On May the 7th 1965 , I was transporting a car for a used car dealer , driving the car from Long Island NY To Manheim PA for a car dealer auction. A friend of mine also was following behind me in another car being transported.
We left about 5:30 AM that Friday morning . At this time let me say that I was raised Catholic , believed in God , but certainly was not yet born again,had not accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior , so did not have a relationship with him.
AS we traveled the PENN. TURNPIKE , A TURN OF EVENTS THAT WOULD CHANGE AND EFFECT MY LIFE GREATLY...EVEN TO THIS DAY.
AS I was driving on the PENN turnpike, AN AUDIBLE VOICE ! ...SAID THESE WORDS "SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU NOW, THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR WHOLE LIFE, BUT YOU WILL BE ALRIGHT! Well the voice was so audible that I quickly looked in the back seat to see who had snuck in the car that I knew I was alone in!
About 2 minutes later, the car (1961 Chrysler New York) started sliding all over the slightly wet pavement, I could not control it, and was all over the highway UNTIL it whip lashed into the steel girder that divided the lanes! IT was only about 2 feet high and I whipped into the end of it. IT CAME THROUGH THE BACK DOOR ( DRIVER SIDE ) THROUGH THE BACK OF MY SEAT, AND PUSHED ME STOMACH FIRST THROUGH THE STEERING WHEEL
The result was my stomach was pushed up into my chest, a ruptured left lung, ruptured diaphragm, ruptured spleen, my heart was pushed over as were my kidneys... both heart and kidneys are still out of place.
WHILE waiting for the ambulance I never lost conscienceless and in the car I went totally blind for about 30 minutes, they told me weeks later it was because my body went into shock...I KNEW I WAS DYING!
THEN IN THE AMBULANCE ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL SOMETHING SO GREAT AND SO TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE HAPPENED! THERE IN THE AMBULANCE, AS I LAY THERE DIEING... WAS JESUS, THERE! WITH ME! I SAW HIM FROM HIS WAIST TO HIS FACE! HE SAID NOT A WORD, THEN A GREAT PEACE CAME ON ME, AND THOUGH MY HEAD DID NOT ACCEPT THIS OR UNDERSTAND IT... I KNEW THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO DIE, ALTHOUGH I WAS STILL STRUGGLING WITH ALMOST EVERY BREATH... JUST TO BREATHE BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS C R U S H E D! BUT I KNEW I WOULD LIVE, I HAD THIS PEACE!
WELL THEY GOT ME TO THE HOSPITAL (GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL IN LEBANON PA), THEY DETERMINED THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD IN THE CAR OR ON THE WAY IN THE AMBULANCE, BUT I WOULD BE DEAD WITHIN ABOUT 5 MINUTES ANYWAY, I WATCHED THE CATHOLIC PRIEST GIVE ME "LAST RITES" AND I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING.
THEY SAID ANY SURGERY WOULD BE SO MASSIVE, IT WOULD KILL ME. WELL, I LAID THERE FROM BEFORE 9 AM TO CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, WITHOUT DYING! NO ONE HAD ANY EXPLANATION FOR THAT. EVEN THOUGH, THEY WERE SURE THE SURGERY WOULD KILL ME, WHAT DID THEY HAVE TO LOSE. WELL, THEY DID 14 HOURS OF SURGERY..TOOK MY SPLEEN OUT... CUT OUT SOME RIBS.. HAD TO PUSH MY STOMACH BACK OUT OF MY CHEST AND WORK ON THE REST! I SPENT THE NEXT 9 DAYS IN AN ICU WARD (WHERE INCIDENTALLY ALL 5 PEOPLE AROUND ME DIED IN THE FIRST 7 DAYS) I SPENT A TOTAL OF 5 AND A HALF WEEKS IN THE HOSPITAL. WHEN I LEFT TO GO BACK TO NY, I ASKED THE SURGEON "SO HOW AM I? HE SAID YOUR ALIVE... WHEN I PUSHED HIM FOR MORE INFO, HE SAID THIS: "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, I AM A VERY GOOD SURGEON... BUT YOUR INJURIES WERE BEYOND MY ABILITY... I AM AN ATHEIST (I wasn't even sure what that was back then) BUT I DID NOT DO YOUR SURGERY... SOMETHING GUIDED MY HANDS ALL THE WAY". AND THEN HE SAID SOMETHING THAT I WOULD HEAR FROM 8 MORE DIFFERENT DOCTORS WHO NEVER HAVE MET EACH OTHER, BUT EXAMINED ME AND THE REPORTS, THESE ARE THE WORDS THAT WERE SAID FROM 1965 -1992... "YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!!!!!! THEN THAT SURGEON SAID THIS "YOU WILL NEVER SEE 30 YEARS OF AGE" AND HE EXPLAINED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ME. BUT WHEN I WAS 30, I RECEIVED JESUS AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR! AT THAT TIME A GROWTH WAS PROTRUDING OUT THE SIDE OF MY STOMACH FROM THE INSIDE ABOUT THE SIZE OF HALF A GRAPEFRUIT! THE DAY I RECEIVED JESUS (OCTOBER 24TH 1976) I NEVER KNEW GOD COULD, WOULD, OR SHOULD HEAL ANYONE... BUT WITHIN 5 MINUTES AFTER RECEIVING JESUS AS LORD, A HEAT CAME OVER THAT GROWTH, AS I TOUCHED IT IT JUST DISAPPEARED!!!!!!!
I HAVE BEEN AT MY CHURCH FOR NEARLY 34 YEARS NOW, WAS 7 YEARS YOUTH PASTOR, SINGLES MINISTER, COUNSELING, HOSPITAL MINISTRY, TEACHING, PREACHING, and SENOR ASSOCIATE PASTOR. DOCTORS TELL ME I SHOULD BE SICK A LOT, AMONG OTHER THINGS I HAVE NO SPLEEN, WHICH IS INTEGRAL TO THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, THEY (DOCTORS) TELL ME I AM SUSCEPTIBLE TO VIRUSES, BACTERIA, ILLNESS AND DISEASE... BUT IN NEARLY 34 YEARS MINISTERING AT MY CHURCH, OTHER THAN 2 SURGERIES DUE TO INJURY, NOT ILLNESS OR DISEASE, OR SICKNESS... I HAVE N E V E R MISSED ONE DAY OF WORK DUE TO ILLNESS... P R A I S E THE L O R D!!!
EVERYTHING I SAID ABOVE IS TO GIVE GLORY TO GOD WHO SAVED ME AND HEALED ME AND DELIVERED ME FROM ALL MY DESTRUCTION.
Al Scavone - Abundant Life Christian Centre - Senior Associate Pastor
Thank you Al for sharing your journey with Jesus.
