In the Twinkling of an Eye: Breaking Your Neck for God’s Glory & Stacking Miracles | The Bruce Bramlett Story

“ God didn’t put me on the floor, God lifted me off the floor.” ~ Bruce Bramlett

Episode Overview:
In this episode of The Remarkable People Podcast, David Pasqualone interviews Bruce Bramlett, whose story is a testament to resilience, faith, and the power of miracles. Bruce shares his incredible journey from a retired educator and businessman to a man whose life was turned upside down after a devastating fall that left him with a broken neck. Despite the bleak medical outlook, Bruce’s story unfolds with numerous instances of divine intervention and miracles that defy explanation. His recovery journey demonstrates remarkable courage and unwavering faith in God’s plan. Bruce discusses how he used his faith to navigate through his darkest times and encourages listeners to seek strength and guidance in their relationship with God through any storm in life.

Topics & Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Bruce Bramlett’s Remarkable Story
02:13 Bruce’s Life Before the Accident
05:00 The Life-Changing Accident
07:44 Miracles and Recovery
08:18 Bruce’s Background and Early Life
12:55 The Road to Recovery
17:58 Challenges and Miracles During Recovery
21:11 Returning Home and Continued Miracles
33:45 Reflections and Future Plans
38:57 Finding Faith in Trials
39:57 Balancing Human Effort and Trust in God
42:36 The Power of Prayer and Community Support
52:39 Discovering Purpose After Tragedy
55:54 Living a Life of Faith and Service
01:03:05 Final Reflections and Encouragement
01:10:56 Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Keywords & Keyphrases:
Miracles, God, courage, rehab, inspiration, motivation, light, source of the light, tragedy, dealing with the loss of loved ones, faith, Texas A&M alumni, YMCA board member, Battleship Texas Foundation, retired, broken neck, physical therapy, Heart Rate flatlined, GoFundMe, Job, trusting God, retirement, balance, trial, tragedy, test, torment, discipline, trust, faith, strength, fear, worry, anxiety, life distractions, Charlie Kirk assassination, in the middle of a storm, storms of life, bitter, anger

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Guest Contact Info:
Email: bruce@battleshiptexas.org

Transcript

David Pasqualone: 0:01

Hello, friend. Welcome to this week's episode of The Remarkable People Podcast, the Bruce Bramlett story. This week you're going to hear about Bruce. He was an educator, he was a businessman. He worked with nonprofits and he retired at 70 years old, had his whole life in front of him. That's been planned for years. He's excited, and then. A few days after retiring, he's in Las Vegas with his wife and some close friends. They're having breakfast. He drops on the floor. He breaks his neck, changes his entire plan, and the story is Remarkable. It goes through miracle after miracle of how God worked in this situation and how it all has benefited not only Bruce and his family, but us, and hopefully it'll continue to bloom and grow through eternity because God doesn't cause any pain. But sometimes he allows us to have challenges. For our benefit and his glory, and that's what Bruce talks about today. So . Be ready to not just listen, but to take notes and to apply it into your own life and my life so we can be better humans and do more with this short life that God's given us. We don't know when it's going to end. In a twinkle of an eye, everything can change. The Bible talks about that, and Bruce's story highlights that. So at this time, get ready for this Remarkable episode of the podcast with our friend Bruce Bramlett, now.

Welcome to the Remarkable People Podcast!: 1:44

The Remarkable People Podcast, check it out, the Remarkable People Podcast. Listen, do Repeat for Life, the Remarkable People Podcast.

David Pasqualone: 2:13

Hey Bruce, how are you today, brother? I'm good. And you, man. I'm fantastic. I am looking forward to our conversation today and you were referred to us by a mutual friend William Byrd. So thank you so much for being here to share your story with us and what you have going on.

Bruce Bramlett: 2:33

Thanks for giving me a platform to do it.

David Pasqualone: 2:36

Absolutely, absolutely. So our show, we've been around seven years. We have listeners from all over the world, and we are here to not only share people's Remarkable stories, but we'll try to reverse engineer what you are able to achieve and overcome in life and to the practical steps so our listeners can too. But if there's something today that you guarantee that, you know, our listeners stick through the episode, they're going to get a ton of gold along the way, but if there's one central message, passion theme that you know will be delivered in this episode, what is that that the audience can guarantee they're going to glean from?

Bruce Bramlett: 3:14

Wow, what a great question. You know, if I had to pick one and it's a hard thing to do for me, it would be that God still does them, does miracles, and he does 'em all the time. He does 'em every day in that. When people, and I wanna elaborate more about this as we go along, but my social media presence because of my background and what I did before I retired, it's a lot of people that have watched my story unfold. And the thing I really want people to understand is I, the compliment I get most often is, Bruce, I'm so impressed by your courage or your willingness to go through and do the work and the rehab, and you just inspire and I want to go, then you're missing the point. The light that I think people have seen in me the last few years since this all happened, I'm not the source of that source of light is God the father. That it, in difficult times, people really need to believe that he still moves, he still does miracles, and that the strength we need to endure through those storms God I is the source of, and that he wants that light to shine in our lives. So I just want, you know, I try to get people to understand, you know, I appreciate that it's, the story's been inspirational, but please understand the strength behind it is not mine.

