"October/2022"
Whoa!! Where did that come from? It was Friday, October 21, 2022, about 7:00 am. I was laying the little quilt that my Nana made over its stand when that thought clearly entered my mind. To say I was disturbed would have been an understatement. “Is today the day I die?” is not the kind of thing that normally comes to my mind; I just don’t think that way, but there it was…and then it was gone. I went into the kitchen to start my breakfast. For a few days I had been having some of the usual intestinal issues; nothing new or serious, just feeling uncomfortable, but now my stomach began to wretch. I started to feel awful. I was in the bathroom twice until a real hurt set in and I found myself flopping around on the bed like a carp out of water; I must have been scared and trying to get away from the pain. The writhing finally slowed down, but it wasn’t going away. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed with my phone in my hand… Do I call 911 or not? I have called for an ambulance for others, but not for myself. I’m in my mid-seventies, live alone and fortunately have had no lingering health concerns, but my adult daughters would be far beyond upset if I didn’t call. So I did… I knew that in a matter of a few minutes there would be more than one EMT in the house and I was wearing only my nightgown. I remedied that by making a quick stop at the top dresser drawer on my way to unlock the front door. Now sitting on the sofa, I tried to call my daughter Erin, but couldn’t get through, so I texted ‘called 911 come’. With the ambulance and a big red fire truck, I think there were no less than six EMTs/firemen that came through my front door. They were asking questions to establish my status, taking vitals and running a mobile EKG; all the while being kind, considerate and treating me like they would their own grandma. The EMT that read the EKG results said it looked pretty good but there was something he wasn’t sure about and wanted to get it checked out at the hospital. After collecting my keys and purse, they secured the house and off we went with lights and sirens blaring. Oh, you’ve heard it before, but it’s kind of weird when you know it’s all for you.
On her way to my house Erin passed the ambulance going the opposite direction. Turning around, she headed for the hospital to meet up with her sister Shelby. Living in Tucson for 47 years our family has had some history with Northwest Hospital. In 1993 we were blessed with the birth of our first grandson. 2008 brought sorrow when the girls’ father, Tad, my husband of 41 years died suddenly of complications from the surgery to repair a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. My personal experience with hospital stays had been limited to having two babies without complications and an observation/testing overnight stay at Oro Valley Hospital following a possible TIA in 2015. This was all new territory for me…
After arriving at the ER, all is a blur. It was probably due to medications that I don’t remember much, but the girls told me there had been an x-ray that verified a diverticulitis diagnosis. I was also told that the next day, Saturday at 9:00 a.m. because of the EMT’s mobile EKG report, I was scheduled with a cardiologist for an angiogram to rule out any possible problems.
At the appointed time they rolled me into where the procedure was being done. The doctor reiterated that this was to rule out any issues, but if they found something it possibly could be fixed at that time. They went on to explain how they would run a line up through my wrist to take pictures of my heart. Needless to say, I was greatly relieved to find out I would be under anesthesia at the time. Again, they restated that it was just a precaution. Then… out I went. When I woke up, everyone was smiling! “You have a stent!” I was told. “Huh? A wha-aht?” I’m sure I must have uttered something like that because I wasn’t sure what I had just heard. You have to realize I didn’t have a history of any previous heart problems, and there weren’t any predominate heart issues within my family. To answer my perplexed question the announcement was happily repeated, ‘You have a stent!” In laymen’s terms, the left side of my heart that received the stent (the one ominously called the “Widow maker”) was 100% occluded, the other was 50% occluded. It seems that I didn’t have a heart attack, but I was next door to one and didn’t have a clue…
"Reflections on These Golden Threads"
I went home Sunday afternoon, October 23,2022 with a Discharge Diagnosis: NSTEMI (non-ST elevated myocardial infarction); Sigmoid diverticulitis to Home/Self-care and five new prescriptions. I was so happy to be home! So thankful not to be in any pain, but I was very tired. Daughters Shelby and Erin did so much to take loving care of me; picked up prescriptions, changed the bed (Nothing quite like a freshly laundered bed), arranged meals, made out-of-town family phone calls, took care of the cat, stayed overnight and more. Most importantly and even though it wasn’t their ‘thing”, from the onset they knew that I would want my church family to know of my emergency situation so they could pray for me. Initially, they had called our family friend that went to the same church to put me on the “Prayer Chain”. (I can’t count the number of folks that have since said, “I was praying for you, Patti”.) I’m sure prayers were lifted up as soon as the notice hit the email. I received many lovely cards, encouraging messages, flowers and a yummy meatloaf dinner; some did stop by the frame shop to leave cards and to check on me. Please know all prayers, love and kindnesses were in evidence and so appreciated by me and my family.
