By Lori Ehde
A year ago at this time, the family of former Luverne Baptist Church pastor Tom Mabe had one Christmas wish: that he would live to spend another Christmas with them.
A year later, it appears that wish has been granted.
Mabe, now a pastor at Colony Park Church, Edina, is still recovering from what he calls "the heart episode," but he's in far better shape than he was a year ago at this time.
On Dec. 6, 2000, Mabe collapsed in his Luverne home from an aortic aneurysm that nearly killed him.
At the time, he and his wife, Stephenie, were in the process of moving from Luverne to Edina where they were about to start ministering to a new congregation.
On the night he collapsed he was home alone, and church secretary Rhonda Morris had stopped by the parsonage to pick up a television set her son was interested in fixing.
Doctors say if she hadn't been there to call the ambulance, Mabe wouldn't have survived.
In medical terms, he suffered a "dissecting aortic aneurysm," which means his main aortic valve split open and separated from the lining of his heart.
Because Mabe received prompt medical attention, doctors were able to operate that evening to restore blood flow to his body by bypassing the damaged area.
During the surgery, his heart didn't beat for 21 minutes while machines kept blood and oxygen flowing to his brain.
That was a Wednesday. Thursday was a day to wait and see if the procedure even worked, and by Friday it was clear he'd survived the aneurysm and the surgery. It was a day of hope.
The days and weeks that followed held no guarantees as Mabe's health took little steps forward and big steps backward.
Mabe won't use the word "hell," but he said those days were as close as he could imagine the place to be.
"I'm glad I've forgotten most of it," he said, adding that the ordeal was also hard on Stephenie and other family members as their lives revolved around trips between hospital and home.
He said a compassionate network of friends in Luverne helped them through those dark days.
"I really appreciated the support - the prayers and loving concern they showed us during that time. So many people helped in the process. I can't begin to explain what that meant to us," he said.
"We look back on it and realize if we hadn't had that support ...I don't know if we would have come through. It was extremely draining."
Even after his discharge from the hospital, he was faced with the uphill battle of physical therapy.
"I had wasted away for so long," Mabe said. "I had to learn how to walk again."
It would be months before he could think about work, which he finally started in March.
Operating now at only 75 percent of his previous strength, Mabe said his low endurance limits what he can do.
"All in all, as far as my heart goes, it's beating, but I'm not where I was before. I hit a wall at 10 o'clock at night," he said. "At first, just climbing up the stairs to my office was a major chore."
Mabe said he and Stephenie are adjusting to city life and the challenge of their new congregation.
"We're seeing God work each week in our congregation," he said. "There are a lot of good people here. It'll take God's hand in guiding us to greater growth."
He said visits from Luverne people have helped to ease their separation.
"We love everyone in Luverne and have great memories of our time there," Mabe said.
"We were there for 10 and a half years - longer than anywhere else we've lived - so that's home to us."
The Mabes are planning a return visit to Luverne early next year.