David Pasqualone: 4:51

I agree with you completely, and I haven't even heard your story yet. Only a small piece of it. So ladies and gentlemen, we're going to take a short affiliate break. You're going to get a great offer from one of our friends, and then we're going to come back with Bruce and he's going to share how he got to the point in life. While he knows that miracles happen every day, they can happen for him. They do happen for him, and they can happen for you and me too. So we're going to take a short affiliate break and be right back. Ho, ho, ho. I don't know when you're watching this commercial, but Christmas is coming and with Christmas, you want to get people gifts. They love you want to save money, but you want them to have something that they're going to remember you by and hopefully use all year. That's why this year, shop mypillow.com use promo code. Remarkable. I know it's not as sexy as a new car, but check it out. They have sheets, they have blankets, they have bath towels, they have mattresses. They have a whole array of home goods that are truly Remarkable. The best I've personally ever used, and they are going to be super comfortable and think of you pretty much every night. When they're going to bed or when they're walking around their house in slippers or when they're drying off with a towel, that just feels great. All the MyPillow products are just quality, luxurious, durable, and you're going to love them and so will the people you love. So go to mypillow.com, use promo code, Remarkable shop to your heart's content. You are going to save 30 to 80%. On everything you order with promo code. Remarkable. Plus, a lot of times you can get free shipping with our code, which is an exclusive out of the hundreds of affiliates around the country. We're one of the only ones that continuously gets free shipping. So. I'm David Pasqualone. I support this ad. I want you to have a great Christmas and I want you to look good with the gifts you give. So go to mypillow.com/ Remarkable shop to your heart's content for those you love. And if for some crazy reason they don't love their gift, MyPillow knows that Christmas gifts are in the end of December. They give you all the way through to be till March 1st. To return, no questions asked. So that's it. Thank you for listening. We love you. Enjoy the podcast Remarkable People Podcast, and have a great and merry Christmas. It's all about Christ. But while you're giving gifts, let's give a gifts your friends and family are going to love year round at MyPillow.com. Alright, ladies and gentlemen, do what our slogan says, Listen. Do. Repeat. For Life!. Bruce is about to share with you some amazing. Information and illustrations of what happened in his life, how God worked. And then once we have that knowledge, we gotta do something with it and then we gotta repeat it each day. The good parts, we form habits so we can have a great life in this world. And most importantly, a turn to come. So Bruce, yeah, start your journey. Everything that happens to us from a child through today makes us the people we are. Good, bad, ugly. Pretty, pretty ugly. So let's talk about your background first. Where are you from? What was your upbringing like? Anything significant you want to discuss that molded you into the man you are?

Bruce Bramlett: 8:36

Well, I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. And I was the second child in a, in a family of four. We had a lot of tragedy in my family as I was growing up. Lost my other older brother in a accident back in 1962 and my father, and on Thanksgiving Day in 1968 and subsequently lost my my younger brother and my mom and my sister, all five or are gone. And I, I remember as a child being baptized and we didn't go to church a lot, my my mom and dad seldom went, they weren't bad people. They just it just wasn't the thing that they did until after my brother's death. And, and there seemed to be a period where faith was much more important to them. Graduated high school there in 1971 and attended Texas a and m University where I received my bachelor's degree in 1975 and my master's degree there in 1979. I subsequently went into education. I wanted to coach, I wanted to teach, and I did all of that. Through the years until 1994, when I left public education, I was a middle school principal. I had some children, wanted to go to college, and at that time, public school principals didn't make the kind of money you needed to. So I left the education area and, and went into the corporate arena for the next 20 years or so. And just about the time I was thinking about retirement I've been on the board of the YMCA for about 15 years. Faith in Christianity. I've been teaching Sunday school for 40 years in biblical study. So what happened to me in the accident was not new to Faith, but it certainly was a lot of lessons that came out of it. But anyway, the last dozen years that I worked I was the Chief Operating Officer for the Battleship Texas Foundation, which is in charge of the preservation. And, and really the public education for marketing the Battleship Texas, which is the only surviving US ship that fought in both World War I, Andi. So my story that I think what you heard from our mutual friend Bill, was I retired on July 31st in 2023. My wife Donna and I were in Las Vegas for a few days with some really great friends celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. And on the morning that we got ready to come home I actually had packed and showered and walked down to the breakfast area and. Was simply having a blueberry muffin and a, and a glass of orange juice. And our friend, Frank and Cheryl came down. We chatted for a minute, and they got up to go eat coffee. What happened next? I don't guess anybody really knows, but suddenly I was fell unconscious and fell directly out of the chair I was sitting in and my head hit the Concur concrete floor below us. And the next thing I remember was some paramedics, some EMT folks loading me up. And I don't remember anything for the next couple of days, but the, what had happened that I would find out later is I basically broke my neck. And was in University Hospital in Las Vegas and my wife remained there. Three of our five children came out very quickly, as fast as they could get there. And the whole thing was, if you wanna say goodbye to your dad, you need to get here quickly.'cause he's, he's not going to make it less than 10% chance according to the doctors. And no chance that I'd ever survive without a ventilator feeding tube. I would never walk again. I'd never get out of an institution. I would never be able to do rehab. It was a very bleak picture, and I, I do, and I, I was not conscious a lot through all of this, but the first miracle I think that really happened was what I was being told is, is your life's over. So the fact that the fall didn't kill me originally was the very first miracle that I believe occurred. I don't think I ever get off the floor again without the without the Lord saying I'm not through with you yet. And I hear that a lot. And so just to, to survive for a few days, we're like 48 hours into this thing and the doctors are going through all this in the room. And I said, no. They said, Mr. Bramlett, do you want us to adhere to your directive and turn the machines off and let you go? That's where we were. And I said, no, I want, I wanna fight. And I don't really remember any of, any of this part is all told to me later. So the doctors went through everything again. Mr. Bramlet, do you want us to honor your directive to physicians and let you go? And again, I said, no, I wanna fight this thing. And they started through a third time and my son Blake said, you obviously don't know my dad. You've told him, you've asked, Keith's told you no, get busy trying to save his life. The other thing that has really moved me since this original fall, and all of this was going on, because I see it a lot in the physical therapy I've been in the last two years, was that I didn't have any traumatic brain damage. Which again, if you see the pictures after I've fallen, the first pictures that were taken when I was in the hospital bed, I actually broke the orbit around my right eye. My face is really messed up from, from that from that fall on the concrete floor. But I think that's the second miracle. You and I wouldn't be sitting here talking. I certainly would not have had, I think the insights and the ability to reflect back on what the last now 25, 26 months have been like for me.

David Pasqualone: 15:25

And so let, let me stop you there for a second. Sure. Did they ever find out what caused you to pass out, or was it just a freak anomaly? Like what happened that you even passed out and then were you sitting in a normal chair and fell about four feet? How far did you fall?

