Flashes of God's Light: Visions and Miracles in the Life of an Internal Medicine Doctor: An Autobiography

By Ildefonzo Flores, MD

Flashes of God's Light is a must-read story of a doctor gifted by God with visions or glimpses into the future. From an early age, an angel, sent from God, foretold his future and guided his path from very poor humble beginnings to a successful medical career. As a child, his parents inculcated in him a solid and strong belief in God, serving as a catalyst for his ability to communicate via flashes of light with God. Written as a series of true events, each chapter captivates pivotal moments in the evolution of Dr. Flores's career. Like pieces of a big puzzle, God orchestrates a series of miracles, culminating in an incredible and riveting encounter with God who, miraculously, leads him out of a near-fatal event to near-perfect health. For nearly forty years, Dr. Flores's unwavering faith and trust in God, along with his knowledge of medicine, gives him wisdom, courage, and perseverance to continue his path providing the best medical care to all his patients.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685707781

Book preview

cover.jpg

Flashes of God's Light

Visions and Miracles in the Life of an Internal Medicine Doctor: An Autobiography

Ildefonzo Flores, MD

ISBN 978-1-68570-777-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68570-778-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Ildefonzo Flores, MD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

First Flash

Chapter 2

Second Flash

Chapter 3

Early Beginnings

Chapter 4

Music

Chapter 5

A Bad Dream

Chapter 6

Losing Faith

Chapter 7

Restoring Hope and Faith

Chapter 8

My Love

Chapter 9

A Honeymoon Dream

Chapter 10

A Road Trip Miracle

Chapter 11

Lazarus

Chapter 12

Mama's Visit with Jesus

Chapter 13

Hell Exists

Chapter 14

Death Takes a Holiday

Chapter 15

A Zebra

Chapter 16

A Hospital Miracle

Chapter 17

A Time for Prayer

Chapter 18

A Spectacular Miracle

Epilogue

About the Author

To

God, who has always been beside me from the time I was born and for his wonderful gift of foresight he has bestowed in me.

Secondly, to my caring and lovely wife, Sema, for always loving me, encouraging me, and challenging me every step of the way, as well as my wonderful children—Marcos, Samuel, Lisa, and Daniel—who inspired me to write about the wonderful visions and miracles I used to relate to them as bedtime stories when they were growing up.

Lastly, to all my wonderful patients with particular thanks to Mrs. Hilda Trevino who lovingly nudged and encouraged me to finish this work on every one of her scheduled appointments.

Prologue

A Spectacular Miracle

Doctors, especially primary care physicians, tend to place the health of their patients before their own, which is why clichés like Doctors make the worst patients exist. Such was the case for me. I never thought a catastrophic event would befall on me, but it did.

It was a hot deeply muggy afternoon in June, and I was anxious. My hands were sweaty, and my heart was intensely pounding while beads of sweat formed on my brow. I knew something was wrong even though I had been in denial for some time! I tried to be as still as possible in the CT scanner. I kept wondering, Why me? How has it come to this? Why didn't I have pain, headaches, nausea, or vomiting? The only symptoms I had exhibited started merely a few days before when I developed an acute onset of numbness to the left side of my face and left arm followed by weakness of my left lower leg. I began dragging my left leg while on rounds at the hospital and at my medical clinic. It felt as if I was carrying a heavy weight on my left ankle, but I could still walk. Even though I felt extreme fatigue, I reasoned that if I could still walk and had no pain, I could still work! At first, I thought it was age-related, so I kept working. I worked until the day I nearly collapsed at the office. By then, my wife knew I needed medical attention and not only insisted I go for diagnostic radiologic studies but practically had to drag me there. Honestly, I was afraid of the truth. When all the scans were completed, I was escorted by wheelchair to the doctor's radiological office where I waited for Dr. Rupani to come in to explain the findings.

Dr. Rupani, a well-preserved, mild-mannered, thin, scholarly-looking radiologist, came in and greeted me with a collegial hug. We had known each other for over thirty years, and I trusted him. He was an excellent radiologist, albeit blunt. As he sized me up, he blurted out in his Middle Eastern accent, Oh my, Dr. Flores. I reviewed the CT scans of your head, and I find it difficult to understand how you are still standing! More than that, it's a miracle you are still alive! He uttered sarcastically with a grin, You must have connections upstairs. Here, let me show you.

Then, he proceeded to sit in front of his large computer screens as he flipped up the computer images of my brain scans. I scooted over close by next to his desk. But, purposely, I tried not to look. Without looking at the scans, I hesitantly asked, How big is my brain tumor?

After almost forty years of practicing medicine, I was very much aware of the symptoms I was experiencing. Besides, in 1985, Mama had very similar symptoms and was diagnosed with a large malignant glioblastoma of the brain. Even though she underwent partial removal and was given chemotherapy, the malignancy returned with a vengeance. And when the malignancy came back, it caused her demise a year later in 1986.

Dr. Rupani smiled and decisively told me, I can definitely tell you that you do not have a brain tumor! Then, he turned to me and asked, When did you fall?

I stared at him with a sigh of relief but confused and asked, Why are you asking me if I fell? No. I did not fall! Then, I thought about the question for a moment and added, Wait a minute. I did fall, but it was a long time ago. About four months ago, I fell. I was visiting my son who lives out of town, and while attempting to get into the back of his vehicle, I slipped and fell on the pavement sustaining a head contusion. But it was not a hard hit, and I didn't even bleed!

Dr. Rupani responded, Well, you might not have bled on the outside, but you bled internally into the brain because you have both a huge chronic and an acute subdural hematoma almost entirely filling the right hemisphere pushing and compressing the left side of the brain to the point where there is a midline shift! The brain is on the verge of herniation! You need immediate medical attention with neurosurgical evacuation of this blood! Then he said forcefully, Let me talk to your wife!

I knew exactly what he meant when he said I was at risk for herniation. This happens when there is an increased intracranial pressure caused by a traumatic brain bleed. Since the brain is soft and has nowhere else to go, the increased pressure causes the brain to shift, pushing the brain down the spinal canal, resulting in strangulation of blood flow to the brain, resulting in death.

As he discussed the findings with my wife, their voices gradually faded into the abyss as I thought about not being able to work or do on-call time on weekends, and it was my weekend of the call coming up. I quickly interjected, Excuse me, Dr. Rupani, but can't this wait a couple of weeks? I have a lot of work coming up and—

Before I could finish my words, Dr. Rupani emphatically voiced his concern, No! Absolutely not! You may not be alive in one or two weeks if you wait! You know how serious this situation is and the high rate of death and complications associated with huge subdural bleeds! I have seen patients die with much smaller bleeds! I recommend a neurosurgeon see you immediately and get this taken care of ASAP, please!

As he finished his comments, I thanked him for his candor. We hugged each other farewell, and he wished me well. I sensed by the look of his countenance he was genuinely concerned about my well-being. Later, my wife drove me to the hospital after speaking to the neurosurgeon who instructed her to bring me to the hospital, at once, in preparation for brain surgery. I was in shock.

At the hospital, many diagnostic blood tests