‘And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.’ Isaiah 65:24 (KJV). I was so humbled when I was reminded of this verse from Isaiah. He had already put into motion what was needed to fix me and had heard our prayers. Praise the Lord!
Before that Friday I had almost zero serious health problems. This sudden situation had resulted in my first ambulance ride, a first real hospital stay and what was to have been just a precautionary angiogram, had culminated into a stent being put into my heart. It had affected more than just my sense of wellbeing. The first few days at home was spent trying to process the onslaught of those events… And then there was that “thought” that had come to mind on Friday morning. ‘Is today the day I die?’ I hadn’t had any quiet time alone with God to deal with it. Now that I did, gradually I came to the realization that the answer to the question asked was not that I needed to change my lifestyle; start exercising, eat a healthier diet or get my house and affairs into order. Although those things definitely have value, my understanding of the answer to that question has far more lasting consequences. I know He has given me a calling; a purpose and I know specifically what it is: To use the gifts He has given me to encourage others and to further the gospel. If I had died that day, what would I have left undone that might have made a difference, not only in someone’s earthly life, but ultimately their eternal life? Maybe it could have been someone dear to me.
I’ll leave you with this from my brother Steve at our Friday’s devotions: The question was asked of God: How much time do I have left? His answer: Time enough to make a difference.
A Postscript…
Last summer I spent two months traveling and staying with family in northern and southern British Columbia, Canada. My trip began mid-July when I visited with my niece and her family in Seattle. This was where my younger sister Kathy, flying in from Fort St John, BC and I boarded the MS Eurodam for Dr. David Jeremiah’s Cruise to Alaska. Since she had cruised to Alaska previously with some girlfriends, not only was she my cabin mate, but she was also my trip advisor. It was eight days of amazing and we didn’t miss a thing. At Icy Strait Point in Hoonah, Alaska we went on what was called the “World’s Largest Zipline”. It began with a vertical drop from 1350 FT… Visualize being on the side of a mountain a little higher than the Empire State Building, then getting strapped into a seated harness (No turning back now!), then with a whizzing sound, off you went hitting speeds up to 60 MPH down a line the length of 5330 ft. According to the info on the T-shirt - At the 481 ft. mark you would have cleared the top of the Great Pyramid. It was just after passing 30 ft, the height of a two story house that there was this sensation of being “caught” into an abrupt halt. While closing in on the finish line, I had been concentrating on and accomplished what my sister had told me: “Keep your tongue out of the way of your teeth!” And be sure to pick your feet up! Wow!!! It was a hoot!!! And I got the T-shirt to prove it!
It was in August my visit had to be extended because both Kathy and I had a bout with covid that lasted two weeks and were isolated at her home in Fort St John, BC. My family sent up flowers and chocolate. Shelby couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a Door Dash or equivalent in FSJ. Finally, and for what seemed to have been an eternity, we tested covid negative. We packed up Kathy’s truck and headed south for Salmon Arm, BC and a visit with our youngest sister Karolyn and her hubby Darren. We figured we put about 1500 miles on her truck between the trip down and back up to drop me off at Steve and Cindy’s place in Moberly Lake, BC, an hour and a half away from Fort St John. Looking back, when in Canada’s spectacular and sometimes remote scenery, visiting family living in out of the way places, there were times when there was no phone or emergency services… and we never gave it a thought.
It was mid-September before I could arrange flights home to Tucson. In light of the events of October 21st, it’s not a stretch to look to the timing of my return home and realize that the 5½ weeks separating the two wasn’t all that much and then project what could have happened…and didn’t. Think I’ll just give it all up to God’s provision and His perfect timing.
Komen