Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202205S
|
00:00 ♪♪
00:37 [ominous musi] 00:44 >> Hello and welcome to It Is 00:45 Written Canada. 00:46 Thank you for joining us. 00:48 To say everything in life is 00:49 easy to understand is far from 00:51 the truth. 00:52 Traumatic accidents happen and 00:54 we wonder why. 00:56 >> Why did this happen to me? 00:58 How do I makes sense of this? 01:00 >> These are the types of 01:02 questions Arden Brock found 01:04 himself asking after facing 01:06 more than one life-threatening 01:08 encounter. 01:10 >> When the big one caught him 01:12 by surprise, he saw the face 01:14 of The Evil One tempting him 01:16 to take the easy way out and 01:18 end it all. 01:22 [ARDEN] Hi, I'm Arden Brock, 01:24 I live in Kynoch, a small 01:27 community near Iron Bridge, 01:29 just east of Sault Ste. Marie. 01:32 We own a beef farm and do some 01:36 logging, retail firewood from 01:39 the logging industry to a 01:42 market near us. 01:43 [gentle piano music] 01:47 I met Kristen at a regional 01:50 camp meeting where a bunch of 01:52 the churches got together once 01:54 a year for religious meetings 01:57 and she came from a different 02:01 church in the area than I did. 02:05 So we have three children 02:06 together and Natalie is our 02:08 oldest and then Isaac and 02:10 Aaron's youngest. 02:12 They bring a lot of joy to 02:14 life, they're awesome kids and 02:18 they're fun to be with and 02:20 they enjoy time with the 02:22 family and I love them. 02:27 I've always been involved in 02:29 equipment operation as part of 02:31 the industries we work in and 02:34 it involves a lot of danger. 02:38 The equipment is good 02:40 equipment, but just by nature, 02:42 working with animals and 02:45 working with primary industry, 02:48 it involves a level of danger 02:52 similar to that of the mining 02:53 industry. 02:54 We are the softest thing that 02:56 we work with. 02:57 As such, I've had a number of 03:00 incidents in my life where 03:02 it's clear that God is the One 03:05 that takes the credit, that is 03:07 the one that provided the 03:09 protection. 03:11 I remember one incident when 03:13 we were in the logging 03:14 industry, I was driving a 03:17 slasher up a hill and as I got 03:20 on this hill, I realized that 03:22 I didn't have enough traction 03:24 to make it over the top, but 03:25 at that point you're committed 03:26 so what can you do? 03:28 So I made the decision, "Well, 03:30 I'll go until I spin out and 03:32 hopefully it'll get enough 03:34 traction that I can at least 03:36 hold it on the hill." 03:37 I wasn't able to so I started 03:40 to slide back down the hill 03:42 backwards and although you're 03:45 sliding, you have some 03:46 steering control and I 03:48 thought, well, maybe if I 03:49 can steer the back end of 03:52 the trailer into the snow bank 03:54 it'll stop me and there's a 03:56 drop-off on the left side. 03:59 The trailer goes into the bank 04:00 on the right hand side and it 04:02 pushes the truck sideways and 04:04 I look over through the window 04:07 and I see a stump of a tree 04:09 and I'm like, "Oh, what's this 04:10 gonna feel like?" 04:12 And all of a sudden, the truck 04:14 rattles and just stops and... 04:17 Why? 04:19 And when I get out and look 04:21 and crawled out the passenger 04:23 side because I'm hanging mid 04:25 air on the driver's side, I 04:27 notice that the boom of the 04:29 slasher has rested up against 04:31 a tree that was standing on 04:33 the side of the road and it's 04:35 what kept the slasher from 04:36 rolling over. 04:38 So that's one of the examples 04:40 of how God's intervened in 04:43 my life. 04:48 My accident happened a month 04:50 and a day after my first born 04:52 was born. 04:54 As a new parent, you don't get 04:56 as much sleep as you normally 04:58 would so there was a lot of 04:59 influencing factors, it was a 05:01 hectic period of time on the 05:04 farm, it was the beginning of 05:08 haying season so there was 05:10 obviously a lot of work, we're 05:12 just wrapping up some of the 