Tuesday, November 20, 2012

November 20 – “A Day at the hospital”


I will never get over how exhausting it is to sit around for hours at a time with no way to actually do anything productive.  Add to that a sense of stressful drama and you get a day of fatigue like no other.  That’s pretty much how my day went yesterday.  I anticipated a somewhat calm day of working on a sermon and getting ahead on some preparations for future teachings.  That didn’t happen.

I got up a little before 5:30.  I had to be at Cailyn’s house so April could leave for nursing school clinicals by 6:10.  This way Cailyn wouldn’t have to be cruelly awakened and transplanted at our house in a stage of grogginess.  She could wake up when she pleased and then we could come back here.  That part of the day went fine.  In fact Christina had even stopped by with her boys and they were all running around our house in circles like mice in a maze.  That’s when I got the first call.  Nathan was at work when he got a call that April had passed out at clinicals and was on her way to the emergency room.  He arranged to get away from work and was on his way.  I told him I would meet him there, but as we talked he indicated that he really didn’t know exactly what was happening.  He was of course worried – we all worry any time April so much as sneezes after her bout with the mysterious malady that ended in her spleen being removed.  But I told him to take a deep breath and not make it into a problem before it actually was a problem.  I returned to the computer, but before long Nathan was calling again.  After talking with April he found out that she was told when she roused from passing out that they thought she had had a seizure.  OK.  That’s close enough.  I assured him I would meet him at the ER.  When I got there, the receptionist on duty actually recognized me.  She used to be the secretary in the pastoral care office before they did away with it.  I told her I was there to see April Vaughan.  She made a call and told them April’s Daddy was there to see her.  OK.  I’ll wear that hat.  She is most assuredly a daughter to me, and I’m pretty sure her Dad wouldn’t mind me using his title for a bit.  They ushered me back and I joined them in their waiting game.  At one point they came in to do an EKG and asked April who that old guy was standing over by her husband.  She ID’ed me as her father-in-law and assured then I was OK.  Thanks, April.  And there was my … let me review here … husband when I said good morning to Chris, grandfather when I picked up Cailyn, Dad when I talked to Nathan, Dad-substitute when I checked in, and now father-in-law … that makes five hats I had worn so far.  Nathan and I joked about me keeping my Pastor hat in in reserve my back pocket in case I needed it.  April seemed to be doing fine.  She just wanted to go home and, in her words, “sleep it off.”  And then my phone rang.

The second call was from my Uncle Jerry.  He’s the one I brought to the hospital a few weeks ago because of blood clots in his legs.  Sure enough, he sounded terrible.  He was in great pain and wanted me to come give him a ride to the hospital again.  I asked if he was bad enough for me to call 911, but he wanted to wait and ride with me.  At least he didn’t try to drive himself like he did once before.  I assured him I would be there as soon as I could.  I gave April and Nathan a hug and a quick prayer and I was off.  Before I could get out of the parking garage, though, he called back and said I should probably go ahead and call 911.  He didn’t think he could make it down the stair anyway.  So I did.  I also called Nathan, and when he heard the dispatch call, he touched base with the responding medics to make sure they brought their A-game with them.  The ambulance beat me to the scene, and they were about ready to transport when I arrived.  One of his neighbors came over to offer her help, so I got her phone number for future reference.  They used one of those really strange-looking chairs with tank treads on the bottom to get him down the stairs.  Looked like a really bumpy ride to me.  They did fine, but I bet the fire department could have done better.  Just a little bit of prejudice on my part there. 

When I got back to the ER the same receptionist was on duty.  In fact she saw me coming and already had a name tag made out for me with April’s room number on it.  I told her that my uncle was now back there, too, and she shook her head knowingly, as only someone who had worked with chaplains and pastors could.  She understood those who wear the pastor hat.  And my nephew hat was out and polished as well.  The volunteer ushered me back toward April’s room, but we passed Jerry’s first, so I stopped there.  My guide seemed a bit confused, but I assured him I could find my way around and thanked him for his help.  Now Uncle Jerry was not in great shape.  His leg was swollen and purple and in a nutshell clots in his veins were causing so much swelling that the arterial blood flow was being compromised.  That meant surgery or he stood a chance of losing the foot.  Nathan came over when April was taken for a Doppler test for blood clots of her own.  We talked to my cousins – Jerry’s kids – on the phone, trying to fill them in.  His son was headed this way from Florida anyway, and will be here sometime this morning.  They performed all the requisite tests.  And then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  April was released on her own recognizance, or at least under Nathan’s care.  They decided that she … passed out.  OK, we knew that coming in.  Thank you very much.  Since there was nothing left to do but wait for the surgery, Uncle Jerry finally convinced me to head on home around 5:30.  Twelve hours.  That’s a pretty full day.

Psalms 40:3 says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”
 
Father, watch over April and Jerry.  Amen.

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