Amidst Back-to-Back Strokes, He Remained

“My whole world changed when that doctor came in and said that I had had a stroke” Heather says, “I had had a brain hemorrhage, that is not something that was in my playbook that would happen to me.”

Heather Rendulic was a 22-year-old college student when a stroke sent her to the hospital. Doctors determined she had a cavernous malformation in her brain causing the bleed and stroke. Her mother Lynn was with her in the trauma center. “The chances of it bleeding again, they were higher than prior to the first bleed, but they didn't feel it was gonna be a, a problem for her.” Lynn recalls. 

“They said it was rare for them to bleed in the first place” Heather remembers, “And, you know, chances were I'd live the rest of my life and I would never have another bleed.” However, six months later Heather had more stroke symptoms, sending her back to the E.R. and into an emotional and spiritual spiral. Heather says, “I felt like I had a ticking time bomb in my head that could go off again at any point without any warning. I had this, you know, anxiety and fear of what the future would hold.”

The only long-term solution was a risky brain surgery to remove the leaking cluster of blood vessels. Yet, Heather was not a good candidate due to the malformation hiding deep within her brain. Heather and her family wondered why God was not healing her. She says, “I really struggled then and I was angry at God. I questioned if He was even real. I questioned if He could hear me, if He cared. I mean, there were many horrible thoughts I had and it was a very, very dark time.”

“We were all praying.” Says Lynn, “No more bleeds. No, please, Lord, no more bleeds. And it kept bleeding. And it really felt that God was being very silent during that time.”

Over the next Eleven months Heather had five brain bleeds. The fifth nearly killed her. Heather’s father randy remembers that  moment. He says, “I got the call from Lynn saying that I needed to get to the hospital immediately. I remember driving to the hospital and praying to God to save Heather!”

The stroke left Heather paralyzed on her left side. Now, her doctor insisted on performing the risky surgery to remove the leaking blood vessels.” Heather says, “It had come to the point that my status was very critical and without this brain surgery, I was gonna die. Last year, all these, you know, expert neurosurgeons are telling me is too dangerous to do and that it could leave me, you know, either dead on the table or permanently paralyzed and now they're saying I have to have it done. Like the fear was starting to creep in of, what's gonna happen now? Is this the end?" 

Lynn remembers, “I had no control. I could do nothing about the situation other than pray. And I just had this sense of peace that it was gonna be okay. And I imagined actually just reaching my hand out and Jesus taking it, because I didn't have the strength to get through that, and I knew the only way I could was through him.”

Heather’s doctor discovered something unexpected that had happened during the last stroke. “The miracle in all of this” says Heather, “is it pushed the lesion a little bit closer to the surface, thus giving the neurosurgeon, a better opportunity to fully remove it without permanently paralyzing me or killing me. It wasn't that God was ignoring me and he was ignoring my prayers. He had a much better plan in mind that I would have never known to ask for.”

With renewed faith, Heather began the grueling rehab process to regain her strength and mobility. She says, “I was alive. Again, that was the biggest miracle, and I now had to work very hard to gain my independence again, but I knew, you know, through the Holy Spirit, God would equip me with that strength and determination to work hard every day.”

“She was amazing because her faith grew, you know, through all this stuff her faith grew and our faith grew too.” Says her dad Randy. 

“I absolutely see God's hand in every moment of it now on the other side of it.” Says Heather, “I understand it's so hard and when you're in the present moment to see his hand, but if I can encourage anybody of what I can see now is He was in every second, every minute, every tear, every fear I had during that time, He was working, he was not silent.”

“I'm so thankful that she's here.” Says mom, Lynn. “I'm so thankful that she is living a good, wonderful life.”

“And we just look at it as a miracle that God saved her for a reason.” Says Randy, “And I do believe that, and I'm just so thankful and continue to thank Him every day. And I've thanked Him every day since that fateful day.”

Heather has regained her mobility and is thankful for God’s presence during her difficult journey. She encourages everyone to trust God even when things look dark. “Even when our prayers seem unanswered or God seems silent, He is absolutely not silent at all and He is working and, you know, whether we see that or not, I can guarantee you He is working harder than you can imagine. She says, “And I also want to use what I've been through to help other people through hard times because hard times in life is inevitable for every person. Looking back at it now that we're 13 years away from it, I can say it was the most beautiful time of my life because of what God did.”

To learn more about Heather L. Rendulic and her ministry, Head Strong, click the LINK!