Bruce Bramlett: 15:45

Yeah, this was just your typical dining chair at a little tabletop down in the foyer of a courtyard Marriott Hotel. And no idea why. Never happened before. Never happened. Thank goodness since then. The first reaction is Frank and Cheryl looked over and they both thought I'd just dropped dead of a heart attack. And when I finally woke up, my, my arms were folded up underneath me. And I mean, Frank and Cheryl, 50 year friends you know, a long time. And I hear Cheryl saying, Bruce, can you hear me? Bruce, can you hear me? And I finally said, Cheryl, I hear you, but I can't move anything and my arms and hands are folded up underneath me. Can you help them? Free them up? And I looked at Frank and I said, you know, we're in like room 1 0 3 or something. Go get, go get Donna Frank, go tell Donna what's going on. And oh my gosh. It, it just, they we were, we were literally flying home in about three hours when this happened. But no, no idea. I mean, I, I do know enough in my background that there had to be a sudden drop in, in oxygen to the brain or something. But no, just I'm, I had just one of the, the peculiar things of life that. That set this, this chain in motion for me, if you will.

David Pasqualone: 17:14

Yeah. And that's what I'm saying, that's even adds to the miracle because Yeah. You know, God does or allows everything for a reason. He never causes sin. He never allows sin, but he'll allow sin like to do things like joke. Yeah. For a reason. So if you have no history of blacking out, you have no history of passing out, you have no blood pressure. It's just a freak anomaly. And then that causes your head to hit the ground so hard that you break bones. That, I mean, that is, that alone is just absolutely unusual and Remarkable. So now you're in the hospital, the daughter says a third time, it's like when Jesus renounced Satan in the garden, your son's like, get the behind me, Satan. He said Fight. Help him fight. Yeah. Where, where does your life go from there? I know,

