that in Rexford?

839

:

I was just one semester.

840

:

So it was about three months?

841

:

I think we moved, we moved out

in middle of July, I think.

842

:

We went in, in end of March, we got

that apartment in end of March or so.

843

:

So we had April, May,

June, that's through, yeah.

844

:

And then middle of July, I think,

or sometime in there, we, we

845

:

left and we packed everything up

and life started going for Matt.

846

:

And some of the rest of that story is

that, Matt, the people you worked for at

847

:

Uptown Cheapskate, I think that

was the first time I had heard,

848

:

he said, well, is there a GoFundMe

location where we can help?

849

:

So many people wanted to help.

850

:

And so this, this is part of this story.

851

:

Well, this happened when

you were in the hospital.

852

:

This happened when you were in the

hospital, but the result of it was, it

853

:

was a pretty good size amount of money.

854

:

The man you worked for.

855

:

Uptown cheapskate and your friends

and family and, you know, everybody

856

:

was wanting to contribute.

857

:

So this fund built up, so that helped

us get this nicer, this nice apartment.

858

:

It basically kind of paid for it

while we were, have we had other

859

:

expenses going back and forth

and all these things going on?

860

:

But your friends and your family,

Matt helped provide for this.

861

:

And it was just.

862

:

Like, you could just see God's

hand in this, that we said,

863

:

Oh, we've got this money.

864

:

Let's use it for part of Matt's

recovery and Christine being

865

:

there and a place for all of this.

866

:

I mean, we use it for medical

bills and things like that too.

867

:

Yeah.

868

:

There was a variety of things,

but it definitely, it did

869

:

help with that apartment.

870

:

So Christine could be there

near you to, as you got your,

871

:

got a little further along

872

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: went to school

that like spring semester, and then you

873

:

moved in with roommates for the fall

semester and graduated that December.

874

:

Right.

875

:

Yeah.

876

:

David Fales: and graduated.

877

:

That was a miracle too.

878

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: You were

having seizures during that semester?

879

:

During those semesters?

880

:

Yeah, so the first That's a whole

other episode of all about seizures for

881

:

David Fales: the first one was

882

:

is it June 14th?

883

:

Flag Day?

884

:

Yeah.

885

:

And so I get a call that he was

in the library, had a seizure,

886

:

he's now at the hospital.

887

:

And the reason I remember Flag Day is

because I was driving to the hospital.

888

:

Flags were lining the street.

889

:

And.

890

:

I, yeah, that, that began

a new stage of life.

891

:

And what I knew was he was having

such a miraculous recovery.

892

:

I thought,

893

:

why does he have to have seizures?

894

:

know, everything's going so well.

895

:

And I finally realized,

God is allowing this.

896

:

We don't know why but we still

know he will keep recovering

897

:

even if he has seizures.

898

:

And so it was hard to accept because

everything seemed so perfect.

899

:

I remember this.

900

:

And then,

901

:

you know, by the time I get to the

hospital, I see him, he's just but I

902

:

could not predict what would happen.

903

:

So, this is a kid that was experiencing

emotional trauma from what happened,

904

:

and people He was like, laughing,

joking around, like, nothing's wrong.

905

:

I thought, well, oh, maybe a seizure,

you know, isn't gonna kill him.

906

:

Okay?

907

:

Because everything had been

so miraculous up to that point

908

:

and every day was a better day.

909

:

There was no down days, every day was a

better day and a seizure is a down day.

910

:

You know, you have to recover from it

and but thought, well, if this is God's

911

:

will for Matt, Matt will handle it.

912

:

We had to finally come to accept that.

913

:

Yeah, we just had to accept

it for whatever reason.

914

:

And be grateful for all the good days.

915

:

Yes.

916

:

And when these happen, we And then learn

what brings them on, and the things

917

:

you can't control, you know, do those

things you can control, and things

918

:

you can't control, you can't control.

919

:

But, yeah.

920

:

So how'd you feel, Matt, when you had a

seizure, learned that you'd had a seizure?

921

:

Alex | Mindful with Media:

Yeah, it was interesting.

922

:

I Leading up to it, I remember

just Yeah, I was in the library.

923

:

I had just finished watching an episode

of Phineas and Ferb on my laptop.

924

:

And then I said to myself, okay,

time for homework, close the

925

:

laptop, got out my notebook.

926

:

And the next thing I know, I feel

myself curling up in my seat,

927

:

getting really feeling really hot.

928

:

And I'm like, what's happening.

929

:

And the next thing I know, I'm

in the back of an ambulance and I

930

:

bit the side of my cheek and I bit

the, like the side of my tongue.

931

:

Asking me, when I opened my

eyes, Do you know where you are?

