Yep, that’s right, yesterday was no fun.
I spent the day in the Emergency Room. No, I wasn’t the patient; the patient was Mrs. Don who was suddenly stricken with massive chest pain… or was it back pain? Sometimes it isn’t so easy to tell, to isolate severe pain; maybe that’s why they have so many tests to be sure…
So there we were, in the ER waiting for tests, waiting for the results of tests, no sir, there was no fun to be had there.
Before we left that delightful place, they ruled out everything that was life-threatening like heart attack and blood clots in the lungs, they prescribed medication to make the patient more comfortable, and offered a theory or two as to what might be going on; such is the current state of medical science. Obviously we were relieved to a certain extent… and thankful for the good part.
I had a lot of time just to sit there, to observe, to listen…
What a dreadful place the ER is!
The suffering, the pain, the misery… and in many cases the hopelessness. Here’s an example:
In the slot next to us was a gentleman who had been brought in earlier. It seems that sometime during the wee hours, while he was driving under the influence of alcohol, he had been arrested by the police. They took him into the station and placed him into a cell where he had coronary arrest. He had been rushed to the hospital where he had been revived, but his heart continued to be in a state of A flutter, whatever that is, but it must be a bad thing. My apologies if “A Flutter” isn’t spelled correctly, it’s just what I overheard… Anyway, the poor man mentioned that he wasn’t feeling too good and was apparently in much discomfort. When there was finally a bed he could be placed in the hospital, he left the ER, but not before one of the nurses called upstairs to tell the people what was coming their way. The man is diabetic with severely high blood sugar, a cancer patient with severely elevated blood pressure, who is suffering from cirrhosis of the liver (who just got picked up for DUI!) and that’s where the nurse suddenly stopped speaking, paused, and then said, “OK, you can read the rest in the chart; there’s a lot more.”
This was just one case out of the many other cases of illness and broken lives that I overheard.
Now to be sure, there was not a moment yesterday when I thought that my dear wife was in any danger; the spiritual gift of discernment comes in handy in these times… I knew this wasn’t life-threatening, though I feel for her pain. Yet I can’t help but be moved by the suffering that was all around me yesterday.
You might wonder why I am sharing this, so here is the point: There are so many people out there who need the good news of hope and life that we have to share with them!
Yes, I know it isn’t easy, and I know it isn’t always comfortable… and I also know that many of them won’t want to hear it. Yet if we don’t share the news about Jesus Christ in this lost world, then who will?
Life Project Blog 
Is she better now, Don? I’m so used to being in pain, it’s become a part of daily life. I don’t like it, but am used to it! Poor your wife. I hope nothing chronic has started 😦 I hope the medics asked her what she was doing when she first noticed the pain.
She’s better today, thanks to the drugs. We will see where things go from here; thanks for your kind sentiments 🙂
God be with you both, and give you His love and protection. 🙂 xx
Brother Don
I’m so sorry to hear about your wife, but also so very grateful she’s still with us in the Land of the Living’ Sudden scares like that serve to remind us of the temporary nature of this life, the ones who have passed on before us, and the undeniable fact that we too will someday.
They give us another opportunity to, as Jesus said to the Ephesian Church in revelation 2…, “Remember, repent and Redo the former works” before there is no more time for us to do them.
I hope all is well and you and the doctors discover the reason for the problem.
mike
Thank you Mike! Great points for us to keep in mind!
Praying for you wife and man who was in ER. The power of Christ be with them!
Also, it’s true; many desperately need the Gospel especially in emergencies be it medical or emotional.
I pray by Christ that everyone reading your post decides to act on it in wisdom and compassion. Amen
Thank you!
By the way “A Flutter” could possibly mean Atrial Flutter. Basically this means an abnormal heart rhythm.
Having been one who had a heart attack (that after last Thanksgiving) and still recovering my strength, I am so happy for the great work the two ERs provided. I appreciated the, but don’t want to return. I have been thinking about how people respond to others who go through emergency and desperate situations and find that even we believers often do a poor job of displaying the love of Christ to one another. Will be writing about that in my blog a little later.Happy for your wife.
Thanks, and I hope and pray for a full recovery for you… and all of those others who have been in the ER lately
Hello Don! I am sorry to hear the bad news about your wife. My heart and prayers goes out to both of you. Thank God she is not in any danger.
Thank you Noel!