Bruce Bramlett: 18:00

and

David Pasqualone: 18:00

you know, it's. Oh, oh, go. I was

Bruce Bramlett: 18:02

reading this morning and about the, the disciples in the storm with Jesus and that they go looking for him. And I thought this was the beginning of the hurricane. For me. It was the storm, the darkness that suddenly I found myself in. We all did. I mean, it was overwhelming for everybody in my family. Every great close friend that I have, everybody in my Sunday school class, my church it was like, and that was all the early word. So as, as word is being communicated back home, 'cause we're a long way from Houston, Texas, where we live now, it was, it doesn't look good. Doesn't look like he's going to make it. The doctors don't, don't give him much of a chance of making it. And and, but that's where we were in that moment. One of the other great things that happened is there was a, a, a physician that there at the hospital that is regarded as one of the best final doctors around. And she just happened to be in Las Vegas for a short period at the hospital and she ended up doing my surgery. And, and even even that physician told Donna, she said, you know, I, I, I really don't think there's a lot of chance here, but he wants to do this. We're going to do the surgery, we're going to do everything we can. And so they did. And for the next three weeks, I really re don't remember a whole lot. It was that traumatic, what I went through a lot of a lot of tubes, a lot of medicines, a lot of keeping me sedated, I'm sure for a reason. But there were little things. Like I remember when my son Blake first arrived the son, Chris, daughter Jennifer three of the five of our children got out there very, very quickly. And Blake's talking to probably my closest friend back here. And my friend Bill Moore you know, he says, Blake, straight up, how's he doing? And he said, you know, I walked in and then I leaned down and took my dad's hand and whispered in his ear. Dad, it's, it's me, it's Blake, I'm here. You're going to be okay. I don't remember it at all. And then the second time he's telling my friend Bill all this, he said, I held onto his hand and said, dad, it's Blake. I love you. I'm here. You're going to make it. And, and I'm quite certain he's the first one that, that, you know, felt that way or at least said it. But Jennifer came in and had brought music and she said she told me later, she said, dad, I, I brought some music for some listen to. I don't really remember any of that. But for the next three weeks, that's where we were. And we start thinking about how are we going to get home? I mean, I'm on life support. We're not going to rent a car. You know, there we're not going to be in an ambulance coming back from Nevada to Houston. And so at that time, my, my board of trustees, knowing everything that was going on, they rallied and decided they were going to send a medical transport flight to go get Don and I and bring us back to Houston. David, we didn't know where we were going to go and, and that, that was one of the miracles, but that was actually going to lead to a couple more things that nobody you wouldn't wanna believe actually happened before we got to Houston. And the day we're supposed to fly back, you, you start saying, well, where are we going to go? We can't just go home. So our senior pastor's wife, who we had just gone to Italy with the year before. Beth calls Donna and said, we heard about Bruce. Tell me what's going on. And Donna, Donna tells her and Beth says, what are you going to do? And, and she said, well, we're trying to figure out how to get back to Houston. And she says, Donna, where, where are you going to go? And she said, I have no idea. We've never dealt with anything like this. And Beth says, you need to check in. You need to try to get into Memorial Herman, tier Memorial Herman, they're one of the best in the world dealing with these kind of things, but it's really hard to get in. Send me all the info you have on Bruce and let's, let us see what we can do. And two days later, we get a phone call. We never would've guessed that Bev and Ed had a friend on the board at Memorial, Herman Tier. They made a phone call and we get a call says, you're in. We'll have an ambulance waiting for you at the airport as soon as you get here. So the day we're supposed to fly back, we get a call from tier and they say, don't come today. We've got some paperwork issues. Let, we'll get it all straightened out and have your, you know, you guys come tomorrow. We'll be waiting on you at Hobby Airport. About two hours after we got that, that news that we were going to be in Las Vegas for another night, I coded, they think it had something to do with the ventilator that was, that was in me. But Donna said, honey, you never seen so many people rushing into a room, medical staff. And she said, I watched you flatline. You are gone. And they managed to revive you and bring you back again. And the doctor came out, one of the doctors and said, Ms. Bramlett, we thought you guys left two hours ago. And she told 'em what happened. And they said, well, here's the good news. If you had been in that Learjet hadn't for Houston when this happened, nothing could have been done. He would, he would've been dead. We couldn't have saved him. And so you go, there's another miracle. So the next day they load us up and I actually have pictures and of the plane that we were flying home on, and there's a shelf where baggage is normally stored. And that's kinda where I'm laid. And Donna's sitting just below me. There's two nurses in a pilot, and Donna and I, there's five of us in that plane. And I, I don't remember being loaded in it. I don't remember taking all, I don't really remember a whole lot. But I found out later that day we're out over New Mexico heading for Houston Hobby Airport, and the pilot comes on and the plane has lost P Power. So as if we haven't dealt with enough, we're now on inside of Learjet that doesn't, has lost all power. And, and the pilot says we're going to try to make Albuquerque or maybe Lubbock and quickly comes back on and says, we're not going to be able to make either airport. And we land on a grass and gravel strip right outside of Portalis, New Mexico. Not exactly a, a medical haven for someone in my condition. And we end up spending a night in an a m PM clinic. And that's in a strip mall. In Portalis, New Mexico. And again, I have, I'm hallucinating. Everything they're giving me that's supposed to make me better is actually making me worse. And over the, I, I know Don and I both were up all night and I, I just kept saying, w what are we doing in Mexico? Well, what, why are we in Mexico? You understand the cartels behind this? They're going to kill me. They've got me confused. I mean, I'm hallucinating so bad. And it just unbelievable. You know, at, at this point you go kind of, how much worse can this storm get? A lot of prayer, a lot of handholding. And luckily the next day they bring in another plane and we actually finish the trip back to Houston. As fate would have it I have a really close friend in the aviation business and they ended up doing the repair work on this plane, and he was in his office at Hobby Airport and he said, I watched your flight start to come down, and it was coming down rapidly. And so when he went in and, and met with the company that, that owned that particular plane, they told him, yes, we, we lost all power. We were gliding and just, you know, thankful that they got on the ground. But you start talking about miracles and they just, they started stacking up very quickly for me and my family. And the story of what was happening along the way. I wake up, I'm in tear. Memorial Hermann Hospital in downtown Houston in the medical district. And I still am not very clear what's happened, what's going on. This is all still very foreign to me. As the, it took about three days really. I was still trying to pull tubes out. I was, you know, they had my hands in some pads, so I couldn't grab anything. But anybody that got near me, I, you know, I took a swipe at people and you just go, you know, this is, this is how bad it is. But as my mind began to clear David, it, it was, I have such a wonderful wife and she's Bruce. This is what happened. And they really have not given you much of a chance to survive. And you're, you're already beginning to surprise a lot of the medical staff. And so for the next six weeks I stayed in the hospital here in Houston. And before I ever even, they ever even started talking about discharging me or letting me go home, we started therapy. And in the midst of all of this, I think one of the next big challenges that Donna and I really went through is when they said, we're going to discharge him. We've been going through all this for six weeks, and Donna comes and stays with me for 24 straight hours to perform everything the medical staff has been doing. And we have some days where we spent most of the days just holding each other and crying. She said, I can't, I don't think I can do all this. I don't think I can do all this. It took a lift to get me in and outta bed. I didn't move anywhere without a wheelchair. I had no feeling. I still don't have a lot of feeling in my legs or my hands don't work very well. I, I couldn't brush my teeth, I couldn't comb my hair. I certainly couldn't shave or anything like that. The only way I bathed was if they kind of sponge bath in the bed. I finally was able, they took me in, in a cart into a shower before we left to come home. I'm happy to tell you in your listeners, I shower on my own today. I do brush my teeth and I floss and I do all of that. And these are just miracles over and over again. I want to give you a few more. Then we can talk about lessons August 2nd. I retired July 31st. My board decided to go ahead and pay my salary through the rest of the year. It was unbelievably a nice thing for them to do, and certainly for us, we felt like it was a miracle. My wife has a couple friends I had, I, I didn't know anything about this, this online GoFundMe type things. They started one and not long after we got home, we got a really nice check. And then I have a wonderful friend that lives up in the Northeast that called, and we talked for a long time, and he said, what are you worried about? And I said, well, you know, other than the obvious. Physically can I recover from any of this? And then and he said, what about financially? And I said, well, it's a concern. I, you know, I said before we, I retired, we always talked about we thought we were in good shape. The only thing that ever could get us was a really tragic health issue. And this friend and his wife sent us a I'd, I'd rather not, you know, mention their name or the total, but they sent us a significant check and said, you don't worry about the money. You worry about getting better. You worry about learning to walk again and all that. Another friend out in West Texas that called and he said, I'm betting you're going to need a wheelchair van. My first wheelchair that was done for me before we left the hospital weighed over 300 pounds. And I said, Jack, yeah, we're going to need a van. I've got Chris and Blake looking right now, and he said, well, tell 'em to stop. We just shipped you a wheelchair van with the title and a set of keys. Use it, take it whenever you're done with it, pass it on. And, and so these kinds of things through everything that that we've been through and I've been through, I actually did my, for now, did my last physical therapy lesson week before last my session. And I'm happy to tell you I have a walker and I, I, my wife and I went to dinner Saturday night and for the first time we didn't take a wheelchair, we just took a walker and I got outta the car, walked into the restaurant, and back out when we were done. They never thought I would drive again. I, I have a, a Honda and my wife has a SUV. I pretty frequently drive my Honda now miracles and, and over and over and over again. I can, I have lots of tape of me walking. I can stand up. I can't stand very long, but I, I can stand up and I, I don't have a ventilator. I, I, I thoroughly enjoy eating. I'm happy when they took the ventilator out and that whole thing, the, the, the feeding tube, all of those wounds closed within a couple of days that allowed me to go home. David, I think the, the thing that's, I don't know how much longer I'm going to live. I, you know, I, I had just retired. We had so many plans. We were going on a cruise to Alaska with a church group. We were going to Florida to visit family. There were a number of things like, and all that stuff just went away. But I'm here. Do I live another five years, 10 years, 20 years? God only knows. But one of the things I figured out pretty early is however long the Lord gives you, you don't wanna live those years and look back and go and what good did they do? You, Bruce, what'd you do with them? All you were was a bitter, angry, old guy. That's not the path that I wanted to travel. So I just looked and said, you know what, what I can do, I will do, Lord, I'm here and you. You send me. I had plans to get involved in the prison ministry. I've taught a lot over the years and I've, I've, I had to say no many times I've traveled internationally for our church to do mission work to do leadership training in Africa and India. I've had to say no a lot more over the years, but I've retired and now my schedule is not going to prohibit me from doing anything. And yet, two days after I retired, this is my world and you can ask why and all of that. I wanna write a book about all of it. And I really would like to entitle a book in the twinkling of an eye'cause that's how fast it happened. One moment. We've had a wonderful three days with great friends. We've seen some great shows, and now I'm going home and after working for 55 years, at the age of 70, I'm finally going to retire. And I can't wait. I, my wife and I, we were, we have laughed about all the things we're going to go do, and suddenly that whole world was turned upside down. And I think one of the things I've learned through all of these and all the miracles that God has done to get me this far,'cause I don't ask why I, you know, I wanted to, I probably, I probably tried to, but I often think of job and you ask the why long enough, and the Lord shows up and you may not like the answer, you get. Instead, I just said, Bruce, you need to trust. You need to trust that God and there, and that is one of the things I hear a lot from people. I've been asked to speak several times at different places just to share God's love and grace is, and especially his healing grace in my life right now, to ever be able to stand up again, to walk again. We had a really good life. My, my therapist Kim, in the last session, she said, you know, when you and I first met you said if you could just get around on a walk someday, what a, what a great, answered prayer that would be. And she said, and now, now you do that. And she said, but this is our last session. And so she set a walker down in front of me and said, I want you to stand up. And hugged my neck. Mm-hmm. And I thought, you know, one more time, Lord, the staff, the medical staff, the physicians, the therapists, the nurses, it goes on and on for a guy who came home, you know, where you had to bring a Hoyer lift over by the bed to pick me up and set me in the chair. They're so limited for a guy who was a coach and an outside guy. And I spent my last 12 years with a historical ship, and we did in August of 22, we did what everybody said we couldn't do. And that is we raised the money and we moved that ship from San Jacinta State Park down to Galveston to the coast. And I thought, this is the perfect time for me to retire. We, we pulled off nothing less here than a miracle, and yet 36 hours later in the twinkling of an eye, everything, my whole world was turned upside down.

