A searing pain ripped through my head like a bolt of lightening…Or like an ax being buried in my skull. I was in so much pain, I couldn’t focus and grasp what was happening. Initially I was misdiagnosed and sent home. That’s where I would have died, had a series of miracles not lined up. The next day I was back at the hospital after an excruciating night of relentless pain, nausea and vertigo. That morning I was so weak & I could no longer speak, and soon my comprehension would leave as well. Within hours, I would enter a coma for the next 11 days, most of which I don’t remember. During that time I would undergo open brain surgery (from which only 3% survived back then), and encounter my near death experience. Details to be discussed on a later post, or are found in my book located at www.inaflash.org.

The subject of my NDE didn’t come up for a few weeks. When I finally came to, I had a lot of recovery to get through. When I told the first couple people about my NDE…Mom immediately believed me. She had heard me murmur something just after the ventilator was taken out. She thought she had imagined hearing me say “the colors are so bright,” because I had not yet regained consciousness after so many days. At this point the doctors didn’t know if I would walk, talk, or even stay alive. It took three days for me to regain consciousness after the life support equipment was removed. It was only then, that they knew I could speak. Of course I didn’t know what had happened to me at that point. When I told my fiance’ who I was putting through medical school, about the NDE…He insisted that it was an hallucination brought on by a lack of oxygen to my brain, and the drugs they had me on.

I knew with every fiber of my being that he was wrong, but I wasn’t up to the argument. It took me years of isolation with my new truth, to talk about it. I did journal it when I was home recovering. Then I mailed it to myself, so there would be a postmark and then never opened it. In the event that I would subsequently die, I wanted my truth noted. I tossed it in an old plastic bin in the basement for three moves and 17yrs, until I felt safe and ready enough to share my story. It takes time to process major events like this. While the absolute conviction is there…It’s a risky proposition to share with others, who may not be of like mind.

Unlike some accounts, I went in with no particular religious conviction to push after the fact. I was a relatively clean slate with no agenda. What I gained from my NDE was that life goes on after the death of the human manifestation. The body is the carrying case for the soul, which separates from the body at death. The soul moves into a place of love, light and color…That could never be duplicated on earth. In my case there was no fear or thought of what was behind me as I made the transition. I looked before me in child like wonder, and was ready to cross over. I happen to meet my grandpa who had passed many years before. He told me through telepathic communication, that it wasn’t my time. Had it been up to me, I would have stayed.

I can only surmise that I still had some things to complete on earth. As other miracles would come to light, I was directed to share what happened to me. More and more people were feeling safe to do so, and it’s becoming more acceptable to speak of. Now our collective voices are starting to add up. As much as science keeps trying to explain the NDE…Some of us know that science is spinning its wheels. Not everything can be defined by absolute logic, but must be taken on faith. We are mere mortals and there is a limit to our comprehension of the spiritual realm, until we arrive there for good. My story is a testament of that truth.

Soon after, I Googled “Internet Radio” and discover Blog Talk Radio (BTR). I was fascinated at the many program selections available! Not all of those are anything you’d want to partake in, due to what I would deem as questionable content. Many of the others though, are informative, entertaining, and just plain fun! I started calling in to tag my book to the various pockets of listeners, and before long I was being contacted about interviews on several of the programs.This whole concept intrigued me.

Adding fuel to the fire was the substantial amount of email, that I receive daily from people who have read my book. There seems to be distinct groups I am hearing from. Some are from fellow brain aneurysm survivors or people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Folks suffering from other serious medical issues wrote, because they could relate to the process I went through. Another group are those interested in near death experiences, or what happens when we die. More wrote asking questions or comments about a wider range of applications to the term “recovery” and “miracles.”