05:14 forestry side of things so, 05:16 again, that was taking a lot 05:18 of time. 05:20 So we baled baleage, if you're 05:23 familiar with farm work, 05:25 there's a round baler that you 05:27 bale green hay. 05:29 When we bale that, if the 05:31 moisture content isn't 05:33 perfect, it'll tend to wrap on 05:35 the rollers and if it does 05:38 that, often times we don't 05:40 deal with it right away, we'll 05:42 deal with it later in the day 05:44 or as a preventative 05:46 maintenance the following 05:48 morning which was what I did 05:49 this day. 05:50 That happened the night 05:52 before, we had worked late 05:54 into the night to wrap up some 05:55 baleage and the following 05:57 morning I was doing this 05:59 preventative maintenance where 06:01 I would cut off the wrapped 06:03 material on those rollers. 06:06 So you take an X-Acto knife 06:08 and just score the material 06:12 and then turn the baler on, 06:14 turn the PTO on on the tractor 06:16 and it turns the rollers and 06:18 usually the material will come 06:19 come off, if it doesn't, you 06:21 shut the PTO off and get back 06:23 in and score it in a 06:24 different location. 06:26 I had done that a number of 06:27 times and this one rubber 06:28 roller, it didn't want to 06:30 flake off so I thought, "Well, 06:31 I'll just use a putty knife 06:33 and scrape that while it's 06:35 turning," an unsafe procedure 06:38 so if somebody's listening and 06:40 you think, "Well, it won't 06:41 happen to me," I'm here to 06:42 tell you that it can happen 06:44 to you. 06:45 So I went up there with a 06:47 putty knife and since I knew 06:48 the danger, I was very 06:50 cautious that, you know, you 06:51 don't let the putty knife get 06:53 pulled in and so you're there 06:56 being very careful that as-- 06:59 just flip it up a little bit 07:01 and if that putty knife gets 07:02 caught, you're gonna let it go. 07:05 Well, what I didn't take into 07:06 consideration what that the 07:08 leather glove I was wearing 07:09 had a tab on the back side and 07:11 that tab got caught between 07:13 the roller and the belt and 07:15 pulled me in backwards. 07:18 And as soon as I got caught in 07:19 there, I recognized that this 07:22 wasn't going to have a good 07:24 ending, I didn't probably 07:26 anticipate how bad it was 07:27 gonna be at the time, but it 07:29 pulled me in and there I am 07:31 stuck and it stuck right about 07:34 the knuckles where I'm pulled 07:36 back in toward this pinch 07:39 point and the belt's turning, 07:41 of course, now I can't get to 07:42 the tractor to shut it off, no 07:44 one else is around, I'm in the 07:45 shop by myself. 07:46 You can yell and holler, call 07:48 for help, but nobody's gonna 07:49 hear you, it's half a mile to 07:51 the nearest house. 07:53 So I did those things, I 07:54 yelled and hollered and, 07:56 you know, called. 07:59 And then because of that, I 08:01 lost my grip and I went in 08:03 further so now I'm up about 08:05 the forearm, halfway or a 08:08 little higher between the 08:09 elbow and the wrist. 08:14 And that's where I recognized 08:15 that this had the potential to 08:17 kill me. 08:19 [machinery whirring] 08:21 There was no way out and more 08:25 than likely the only way that 08:28 I'm getting out is by going 08:30 through. 08:33 So I looked out a window, I 08:35 was up on top of the machine 08:36 so I could see out a window, 08:38 it was maybe ten feet high 08:40 and I was looking to the 08:42 east and you just see light 08:44 and kind of the hills in the 08:47 background and you wonder if, 08:49 you know, that's the last time 08:51 you're going to see the day. 08:54 So I looked down at the 08:56 rollers and I see as they're 08:58 turning like a thousand RPM, 09:00 they're turning very quickly, 09:02 and The Devil tempts at that 09:05 point in time, like, "Arden, 09:07 just put in the other arm." 09:10 It's like he's looking you in 09:11 the face and says, you know, 09:12 "End it all, just put in the 09:14 other hand and be done with it." 09:17 And the prayer that I had 09:19 prayed, you know, "Lord, help 09:21 me, dear Jesus, help me," that 09:22 was essentially four-worded 09:24 prayer, very simple. 