David Pasqualone: 38:44

Let me ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. What do I do? Yeah, go. Oh, wait, wait. Did I interrupt you? There's a delay in our connection. I apologize. No,

Bruce Bramlett: 38:53

no,

David Pasqualone: 38:54

no.

Bruce Bramlett: 38:54

Ask.

David Pasqualone: 38:55

Okay. Please

Bruce Bramlett: 38:56

ask David.

David Pasqualone: 38:57

So, a lot of people, they go through trauma, they go through tragedy, they go through trials, whatever you want to call it with the T, right? But the end of the day, yeah. All things work together for good to those that love God, to those called according to his purpose.

Bruce Bramlett: 39:14

Amen.

David Pasqualone: 39:15

Romans 8 28. So. We need to realize and have a mindset that if God's allowing son to happen, even if it's para terrible and painful in last years, there's a reason that's going to benefit us and glorify him. But when you're going through this, you know you have people listening all around the world that they may be struggling, they're in bed right now, and they can't get up. Yeah. Their family members are in a wheelchair and they can't get out right now. And everybody's outcome may be different. There's a different plan for all of us, but we've talked about miracles, and that's something that God does that, that's the whole definition of a miracle. Something that man can't do or achieve or influence. But when you are struggling and you're encouraging those now who are struggling, where's the balance between what you need to do as a human? Where we just trust God. Where did you find that balance? Like the mindset that went through your head? Like your son mentioned? My dad said he is going to fight, help him fight. So where, what comes natural to you, maybe foreign to someone else. They've never been raised that way and they need it. So where is the balance between what you do as someone going through the trial and where you just trust in God?

Bruce Bramlett: 40:37

You know, to, to me, I think you're spot on. It was about faith, you said, just said trust, and I agree. I, you know, I think we all go through that, that initial, you know mindset of. Why, why did this happen to me? Why now? All those kind of things. And for, for me, it really became more about the faith. And Father, I, I, I don't understand. I probably never will. And I'm not sure at, at this point for me that I even need to. What would it change? You know, this is where I am on, on at this time. I was laying in the bed. I couldn't do anything. I was lucky to even be alive. And so to a point I made to you early on when we started talking, the very thing that people saw, the progress I made, they would attribute to me. And what I love about what you're happy to do today is to say to anybody out there. There is a strength that is available to you. There is a grace and a love that is available to you for the asking. And that this dreadful path that you are following, you know, it's that fork in the road. And do we go this way and is it anger and bitter? And am I mad at the world and the Lord and everything else I've traveled that highway? It may look good in the beginning, but it never works out. So I simply, out of an act of discipline and trust and faith, said, father, you're the one where whatever you have in mind, wherever, why I'm still here, Lord I, I am here and I know you must have a reason. And I just wanted people to understand truly that strength does not come. From us, that strength flows through us. By the grace of God, if you are looking for a way, a path forward, look no further than the creator. Don't look past the one that knows you better, that can see way beyond your current situation. I never thought my life would even come close to having any kind of normalcy again, but God did and God knew. And so one of the first things I would tell people is He still moves. He still moves way more than we can imagine and, and his plan is perfect and it are we going to trust. Will I just line up and say, father, it's you, it's your son. I think when people do that, what's the, what's the alternative, David? I mean, if you think about it, what's the other option? It's very bleak and there is an evil force out there that loves to leverage these kind situations. Satan could have easily destroyed my witness. It wouldn't have been hard at all, and I would've been one more person talking about that fairytale that we call Christianity and go, you know, I was a good Christian. Why would God do this to me? He doesn't. That's not what he does. That's not the way he works. Jesus died to save us, and it's in these times that I think we have an opportunity to see it. Better than maybe any other times. A lot of bad things happen to good people. I can tell you this, sometimes it's the only time we listen. It's the only time we turn to God is in difficult times and it's a shame that it happens. But we live in a fallen world and what happened to me, you know, that's one of the first things I think you have to do is Jesus realize, God didn't throw me on that floor. God lifted me off of that floor. Things, bad things happen in life and to, you know, to to come to that realization is very much a freeing experience to me. To let the anger and the frustration to let all that go. And I'm not going to tell, I'm not going to tell your folks that it never happens. I have some bad moments. I have some bad days. You know, there's a, a scripture that says that we were not given our mindset, our soul, we weren't given a soul of fear, but of strength and love and a sound mind. My world was rocked with fear about what was going to happen. How did this happen? What was going to happen to me? How were we going to get by? And yet, the strength and God's love and his strength in my life has made all the difference. But I had to make that choice. So another scripture I like, I I just got through teaching through several weeks that really says, be careful how you think.'cause our lives are shaped by what we think and what fertile soil I was in for Satan to plant every bad thought possible. And yet I really was a hockey goalie saying, I'm not going to let that thought in. I'm not going to let that thought dominate. I'm not going to, I'm not going to get around here to work Satan. I'm going to dwell on the father. I'm going to stay in the scripture. I'm going to open my heart to friends that care about me and the prayers. David, I, I used to think maybe there were a hundred people out there praying for me at the worst time of my tragedy, and I was way, way under. It was more in the thousands. There were literally people all over this country that had an alarm set for three o'clock in the afternoon, and they stopped every afternoon to pray for me. I read something great not long ago. It said, when we pray, prayer actually shakes the walls of hell. I don't know if that's true. I hope it is, but I know this, the power of prayer is unbelievable. It is such a force for us, and people were praying for me in such numbers that it just, you go, I why? I'm just an ordinary guy. That the Lord loves and said, I'm not through with you, Bruce. I got, I've got plans for you.