I looked up the “rules” of how to get “your own radio show” on BTR. I found out that for 30 minute shows, you can do them at no cost. The next step up is a two hour program at a monthly charge. What the heck? I decided to try an experimental half hour show. I know a lot of interesting people, and I was curious to see if I could do it. When your home becomes your studio, it’s important to find a quiet time to broadcast. For me, that is the night owl slot. By 10pm central, my husband is sleeping, the four dogs are tapped for the day, and Petey Bird is in her “sleepy sock” for the night. That time is as quiet as our house gets. I have now recorded several of my own rather clumsy, but informative shows as I learn the system. There are many causes related to recovery that I feel strongly about. The show gives me a learning curve, and helps promote a variety of worthy causes and topics. The beauty of it, is that all shows are archived on the site, so if you miss a live broadcast, you can go back anytime to hear programs that you find of interest. Each week on Thursday night at 10pm, I have been conducting interviews with great people. As we continue this over the next couple of months, I will be deciding about perhaps making the two hour program commitment near fall. That show would become a “community” of listeners, interested in recovery themed topics. There will be a call in feature and more musical selections. Check the tab here called “Recovery Now.” That will give you the links to programming. Since the whole idea was formed as an offshoot of my book: In a Flash…Miracles Here and Beyond, it seemed a nice extension to call the radio show: In a Flash Recovery Now. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inaflash

After listening, if you are interested in this type of show, you will see a green button at the top left of the program page that says “Follow.” If you hit that button, you will be sent an email before each show airs as a reminder. It also lets me know of the interest generated. If you would like to be a guest, or have a story idea, please contact me here under the “Contact the Author” tab. I appreciate your ideas and participation.

All was well with my new plan until Thanksgiving weekend arrived. On that Saturday, I woke up to find my husband, Gary, poised at his computer. He said “Is this kind of what you had in mind?” On his screen, I was shocked to see the majority of the image that I had described weeks before, as my proposed cover design! I was very taken back as I replied, “Yes..Almost exactly what I had in mind.” Gary is not a graphic artist, he’s a systems analyst. While he’s capable of doing a bang up job on websites (yes he did that for me too), he had never done any function like this one, yet here it was. Everything was there but the woman on the cover. I immediately realized what a kind, thoughtful, touching thing he had done for me. I said and felt the appropriate things, but truly I had pushed thoughts of the book out of my mind. I had been serious about quitting for a few months. I had also just woke up, and wasn’t processing at full speed yet. He told me that he was just getting to the final part of figuring out how to place a woman in the field as I described. Originally it was to be a long haired woman standing with her back to us, looking out into the sky.

Weeks before, my editor had commented that it was too bad I didn’t have some pictures to accompany what I wrote about. I thought about it for a moment, and then realized I did. It wouldn’t be easy and it hadn’t been in my plans, but I spent a day down the basement going through bins of photos that I hadn’t seen in years. It was then that I located the images used in the book. Because of that task, I had seen an old picture taken in my modeling days, where I was seated on some stairs looking up.

Now standing next to Gary, I had an idea. Down the basement I went again, this time knowing exactly where to look. I dug out the old picture and asked Gary if he thought he could black it out. “She” was looking up at the sky, and would be easier to place than a woman standing in the field. He proceeded to experiment with the new task at hand.

I still wasn’t convinced about going back to the original release time, so I sat down at my computer trying to collect my thoughts. At that moment the only thing I was sold on, is that the cover issue would be solved when we resumed the project in the spring. By this time, I had decided to self publish. That story is a matter for a future blog. In any case, I had narrowed it down to three companies when I “quit.” The top candidates in self publishing were Lightning Source, Lulu, and CreateSpace (a division of Amazon). On this day I Googled “comparison of self publishing companies” or something like that. To my surprise, a few entries down was a blog by a young fiction writer. In it, he had compared (you guessed it) Lightning Source, Lulu and CreateSpace! I had done enough prior research, that I appreciated “Indiana Jeff’s” comments. It did prompt a couple of other questions, so I sent him an email asking if we might talk. It wasn’t fifteen minutes later, and he called me.