09:28 And that's when God gave me 09:30 the intuition, if you just 09:32 hold back a little bit longer, 09:35 the rollers will go through 09:38 the muscle, when it hits the 09:40 bone, it's going to be 09:41 slippery and then you can jump 09:44 from the machine and be free, 09:47 it'll break those bones off. 09:50 Sometimes it's easier to die 09:52 than to live for God. 09:56 So I decided at that moment I 09:58 will try to do what God asks 10:04 me to. 10:05 It's not an easy thing and I 10:08 jumped from the machine, I 10:10 landed on the floor on my 10:12 feet, but I was dismembered. 10:16 My arm, my right arm, was gone 10:19 from mid-way between the elbow 10:21 and the wrist and that is the 10:26 moment that now you have to 10:28 struggle for your life. 10:30 Even though you're free from 10:31 the machine, that doesn't mean 10:33 you're alive for long. 10:37 So there was a phone in the 10:38 shop, I went over to the phone 10:40 and called 9-1-1, filed a 10:43 report with them and they 10:46 said, "Where are you?" and I 10:48 tried to explain the location. 10:50 I said, "Well, I can't stay on 10:52 the phone with you, I need to 10:53 go out to the road so you'll 10:54 know where I am," and they 10:57 reluctantly agreed that that 11:00 was the best scenario and I 11:03 hung up with them and then I 11:05 called my wife. 11:08 Again, as I had mentioned, our 11:10 daughter's a month and a day 11:11 old and Kristen took Natalie 11:15 and put her in the back seat 11:17 of the car, grabbed some 11:19 towels, she didn't know what 11:20 she was in for, I had simply 11:22 told her that I had tore my 11:24 arm off in the baler and I'd 11:26 called 9-1-1, but I'd probably 11:28 need some help before the 11:29 ambulance got there. 11:31 So it was a moment of panic 11:34 for her, she was very certain 11:38 that I wouldn't survive, but 11:40 she wanted to do what she 11:42 could to comfort my last 11:44 moments. 11:46 So she attempted to come to 11:48 the location. 11:52 In the meantime, I shut the 11:54 machine off and then I exited 11:57 the building and as I exited 12:00 the building, my dad and my 12:04 sister, they were coming down 12:07 the road and there's one break 12:10 in the buildings where you can 12:12 see from the shop door up to 12:14 the road and my sister had 12:16 noticed me walking out the 12:17 door and said to my dad, you 12:20 know, "Looks like Aden's 12:22 coming out of the shop, maybe 12:23 he wants to talk to us." 12:25 So they slowed down as they're 12:26 passing behind the other 12:28 building and I saw that they 12:29 were coming so I went a little 12:31 bit to the left to meet them 12:32 at the roadway and that's when 12:35 my dad saw for the first time 12:38 that, you know, I had been 12:40 involved in this accident and 12:41 was dismembered. 12:43 It was a huge shock to him. 12:44 As a parent now, you know, 12:46 I can only kind of begin to 12:49 recognize the... 12:54 ...the upheaval and the sorrow 12:58 that he experienced 13:00 in that moment. 13:02 You know, it's such a loss for 13:05 us personally to experience a 13:07 loss, but for a parent to 13:09 experience a loss is also a 13:11 great tragedy. 13:13 So I went over to the pickup, 13:15 my sister had gotten out, I 13:18 walked around behind, as I was 13:20 getting in I noticed some 13:22 flagging tape that was laying 13:24 on the dash of the truck and I 13:26 asked my sister to put a 13:27 tourniquet on, even though it 13:29 wasn't bleeding all that bad, 13:31 I don't know why it wasn't 13:32 bleeding tremendously, at that 13:35 point it should have been 13:36 gushing blood, but it was, you 13:38 know, there was blood there, 13:39 it wasn't that it was 13:41 bloodless, but it wasn't 13:43 pouring out. 13:46 We got in the truck, Dad drove 13:48 as fast as the truck would 13:50 allow him to and we met the 13:53 ambulance partway to the 13:54 hospital. 