David Pasqualone: 48:14

Yeah. And that's the thing. Some people, if you ask why, it's like if you've had children, you've had children. But our listeners, if someone asks you a question, there's nothing wrong with that. But if someone questions you, huge problem. Right. So when we go to God asking a sincere question, why did this happen? In the sense of learning and understanding, God, I don't see anything wrong with that. Do you, Bruce? I

Bruce Bramlett: 48:46

don't I, you know, I think part of it's the spirit in which we approach him, but

David Pasqualone: 48:52

yes. So if you were, why did you do

Bruce Bramlett: 48:54

scripture's? Really, really clear.

David Pasqualone: 48:56

Yeah. If you came at some God and said, why did you do this to me? Why did you allow it? That's a hundred percent wrong. Questioning God's wrong, but not asking the question.

Bruce Bramlett: 49:10

I went through a really difficult time. I don't, 35 years ago in my life and for about a year for a guy that's, that's is not a drinker or my wife laughs. She goes, you know, I've, I've known him a long, long time. I've never seen him drunk. And I said, you never will. But for that period in there for about a year, year and a half, I literally drank every day. And I would at night, I, I was living alone and I would rail at God for why did you let this happen? Why did you let this happen? And I was miserable and spiraling downhill in a hurry. And I finally broke one night and I said, Lord, forgive me. I've been so wrong. I know you did not do this. In fact. Father, I think the only reason I've survived this whole thing was because of you. And so to me, that's the thing I think you're talking about is just in so many of us, we stopped doing it. We're distracted. We've, you know, we've, we've kind of transformed into the culture and the world we live in, and we've forgotten at best we're just temporarily here. And that we need to be in a relationship with the father and I. And I think when you do that and you have people praying for you, you know, find yourself get into church. Isn't it interesting you look the last few weeks since the assassination of Mr. Kirk. You remember the thing that happened at Asbury a few years ago and they just had this like unbelievable swept through the campus of young people coming to God. And the thing went on for days. And I look at Charlie Kirk now, and I look around these colleges and these high schools and by the thousands these new chapters are starting and kids are coming and bible cells are going through the roof. I've been praying for years. Lord, just let us have an awakening that sweeps through not just a college campus called Asbury, but through our whole country, through our whole world. And to me, that's the thing. I'm I'm, so, I look at Charlie Kirk's life and I go. He wouldn't even come back today if he knew the good that came out of his witness. And on a much smaller scale, I think about things that guys like you do, or guys like me who have been through what I've been through, to just share that with people in hopes that they will turn and look back to the father and they'll look for those answers and that healing and for that grace.

David Pasqualone: 52:16

Yeah, and that's just it. We don't understand, 'cause we see as men short term, right? But there's so much more in the bigger picture and nobody wants to go through pain. Nobody wants to go through heartbreak. Nobody wants to go through the sorrow. But even Jesus had to go through it. So we might all be saved. So there's definitely, you know, a connection between the pain and the joy that comes from it. So let me ask you this too, Bruce. Sure. After going, sure. Through what you did, sometimes people have a clear, distinct man, this is my purpose. This is what God saved me, not just spiritually for eternity, but that's what he saved me for another day on Earth for. Have you learned what that purpose purposes yet, or are you still just, Hey, I know my purpose is today, be the best man I can be? Or is there a distinct outcome? Like, did you become a Sunday school teacher? Did you take it to the next level? Is there a ministry that you're passionate about?