In the course of gathering more information, he asked about my project. I explained the story and the obstacles that we had run into. After hearing what my book was about and my delay in going to print, Jeff told me that HE would format my paperback! On top of that, he would turn me on to “Texas Ted” who had done all of his eBook formatting. Really?! How very unlikely. Hmmmm. I told Jeff I’d get back to him and checked out Ted’s site. The site said he only did fiction. I went ahead and sent him an email, and once again, in a short time he called me. I explained the prior situation about the cover and formatting, and how things seemed to be shifting in the past two hours. Ted readily jumped on board. Much to my amazement, the only thing holding me back now, was me. These three men had given me on small window of opportunity to crawl through, with my track shoes on. Pass or play? I just looked up into the Heavens, shrugged, and said “Let’s go then!”

It took under six days, to get the newly formatted manuscripts back from Jeff and Ted, and then off to the publisher. Gary had finished the cover design before the end of that weekend. By December 14th, the first box of one hundred books arrived on our porch! The book showed up on Amazon, Nook and Kindle by the first week in December. By the skin of our teeth and to my complete amazement…We were a book in time for the holidays. Thanks again boys.

Signings at Author Book Expo 1:00pm at Downtown Library on Saturday, February 18th. Meet several local authors and publishers! Speaking & signing event for In a Flash coming in early spring at the Swanson Library on 90th and Dodge! Other events in the works.

Thanks for your support, and for supporting local booksellers. Around the world we are located on Amazon and request from your own local booksellers. Autographed copies available from this site, under “contact the author.” Available in most e formats too.

Here in Omaha, I am currently in Soul Desires Books downtown on Jackson Street between 10th and 11th. If you see me (or want to), I always have books with me too! Hope to be in the Bookworm and other local outlets soon.

eBooks are available on Kindle, Nook, and Apple…Probably soon on Sony & Kobo.

Thanks for your interest. The blogs will begin soon. Stay tuned.

My first box of books arrived yesterday, and I’m still blown away. I’m the one who was told in first grade, that I wasn’t artistic. It’s been a running family joke for fifty years, and one of those “absolutes” I’ve kept tucked in the back of my mind. I had to smile two years ago, when I walked into Lauritzen Botanical Garden to find the entire gallery filled with my exhibit. Now here I sit with a big box of books, and my first signing scheduled for this Saturday. I can’t take all of the credit for any of these things. I’ve had a network of support that has fanned my flames, and helped me every inch of the way. I am truly blessed. The book I wrote, hot off the press, started flying off the shelves today. Not bad for a non artist. I guess we just never know until we try, how far we can swim into uncharted territory.

On Saturday the 17th from 11-3, I will be at Art Friends Gift Gallery signing books. Go west on “L” St past 144th, until you reach the next traffic light (149th) and take a left. Proceed to stop sign, make another left. We are in the 2nd strip plaza on your left. Art Friends has unique gifts crafted by local artists. Great place for some last minute holiday shopping, and a chance to buy a good book. Hope to see you there!! ]]> http://inaflash.org/?feed=rss2&p=136 0 http://inaflash.org/?p=37 http://inaflash.org/?p=37#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:34:59 +0000 kimjustus http://inaflash.org/?p=37 Continue reading →]]> We are happy to announce the launch of my new book In a Flash: Miracles Here and Beyond in time for the holidays!

Having now arrived as an official Indie Author, I chose not to go the traditional publishing route. I already waited so many years to write my story, that when I felt “called” to share the details in a more public forum, I wasn’t prepared to take the slow train getting there. My profound thanks to the many people who helped me reach my objective. Without you, I couldn’t have gotten the job done with the many challenges that were presented. Who knew?

In a Flash… is a memoir about my brain aneurysm, near death experience, and the miracles surrounding the events. It’s a story of survival through a medical crisis, with a tangible spiritual component. You will see many miracles (or striking coincidences if you prefer) outlined in my story.

Congress voted to recognize September as National Aneurysm Awareness Month, shortly after I began writing this book…In September!    A portion of the book proceeds will go to organizations dealing with brain aneurysms, traumatic brain injury and other neurological impairments.

I look forward to future discussions on the many talking points covered in the text. A list of questions will be provided for use in book clubs in a future post or by request.

If you have an Amazon account, hope you will write a review, regardless of where you purchase the book. Remember to click the Facebook “Like” button on this Homepage. Your feedback and support is greatly appreciated.

Kim