932

:

I'm in an ambulance.

933

:

Do you know what happened?

934

:

No.

935

:

And he said, you had a seizure.

936

:

And I said, okay.

937

:

Because you knew that was a

possibility, post brain surgery.

938

:

Yeah, because they had me on medication,

anti seizure medications in the

939

:

hospital, and when I was out of the

hospital for like a week or two, but

940

:

then they said, if you continue to take

these and you're not having seizures,

941

:

There can be adverse side effects, and

942

:

David Fales: Mm hmm.

943

:

Right.

944

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: I stopped

taking them, and then I had this

945

:

seizure a couple of months later or so,

946

:

David Fales: Mm hmm.

947

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: a few

months later I guess, and then So

948

:

then it's been a journey ever since

of getting out and managing those.

949

:

Exactly.

950

:

So yeah, trying to figure out the

right combination of medicine has

951

:

been a journey in and of itself.

952

:

David Fales: Yeah.

953

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: Lots of

natural remedies, and getting enough

954

:

sleep, and your diet, and exercise.

955

:

That's, that's when we started

taking it a lot more seriously.

956

:

The, the recovery at least.

957

:

Well, this has been so good.

958

:

I'm so grateful to have this

for our history and posterity.

959

:

Any final thoughts, things

anybody wants to add?

960

:

David Fales: Well, we're

grateful Matt's alive.

961

:

Alex | Mindful with Media: Me too.

962

:

David Fales: And we're, we're

grateful that it's gone as well

963

:

as it has for you, Matt overall.

964

:

You know, like you went those three

years, you know, without a seizure.

965

:

Four years.

966

:

Four years.

967

:

You know, and all of these are blessings.

968

:

We're just grateful that everything has

gone as well as it has, and we just so

969

:

admire your faith, your attitude, both

of you, and respect you for your just

970

:

moving forward in the face of adversity.

971

:

And And I would like to

say how thankful I am.

972

:

For Alex, that you came into Matt's life.

973

:

For sure.

974

:

And I remember the day I met you, and

Matt pointed you out to me and said

975

:

that he had set you up with his cousin.

976

:

And I said, what?

977

:

Why would he do that?

978

:

Why didn't you date her yourself?

979

:

And he said, well, I think she's

so awesome that I thought And

980

:

she'd be good for my cousin.

981

:

And so, anyway, I had my eye on you for

a while, and I was so happy when I found

982

:

out that eventually he did ask you out.

983

:

And the other thing I'm grateful for is,

because you knew his medical history,

984

:

you knew he had seizures, you knew that,

you know, he would have things that he

985

:

had to deal with throughout his life.

986

:

And you loved him anyway, and I know

that when you're on that train going

987

:

up to your parents house, and he had

a seizure, and you just handled it.

988

:

And I thought, and I know what

it looks like to watch him

989

:

have a seizure, and it's hard.

990

:

As I do.

991

:

And I just thought, okay, she's going into

this marriage with her eyes wide open.

992

:

She knows he's going to have some

challenges, but you feel like.

993

:

I feel, we feel, he's so awesome that

you want him in your life for eternity.

994

:

And anyway, I'm just very

thankful for you and helping him.

995

:

And I know, I'm sure you've had lots

of discussions and I know he's been

996

:

discouraged at times and I'm sure he's

gained a lot of strength from you.

997

:

And I just know that you both just

keep working together, and it's

998

:

beautiful to watch the two of you.

999

:

And we know it's not easy.

:

01:00:00,532 --> 01:00:02,632

We know, we know your life is not easy.

:

01:00:03,452 --> 01:00:07,822

But we also know the Lord is with both of

you, and when you have the Lord with you,

:

01:00:08,682 --> 01:00:12,642

you can work through any difficulty, so.

:

01:00:14,522 --> 01:00:16,992

So thank you, Matt.

:

01:00:16,992 --> 01:00:17,762

Thank you, Alex.

:

01:00:17,772 --> 01:00:22,322

And thanks for this opportunity

to reminisce about A very

:

01:00:22,322 --> 01:00:23,672

traumatic experience in our life.

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About the Podcast

Mindful with Media
This is the podcast for entrepreneurial moms who want to grow a meaningful, profitable business without sacrificing their other priorities (like spending time with their kids or getting enough sleep).

Host Alex Fales—business coach, mindset mentor, and mom—shares honest conversations, simple strategies, and powerful mindset shifts to help you and make money doing work you love and grow as a person while you're at it.

Expect solo episodes, authentic chats, and real-life stories that help you blend business strategy with personal growth, so you can build a business that supports your life (not the other way around).

Because you don’t need more hustle.
You need clarity, confidence, and the courage to do business your way.