13:57 In the first mile of that is 14:00 where we met Kristen coming 14:01 and we just briefly slowed 14:03 down and explained that Dad 14:04 was taking me to the 14:06 ambulance, she turned around 14:07 and started to follow us. 14:09 We met the ambulance, I got 14:14 out of the pickup and got in 14:16 the ambulance, when we got in 14:19 the ambulance they asked me, 14:20 "Well, where's the rest of 14:22 your arm?" and that's when I 14:25 recalled, I'd never thought of 14:27 picking it up before, but I 14:29 recalled when I was on the 14:31 phone with 9-1-1, I heard it go 14:33 through the compression 14:34 rollers. 14:37 He came back to pick that up, 14:39 another gruesome task that he 14:42 did, essentially because he 14:47 loved me, because there was 14:50 the possibility or we were 14:52 informed that maybe there was 14:54 a possibility that they could 14:55 do a reattachment so he was 14:59 willing to do whatever it took 15:01 to, you know, follow through 15:06 with the possibility of that. 15:09 I got in the ambulance, they 15:12 took me to the local hospital 15:14 which is a small hospital. 15:17 There they, you know, just 15:19 more or less assessed the 15:21 situation, made sure I was 15:22 stable and started a pain 15:27 management program and then 15:29 from there, we did a land 15:32 transfer in an ambulance to 15:34 Sault Ste. Marie. 15:36 At that hospital, a fellow was 15:41 already being prepped and the 15:43 OR team was ready to do a 15:46 surgery on a broken leg and 15:50 that man graciously offered up 15:53 his spot in the operating room 15:55 for me to have revisionary 15:57 surgery at that time, which is 16:01 not a common thing, often 16:03 times with trauma 16:05 dismemberment you end up 16:06 having at least one 16:09 revisionary surgery if not a 16:11 number of revisionary 16:12 surgeries over a period of 16:14 weeks or months. 16:16 And so in my case, they did an 16:20 amputation, a revisionary 16:21 amputation on the day of my 16:23 accident and I've never had a 16:25 surgery on the residual 16:27 limb since. 16:29 God, I believe, guided that 16:31 team in a way that they could 16:35 do an adequate job on the day 16:37 of the injury, that it didn't 16:39 have to be revisited later on. 16:41 I remember the trip, 16:46 the individuals going into the 16:48 x-ray room, going into the 16:50 operating room, and right up 16:53 until the... 16:57 anaesthesia set in, 16:59 I remember everything clearly 17:00 and I believe it was God that 17:02 gave that clarity, right? 17:04 I also remember waking up from 17:07 the surgery. 17:08 Prior to the surgery, I 17:10 remember having a conversation 17:11 with the doctor saying, "Well, 17:13 we're gonna see what we can 17:14 do, we might be able to 17:17 reattach, but we'll see what 17:20 we can do," and they held out 17:23 a glimmer of hope, 17:24 but not a lot. 17:29 When I woke up, I remember I 17:31 still had the sensation of a 17:33 full arm and I thanked them 17:36 profusely and I remember 17:39 distinctly the doctor kinda 17:43 floundering for words as he 17:48 thought I was too optimistic 17:51 to know that they had 17:52 amputated and that he was 17:57 trying to inform me that, 17:58 "Well, we weren't able to save 18:00 your arm, Arden, we had to 18:03 amputate and you don't have a 18:07 right arm." 18:09 And I still just continued to 18:11 thank them for doing what they 18:13 could and it was an emotional 18:16 scene in the operating room, a 18:19 number of the nurses had to 18:21 leave because they were used 18:25 to someone that would be angry 18:27 in that situation, right? 18:29 And I don't say that in part 18:31 of that grieving process I 18:33 wasn't angry, but God gave me 18:35 the ability to be grateful 18:38 even in the loss. 18:41 It just comes down to our focal 18:43 point, right, are we gonna focus 18:44 on the loss or are we gonna 18:46 focus on what remains. 18:47 So from that point on, we went 18:50 into rehab, there was a few 18:54 nights in-- two nights, I 18:57 guess, in the ICU where they 18:59 watched carefully and then 19:02 they transferred me into a 19:03 private room. 19:05 Of course, very concerned 19:07 about PTSD and my mental state 19:10 at that point to try and 19:14 mitigate any attempt to do 19:18 anything further. 