Tuesday, August 19^th, 2008 around 6pm, Marissa and I went to our garage where I was looking thru boxes for a kitchen item.  She was climbing on things while I was searching.  Several minutes later after I had climbed over boxes and looked through 4-5 of them, I realized she was no longer in the garage with me.  The thought flashed thru my mind that if she had fallen into the pool I would have heard a splash, but then realized if she had, I would not have heard anything where I was.  I took off for the pool while never in my wildest dreams believing that those thoughts would ever be true.  I scanned the deep end then turned to look in the shallow end where I saw her body floating lifelessly near the top of the water.  I sprinted across the concrete, jumped in the pool, scooped her up, jumped out of the pool, and began the training that I knew.  I still didn’t believe it was real.  It wasn’t until after performing CPR for a few minutes and she was still not responding that I realized it was really happening and began screaming for help.  Living out in the country, I knew that no one could hear me and that I had to get to a phone myself.  I knew that I couldn’t stop working on Marissa, but at a certain point I got the feeling that right then was my chance.  I picked her up into my arms again and ran into the house where I dialed 911 and then resumed CPR.  EMT arrived within just a few minutes, and it was during this time that Marissa turned pink, started crying, vomited, and opened her eyes a little. By the time help had arrived Marissa was conscious and even glanced at them briefly when they called her name.  I had no thought process thru it all.  I just knew that God is God and that her life was in His hands.  They gave her oxygen in the ambulance and said she was doing fine being as that she was crying well.  Due to the fact that she was in post-cardiac arrest they care-flighted her to Knoxville from a church parking lot just down our street.  I could not reach Dustin because his cell phone was dead, but he happened to leave work early to come home to load some lumber.  As he came over the hill, he saw the lifestar helicopter circling over head and our yard full of emergency vehicles.  After briefing him on the situation, we took off for Knoxville thankful that God and His angels were in the helicopter with Marissa.

At this point we knew she was alive but unsure of the brain damage she may have incurred while in the pool.  I got on the phone to call for prayer and I thank each and every one of you who interceded on our behalf. 

Our dear friends, Ken and Jackie, live close to Knoxville and were able to be there when Marissa arrived.  When Dustin and I arrived, Marissa was asleep in Jackie’s arms.  Later, when she awoke, she played and acted as if nothing had ever happened!  Marla had watched her earlier that day, and when she arrived at the hospital, Marissa pulled the very same book out of the diaper bag that Marla had read to her that morning and began showing it to her again just as before.  Her memory excited us so much knowing that she was going to be alright!  Her chest x-rays and blood work came back normal, and the doctor said she didn’t see any sign of brain damage, and that if there were to be any, it usually showed up by that point.  We stayed overnight for observation, and she slept well all night with her oxygen levels in the high 90’s.  The lab work and chest x-ray that they repeated in the morning came back normal as well showing no signs of further complications outside of the normal reactions to trauma.  We were able to bring her home that afternoon a perfectly healthy little girl only by the grace of God.

So, for those of you who prayed with us, you can now rejoice with us and give praise to the wonderful God we serve. We are so thankful and blest to be surrounded by so many wonderful family and friends in our life that care and can pray and are right there when you need them the most.  Our prayer for those of you who do not know the Lord as Savior of your life is that you will realize your need for Him and accept Him as your Lord and Savior today.  God is not just someone to provide us an escape out of Hell, but He is a living God who works in our lives daily and performs miracles beyond our comprehension.  I may have performed the CPR and followed the steps taught to revive a drowning victim, but it was Almighty God who breathed the breath of life back into her and healed her completely. Thanks again to every one of you for all of your love, prayers, and support through this difficult time in our life. We are greatly humbled that God would choose to bless us with so great a miracle.  What a mighty God we serve!

To God be the Glory,
Mandy and Dustin Tinsman

August 21, 2008

Taken 2-2-08