Hope your wife is feeling a lot better. Sending up prayers for her. I can relate to what you experienced around you in the Emergency room. I worked in a hospital for 25 years, in Surgery for 15 and then as a medical transcription is it for 10 years. Saw and heard about a lot of sad things in those years. So many in need of the Lord and of prayers. It’s heartbreaking.
Heartbreaking is the word all right…
Visiting the sick and afflicted is a very trying ministry. Maybe you went there for a more deeper reason. vw
That could be!
Hi Don,
Your post was interesting timing. I’m pleased that your wife’s situation has settled down and that she’s more comfortable. Hope they find an acceptable explanation or better still…instant healing!!
I had a very inspiring experience at Church last night. I have a swag of serious medical problems and I’m in my 40s but because these things are so ongoing, I don’t like taking up too much airspace at Church because quite frankly, they could be praying for me every week.
When we go away, we go to a small evening service which is outreaching from a larger Church so it’;s quite a small, intimate group and they are always delighted to see us and think it’s great that we still go to Church on holidays. This is Australia, which I sadly have to say, is not exactly a Christian country…at least on a public level. Anyway, I mentioned my problems with a severe cough etc and the service stopped and everyone huddled around me and prayed. You know, it was so special and I could really feel close to God and feel him touching my heart through these beautiful people. This prayer expanded and it was such a blessing to us all. The sermon was so appropriate talking about the lost, which he aid leads onto the broken hearted.
I also have a broken foot and I joked about my glamorous footwear this summer and the minister commented on how sickness isn’t glamorous and yet Jesus went out among the sick and healed them. It wasn’t pretty. This gave me a fresh appreciation of Jesus’ work and his heart and an inspiration for us to also go to these places and shine God’s light.
xx Rowena
My prayers are with you also!
Thanks.
Reblogged this on Life after Methadone with Jesus.
Will keep your wife in my prayers. Lord bless you both.
Thanks Lee
Amen…. I reblogged this because I felt it worthy and I am total agreement with you. I am praying for your wife! Jesus is her healer and we bind the spirit of infirmity off her body now in Jesus name! They didn’t place a name on it, well infirmaty is a name and we loose health and the holy spirit of God to come and fill her with the oil of joy and in abundance. Praise God for the testimony!
Thank you!
My mother suffered from heart disease. Before she went home to her reward, we spent many hours together in emergency rooms. The dedication of staff working in that stressful environment cannot be overstated. I always felt the nurses especially had a great gift of mercy from God.
So true, those folks are really amazing
Good post – but sorry about the Mrs. Hope she feels better very soon!
cate b
She’s much better today, thanks Cate
Praying Mrs. Don and you. I must wonder why She Who Must Be Obeyed isn’t mentioned by her name. Although I do like the SWMBO handle.
I took note of the command to tell the good news. How many opportunities do we miss daily?
Since she has a high level position in a very political Washington, I avoid naming her by name here on my not at all politically correct blog! 🙂
Thanks for explaining.
Praise God that the Mrs. is doing well. That spiritual discernment, yes, it’s a wonderful gift! Thanks for all your thumbs up on my blog entries. I need to try and keep on more on the ones I follow. And yes – the world does need to hear of our Father’s infinite love – we are ambassadors of reconciliation. I used to work in healthcare, a frightening and complex place. Be blessed!
Thank you!
God’s peace to you and your wife, Don. He is our refuge in the ER storm.
So true! Thank you
I hope your wife is doing better now, it sounded like a distressing experience for both of you. It’s true that the ER does seem to concentrate all the misery of the world in one place, the hopelessness and the pain. It can be overwhelming. But then again, the serenity we believers have even in those circumstances is a witness to those around, even before we say a word. Thanks for the reminder that there is a great deal of work for us to do, whether we feel equipped for it or not…
You are certainly right about the serenity part, and the people who work in those places do some amazing work, too. Thanks for your comments!
Visiting the ER is always an eye opening experience for me, too. I’ve taken my son there a few times when his asthma gets a bit too aggressive. I hope your wife is doing well. In church Sunday, my pastor told us what he prays when he visits hospitalized church members. He prays for healing through God’s providence (medical technology and professionals) and God’s Word (the miraculous healing that he and I both believe still goes on today – the proverbial head-scratching by the doctor with the perplexed look on his face as he says, “you know, we see absolutely no sign of your cancer.”) May He richly bless you and yours today!
I’d that prayer about sums it up. Thanks, she’s doing fine 🙂
May we not forget Whom provided us with the abilities and materials to make a diagnosis; even if it is not to our liking.
Amen