19:21 So I believe God is the one 19:24 that gave me the strength to 19:26 not become despondent and I 19:29 can't help but credit my 19:32 family and friends at that 19:34 time for their immense 19:35 support, there was a huge 19:37 amount of support from the 19:42 farming community, from my 19:44 friends, and most of all from 19:46 my family. 19:47 My children don't know Dad 19:49 with two arms. 19:51 My oldest was a month and a 19:53 day old when the accident 19:54 happened so her memory-- 20:00 I have one picture of me holding 20:03 my daughter with two arms. 20:08 My two sons, I was one-handed 20:13 before they were conceived. 20:16 So my daughter was the only 20:17 one that even has the 20:20 knowledge that I had two arms 20:23 at one point in time. 20:26 Why I didn't die of shock or 20:29 bleed out is a miracle. 20:32 I don't believe there's any 20:34 explanation of why 20:39 that didn't happen. 20:41 I didn't need a transfusion 20:43 from the trauma or from the 20:48 followup revisionary surgery. 20:51 Not that I was opposed to 20:53 having a blood transfusion, 20:55 there was just no need for one. 20:56 I had signed the paperwork to 20:58 allow it, but the medical team 21:01 deemed that there was no 21:03 necessity for me to have any 21:06 transfusion. 21:07 So I believe it was God's 21:10 intervention. 21:12 Naturally I would have bled 21:15 out a number of times over 21:17 again, I would have died from 21:19 blood loss, I would have died 21:20 from shock, it was strictly a 21:24 miracle of God that I survived 21:27 that incident, not through my 21:30 strength, not through any of 21:31 my keen-wittedness or 21:34 intellect, it was God's 21:36 direction, following God's 21:38 direction. 21:40 Yeah, so there was one doctor 21:42 that, he was responsible for 21:45 pain management and he came to 21:48 visit me in my room after the 21:50 surgery kind of to explain 21:52 pain management and I asked 21:55 him the question of why didn't 21:57 I bleed out, why didn't I 22:00 bleed? 22:01 And he's like, "I don't know." 22:03 He says, "If I would have 22:05 heard even from the team that 22:08 you didn't need a blood 22:10 transfusion, I wouldn't have 22:12 believed it." 22:13 He says, "Because I was there, 22:16 I know that's what happened, 22:18 but I don't understand why." 22:20 So in that moment, I chose to 22:23 do what God had asked me to do 22:26 and He gave the the strength 22:28 to do it, it wasn't something 22:30 that I did of myself and He 22:32 gave me the strength following 22:34 that to be positive because 22:37 you can't go through trauma 22:38 and not decide. 22:41 You have to decide tomorrow's 22:43 another day, yes, but it's not 22:45 the same as yesterday. 22:47 So now you have to decided 22:48 whether you're going to be 22:50 grateful for what remains or 22:52 whether you're going to be 22:54 bitter for what you've lost. 22:55 And, really, a bad attitude is 22:58 the worst disability. 23:00 You don't have to be 23:01 physically disabled to be 23:03 disabled by a bad attitude. 23:06 God has made our body awesome. 23:09 The way the body will adapt to 23:13 loss and compensate is 23:17 incredible. 23:19 With a little modification, 23:22 operated equipment, do 23:24 mechanical work, work in the 23:26 forestry industry. 23:27 The mechanical work is 23:29 probably one of the most 23:31 challenging, but it's 23:33 interesting how, even though I 23:34 was right-hand dominant 23:36 before, now I can take a bolt 23:38 between my thumb, index finger 23:39 and I can thread a nut on with 23:43 one hand. 23:44 Before I couldn't do that with 23:46 my right hand. 23:47 But God has done something in 23:49 our brains that when we do 23:52 stuff like that, He gives us 23:56 the ability if we set our mind 23:58 to it. 23:59 So moving forward, God has 24:01 given me the ability to 24:06 continue to be positive 24:08 because of His strength, not 24:10 because of my ability. 