Bruce Bramlett: 53:16

Yeah. You know, I, I've been teaching Sunday school for probably 40 years, and we have a lot of wonderful teachers in our church. We're very blessed. I get asked to teach way more than I said yes to, or. To speak to some group about something and you go, you know, I'd love to do it. It just doesn't fit into my calendar right now. I do remember one of the nights I had a young nurse came in who was a single mom, and she said, I believe you are a great faith and I'm wonder if you would just pray for me and my son. And that began to become a way of life over the next six weeks. And one of the things that hit me was I said, Lord, you call, you ask, you show me, and I, and I will be here and I will, I will go. I just taught six weeks. Out of a wheelchair. I is, you know, I, I, I can't, I couldn't stand up for 30 or 40 minutes. So one of the things I do know is I wanna share more. I wanna let his light shine more through my life. I want to teach more. I'm going to say yes when I get asked a lot more, but I also want to, to capture this story. And so since the accident, I've made a lot of notes. The things I think were absolute miracles that that God did for, not just for me, but for, for my wife, for my family, for my friends. And and I wanna put all of that in a book. I don't know if we can ever I have a number of people around me that, that do editing work that said, I'll help you edit people that have ties to publishers. And I think if, if, you know, I've just prayed to God father, you, you tell me what you want me to share you, you tell me what you want me to write and that's what I'll do. And so we've gone so far, some of our church staff has come to my home office and I now have the abil ability to go voice to text.'cause I for me to type anymore is, is almost impossible. So the ability just to, to narrate this thing out, I would like very much to do that. I still think the pri prison ministry is something I want to do. I have great friends that have done it for years, and I've been a few times with them. Mostly I just wanna be a witness for his kingdom and for his love and grace and the, and the biblical story. I think we all get a little nervous sometimes about this subject with friends that are hurting. I wanna be bold. I want to, to, to step out there and and just share with people the unbelievable trail that we've been on for over two years now in my life. And from planes where the engines conk out to doctors who tell my family he's got less than 10% chance to be told. You'd never be off a ventilator, you'd never be able to do therapy. You'd never be able to walk again. Every day I grab a walker and walk back and forth through my house, down the sidewalk outside. And just to kinda, maybe a good thing for everybody to hear is I met with the, the lead doctor on my case two weeks ago. We see him every 6, 7, 8 months. And Dr. Stamp said, how's it, how's it going? Tell me what's going well. And we're talking about all these different things. And he looked at Donna and I, and he said, Bruce, I believe you're six months away from your next big breakthrough. He didn't elaborate, he didn't try to describe what he thought that might be. But for me it, so much of it now is how mobile can I be? You know, how much can I, how much will I be able to get up and move around? And maybe at some point that breakthrough could be that I walk, I just use a cane or something like that. But the, you know, for a guy who always liked to play golf, you know, the odds are I'm never going to play again. Or to, you know, to pheasant hunt or quail hunt. Those things are probably over for me. I hope not. One thing I have learned through all of this is don't limit God.'cause number one, if I did, I don't get off of that floor. David, I died right there. And I thought about this many times, and my children, my wife said, well, what happened? You know, Hey Donna, what happened to Bruce? Well, he was eating a muffin, sitting in a chair, and he fell outta the chair. And when he hit his head, he broke his neck and it killed him. You know what a, what a crazy, whoever hears of that. And yet God said, no, not today. Up off the floor. You're not going to die. Not yet. And you know, now you're back to all that biblical truth. He knows the days of our life. He knitted us in a womb. He knows every hair on my head, which is, is not a big defeat today, as it was when I was 30. You know?

David Pasqualone: 59:00

Yeah.

Bruce Bramlett: 59:01

But it, it is, it's just the blessing. I've lived under the healing grace. I've lived under the truth. I've lived under the light that that has shown through me. He's the source of all of that, and people need to know there. The answers are not in this world. He is the answers, he is the truth and the way and the light. And boy, we're sure looking in the wrong place, especially during the storms, if we aren't looking for him to help carry us through, we as bad as it gets. I, I, I always have this wonderful thought. I live on the Gulf Coast. I've seen terrible storms. When those storms hit, you better be anchored to something that won't give way, something that's going to be able to hold you close, hold you firm. That's the Lord. Even the disciples knew it when that storm hit. They went looking for Jesus, don't you even care that we're going to drown? And he simply stopped the calm, the storm. If you want the storm you're living in to calm down, then go to the one who has control over it.

David Pasqualone: 1:00:17

Yes, well said. Truth. You know, the people don't want to a lot of times admit common sense. They don't want to admit, you know, there is a God. They want to live in their own way and God loves us all and he's patient, but there's going to be a time when we all are going to meet him and we need to be ready.'cause that verse you use, I'm the way, the truth and the life in the second half of that is no man coming through the father, but by me. So we need that. Like if you're in a ship and it's sinking, ladies and gentlemen. Bruce is talking about, well, you are going to die in that storm if the ship goes down unless you get on the rowboat. Jesus is more than a rowboat. But that's what I, what I'm trying to say. He is the way. That's the way out. There's no other alternative. You can't wish yourself into a good place. You can't think you're going to get there based on your works.'cause the Bible says clearly it's not of works unless any man should boast. We can only get to eternity with cri, with Christ. Yes. And that's huge. There's so many false religions out there. There's so many distractions out there. And it's not that Bruce or I are better than you or have some kind of enlightenment. No. The Bible's clear cover to cover. There's no contradiction. There's no flaw. There's only love and everything good is yeah. So that's why I appreciate you saying all this, Bruce, very much. And the other thing I appreciate is you're being honest and real about where you are. Like you don't necessarily have like a dis you. You have a general path. You have ideas where God's taken you, but you don't know, like I saved you for you to do this. And a lot of people without tragedy, they're sin looking for what their purpose is and they feel like, well, I'm just floundering and not doing anything and my life means nothing. And then you can have a near death experience and still know or not know. So it doesn't matter what part of the journey of life ladies and gentlemen we're on. It matters that we're doing something today. And Bruce, he lived as a Sunday school teacher and then God had this. Crazy circumstance after him, and now he's still a Sunday school teacher and he's taken it actually to the next level. So thank you Bruce for being obedient and just being a great example for us all. So before we wrap up the episode before, between your birth and today, is there anything we missed in your life or this particular phase of life that you want to share, encourage our audience with, expound upon anything we missed or didn't cover or did cover and you want to go deeper into before we wrap things up?

