Just before his seventh birthday, young Henry (Hank) Austin’s brain began to bleed and, while alone, had his first seizure. No one knew what was happening to him, not even Hank, despite seizures that temporarily incapacitated him and caused an ever encroaching blindness. Wrapped in the silence of a young boy growing up in the hills of eastern Kentucky, Hank thought his relentless headaches, blind spells, and migraines were common occurrences and just something he needed to endure, which he did through his close contact with God.

As Hank grew into adulthood, so did the bleeding in his brain until one day the leaking blood vessels in the vision center of his brain burst, sending the young father into numerous code blues. He underwent an extremely painful surgery but felt no pain because Jesus took his place on the operating table. Hank counted his trials and tragedies as blessings, and miracles began happening in his life. Through it all, he maintained his sense of humor and recorded funny episodes in his chapters regarding Hillbilly Hank.