24:15 >> So, Arden, you, Kristen, 24:16 and your three precious 24:18 children are going to drive 24:21 all the way from here, 24:23 Ontario, to Alberta, Lacombe, 24:27 and you're going to start a 24:29 new chapter in your lives. 24:31 >> Yes, and since we love the 24:33 farm so much, we intend to 24:35 come back in the summer time 24:36 and spend our summers here 24:38 helping out with the family 24:40 farm and then we follow God's 24:42 leading and go through the 24:45 education and we'll find out 24:47 what God has in the future 24:49 when that time comes. 24:52 >> Arden, before we go, I 24:53 wonder if you could pray for 24:54 our viewers. 24:56 There may be someone 24:57 struggling right now with 24:59 feelings of bitterness, maybe 25:00 questions, maybe they're 25:01 struggling to go on. 25:03 Could you pray for those 25:05 people right now? 25:06 >> Certainly, certainly. 25:07 Let's pray. 25:09 Our Father in Heaven, we thank 25:11 You for Your love for us, 25:13 Father. 25:15 You know that there's 25:17 individuals out there that are 25:19 struggling with bitterness, 25:21 with loss. 25:23 Life isn't easy on us here in 25:25 this world and, Father, I pray 25:27 that through Your Holy Spirit 25:28 You'll be near each one, 25:30 encourage them, reassure them 25:33 of Your love for us and may 25:37 the joy of service to You be 25:41 in their heart. 25:42 I pray, in Jesus' name, amen. 25:45 [MIKE & RENÉ] Amen. 25:47 >> Arden, thank you so much 25:48 for joining us on It Is 25:50 Written Canada. 25:51 >> Thank you so much for 25:52 having me. 25:59 [ARDEN] We're doing well. 26:01 The first few days after we 26:03 moved here was an incredible 26:06 transition. 26:09 We have found a new church 26:11 family and my children are 26:12 involved there, my wife is-- 26:15 feels very accepted and the 26:16 church family's very 26:18 welcoming. 26:21 My children started on a new 26:24 platform in school and, of 26:26 course, I had an awesome 26:28 transition from being in the 26:30 industry to being as a 26:33 student, but God provided and 26:36 we made that transition and 26:37 now we're underway and 26:40 everything is going along 26:42 smoothly. 26:45 >> Listening to Arden's 26:47 experience has taught us many 26:49 practical lessons such as how 26:51 to live with optimism in the 26:53 face of traumatic setbacks. 26:56 Our free offer for you today 26:57 is Words of Hope. 27:00 >> Words of Hope will help you 27:01 understand other life lessons 27:03 to guide you in your Christian 27:05 walk such as the blessing of 27:07 generosity, the power of 27:09 humility, and the way to 27:12 persevere when life is tough. 27:16 Before you go, we would also 27:17 like to invite you to follow 27:19 us on Instagram and Facebook 27:22 and subscribe to our YouTube 27:23 channel and also listen to our 27:26 Podcasts. 27:27 And if you go to our website, 27:29 you can see our latest 27:31 programs. 27:33 >> You, too, can experience 27:34 the fullness of life found in 27:35 the words of Jesus when He 27:37 said, "It is written, 'Man 27:39 shall not live by bread alone, 27:41 but by every word that 27:42 proceeds out of the mouth 27:44 of God.'" 27:47 >> While working hard for his 27:49 family, he lost an arm and was 27:52 suddenly afraid. 27:54 "From now on, I shall only be 27:56 able to do things by halves. 27:59 I shall reap a half harvest, 28:02 I shall be able to play either 28:04 the tune or the accompaniment 28:06 on the piano, but never both 28:08 parts together. 28:09 I shall be able to bang with 28:11 only one fist on the doors and 28:14 worst of all, I shall only be 28:17 able to half hold my love 28:18 close to me. 28:20 There will be things I cannot 28:22 do at all, applaud, for 28:24 example, at shows where 28:26 everyone applauds." 28:28 From that moment on, he set 28:30 himself to do everything with 28:32 twice as much enthusiasm. 28:35 And where the arm had been 28:36 torn away, a wing grew. 28:39 [hopeful music playin] 28:43 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-12-01