Bruce Bramlett: 1:03:05

You know, my first thought is you think about Paul and he talks about the thorn in his side that he asked the Lord to remove, and the response was, my grace is sufficient for you in those dark, difficult times. I just would go back one last time and say. Keep the faith. You asked me this question in the very beginning about trust and faith. Where are you going to put it? And the more difficult the situation, the more critical that answer becomes to me. And if you make that decision ahead of time, that no matter what goes on in my life, my savior is my savior. And that in those difficult times, don't take your eyes off of him. A, a again, I just think it's, I see so many people who are in the middle of a storm. Maybe it's a great one, maybe it's just a small one, but they're in it and they're looking for answers where they just don't exist. And emotionally, they're in such a state that it's such a fertile ground for evil to take over. Don't give in, don't, don't fight this. Fight in your own strength. Go to the Lord. That's where the strength, that's where the truth is. That's where the love is. That's where the power is. And so use it. I mean, to me, when you stop and think about it, you go to even consider any other decision, doing any other thing, but seeking him is irrational. I mean, it's really, really foolish to go looking for help where you're, where there is no help for you. Matter of fact, there's, there's only hate and destruction for you. Go back to the father, go to the son. He gave his son for all of us. And that when Paul, let me finish here. When Paul said, talked about the thorn and the pain and all that, he also made a point to remind us. That this life is going to be over very quickly and this is going to be like a blip on the screen someday with, I just wanna say one more thing about Paul and the issue of pain and the thorn in his side and, and God's response to him was my grace is sufficient for you. I think that's where a lot of us find ourselves. In life, especially during these difficult times in, in the midst of these storms that can come our way is that we have to remember, and Paul says this later in Romans, that what we are enduring, what we're going through today, what will barely be a blip on the screen someday when we get to heaven. We won't even really think about the difficult times of this earth because of the love and the reward of the Lord. To be there with him is so, is going to be so amazing and so is is. The other option, is to get angry and bitter. It was the one thing I really did not want to want to do, and I certainly didn't want to do it for my spouse and my family. My loved ones, my friends, is I didn't want to be the guy where it was. Yeah. It's a shame that that he probably didn't go ahead and die.'cause he really is bitter and angry and you know what, what does that, what does that do? What good does it do? What does it serve? I wanna be the guy that said I was blessed, I was loved. I lived in grace and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. And and, and so that's, you know, don't give in, don't give in anybody that's struggling and or, or you have family member or friend that's struggling. Encourage them to keep the faith to seek the light. Realize there is a power that can carry us through anything and he still does it. I'm a living testament. The miracles that rolled off, I mean, I'm talking 12, 13, 14 miracles, David, in very rapid over the period of four or five or six weeks that were very heavy on the front side. At that moment when you go, you know, God doesn't always answer prayers in our time. No. Sometimes he answers 'em quicker than we can even get them expressed. And so my survival and all of the wonderful blessings, the recovery, the therapy to me are all part of looking to him in the midst of the most difficult times. Seek the father. Seek the Father with all your heart. Seek him.

David Pasqualone: 1:08:21

Amen. Now, Bruce, if someone wants to continue the conversation, reach out to you, learn more, what's the best way to reach you?

Bruce Bramlett: 1:08:31

Yeah, I would say just email me. My email is Bruce at Battleship Texas. bruce@battleshiptexas.org. Make sure you spell out the word Texas. I don't get nearly as many emails as I used to get, so it's probably not a bad time. David, if somebody wants to reach out to me Yeah, please, and I promise I will. I will answer back.

David Pasqualone: 1:08:59

We'll put any links to your website or social media channels in the podcast notes, but if that's your preferred method, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great way to reach out is contact Bruce. Do it his email, and then he'll get back to you as soon as he can. Bruce, thank you again for being here with us today. It's been a Oh, David. Thank you.

Bruce Bramlett: 1:09:18

Yeah,

David Pasqualone: 1:09:19

yeah. Anything else before we close the episode? Any final words of wisdom that you wanna share with our global community? My friend. Well not

Bruce Bramlett: 1:09:28

so much global as I would to you. I was really surprised when, when our friend Bill Byrd mentioned this and told me about you, and obviously he told you a little bit about my story. Thank you for giving me a format to come and share and people just, again, I would say on the global. Standpoint. It, it, I know it seems like the world is, is just in a mess and everything is coming unraveled. Know that whether it's global or whether it's local, God is still on his throne and his plan is still going to unfold as he deems it. And that we are, those who of us who trust him and love him are not going to be disappointed about where things end up.

David Pasqualone: 1:10:17

Amen. Once again, well said and very biblically, so thank you. True. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we love you like our slogan says, and like Bruce and I have discussed, don't just listen to great content and be inspired. But do what you need to do each day. Repeat it form those good habits, never quit like Bruce said, and have a life worth living in this earth, but more importantly, an eternity you to come and you can only do that through Christ. So I'm David Pasqualone. This was our Remarkable friend, Bruce Bramlett, and we will see you in the next episode. Ciao. Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely hope this show has inspired you. The whole purpose of The Remarkable People Podcast is to inspire you, to motivate you into action, to help you have an even better life, to overcome things you've not yet been able to overcome or to grow to the next level that you never thought possible. And all of this, not just to benefit you in this world, but to have you come to a relationship with God where it grows every day stronger. And not just this world is blessed, but your eternity is blessed. And we sincerely want to do just that, and to glorify God. And we hope with this episode we accomplish that. If we did. Please let me know. It's great to be encouraged and to spread the word to our Remarkable guests that it helped in your life. If we didn't, let me know. Write me an email. You can go to DavidPasqualone.com. Go to our contact us page and let me know what you think. I got tough skin. Let it rip. Anything you can think of to make this a better podcast to help you grow and to glorify, God, I'm in. So that's it. Thank you for listening to the podcast. Thank you for sending us feedback. If we can help you in any way, let us know. And if you can spread the word about the Remarkable People Podcast, share the episode to your friends, your family on social media. It would be a huge honor and blessing. Again, I'm not trying to be the most famous podcast in the world for my benefit, I truly want a podcast that's the best podcast in the world to help as many people as we can to have a better life, come to know Christ, to grow in the Lord, and to have that salvation so they can be with God and peace and joy in eternity. And right now we're together on this earth, so let's do everything we can to work together and help each other grow. Like the Bible says, love the Lord thy God as a first commandment. And the next command is to love thy neighbor as thyself. So let's do it together. I'm David Pasqualone. I love you. Not as much as God loves you, but if I can help you in any way, just ask. And again, please share this with your friends and family so we can help them too. Ciao and see you in the next episode.

Welcome to the Remarkable People Podcast!: 1:13:29

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