90 Minutes in Heaven Page #6

All right.

I'll be right back.

That's my boy.

Dear Christy, in some of my

worst moments of self-pity,

I think of never

being normal again.

I believe that when all of

the pain is over, Christy,

you will be

a normal young woman.

You will play and run and do

everything a normal teen can do.

You're doing something that positively

impacts the rest of your life.

Keep the faith.

Kindest, Don.

If God brings you to it,

he will bring you

through it.

It's not long

before you go home.

This is your first step

in that direction.

My first step

is wanting to vomit.

Yeah, nausea will get you

every time.

Your equilibrium has changed.

You've grown used to being

in a horizontal position.

I'd like my tools back.

Hi. I'm Christy,

your long-lost pen pal.

Or Hopalong Cassidy,

as my friends say.

Hi. I'm Don.

How are you?

Could be worse.

How's that?

Okay, you got me.

It can't get much worse.

The endless reruns

OO AM?

Yeah, well,

I wish my only problem

was getting hit in the face

with a football like Marcia.

I'd take a broken nose

to dance normal.

You'll dance.

Only the truest friends show up when you

have to move. Trust me, this is a vacation.

Oh, vacation?

Yes, from my children.

Ah, well, thank you.

Remember when Don's parents gave us

this painting? Oh, yes, I remember.

I remember you tried to pawn it

off on me, and then Susan,

and the Goodwill store.

That's not true!

That is true.

I never told Don.

Is all this stuff going to fit

in the new house? I think so.

This place just isn't

gonna work for Don.

You know, with all the stairs

and him being in a wheelchair.

Plus, the new home

is closer to the church.

That will be nice.

Just came by to check on you,

see how you were doing.

You're looking good. I hear you're

gonna be going home before long.

Anything I can do for you

before I go?

That-That's a very fine offer.

Um...

- I wish I had a magazine to read.

- You do?

Really?

I think so.

I- I haven't read one

in a while.

Well, all right.

Give me just a minute.

Jay B. Perkins,

a retired minister,

was a powerful

father figure to me.

And I was grateful for his service to

my church while I was incapacitated.

This ought to do you.

There you go.

Th-Th-Thank you much.

That'll keep you busy.

I'll read them a bit later.

Yeah.

Anything else I can do?

No, that's... that's

all I need. Thank you.

You know,

when you open the door

and let somebody do

something nice for you,

it turns out not to be

so hard after all, huh?

You were right, J.B.

I thought that relieving people

of the responsibility

of having to care for me

was the right thing to do.

It wasn't.

They would heal me if they could,

and since they can't do that,

they were caring for me in...

in the only way that they can.

I have denied them the...

the blessing of caring.

You've loved me enough

to tell me the truth.

I won't forget it.

And I never have.

After 34 surgeries and nearly

four months in the hospital,

Dr. Greider said

I could go home.

Bye. Thank you.

Dr. Greider.

Hold up a sec.

Tell me something.

Just how bad was I when they brought

me in the night of the accident?

I've seen worse.

But they didn't live.

Thank you, sir.

He would become a friend of

mine from that day forward.

Bye, Christy.

Bye.

- I want you to call me when you get out of here.

- Will do.

- Hi, Daddy!

- Hey, Dad.

How do you like the new house?

What do you think? Welcome

home, Daddy. Welcome home.

- I think I'm home.

- There's the kitchen.

Did you put milk in it?

I'm just gonna do this.

I know. Is it good? Mm-hmm.

Smells good in there.

Why don't you... We're gonna

play a game. Okay, you ready?

Eva organized something

called "The Don Patrol,"

a group of church members and

friends who took care of me

so that she could teach

and we could keep our insurance.

The Don Patrol would arrive around

9:
00 while I was still sleeping.

Good morning.

I might awake to seeing

one of the Susans

knitting on the couch

at the end of my bed.

Or someone would be there

with a toothbrush

- so I could brush my teeth.

- Looking good.

Oftentimes holding a glass of

juice before I was done doing that.

- Maybe even offering

an electric shaver.

All right, I've never actually

used one of these before.

It's pretty simple.

You know what?

It doesn't actually work.

And a big lunch.

Turkey sandwich,

oatmeal cookie, pickles.

You can't pass up

baby pickles.

I'll take the apple.

Okay.

Another friend might be reading the

newspaper, ready to entertain me.

Yeah, whatever you need.

I'll even sing for you

if you want.

Some guests would even make

themselves quite comfortable.

Hey, Butterfly.

Come here.

Butterfly.

No!

Butterfly, no!

Hey!

Hi, honey.

Everything okay?

Uh-huh.

You sure?

Yeah.

It smells like pee in here.

I know. It was the dog.

It's okay if you can't make it

to the bathroom.

It was the dog.

Butterfly?

Hey, Dad.

Come on.

You can do it.

Aaah!

I did it.

I did it.

I walked!

I walked.

Oh, Lord, I walked.

- What's going on?

- What's happening?

Ma'am. Ma'am. Where

Don? Where's my husband?

Ma'am. I'd like for you to

consider this as a private matter.

Private?

Private.

This is my house. I've seen it all. Hey.

- Bet you haven't seen this yet.

- What's going on?

I, uh, got my fixator

stuck to the toilet seat.

Oh.

Happy birthday!

This is a perfect day. God has given me

children so much better than I deserve.

How can I ever thank you

for all they mean to me?

You being alive

is the gift.

Dad, will you dance with me?

Ah, sweetie,

I'd like to, but...

Please, Dad. Please?

I don't think I can.

I might need you

to help me up here.

David!

What are you doing here?

I'm in town for

a discipleship weekend.

It's the excuse I use

to come into the house

and spend time with you.

Thank you for your friendship.

And your relentless

commitment to prayer.

Of course, Don.

How you feeling now?

In pain.

But I'm always in pain.

That's... That's not the worst

part of it for me right now.

There are things I can't

physically do anymore.

I'm not sure that God wants me

to continue at South Park.

I feel loved and needed there, but

I'm not sure it's where I should be.

What did you learn from y-your

accident and your recovery experience?

Letting other people inside.

Allowing others to help me.

But in the midst of all

the suffering and despondency,

David,

I've learned

that heaven is real.

- What do you mean by that?

- I died that day.

The next moment

I stood in heaven.

Why haven't you

mentioned this before?

I have two very good

reasons for that.

Number one, I go around talking

about having been to heaven,

and people

will think I'm nuts.

Why would you think that?

You just told me.

- Number two...

- I don't think you're nuts.

Number two, I don't wanna go

over that experience again.

It's too personal,

too special.

It's my sacred secret.

Is it possible

that God took you to heaven,

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