This week we had two opportunities and each of these represents a portion of what we’re doing. The first opportunity was to make multiple visits to the hospital to see a friend who had major heart surgery. With the everything that happened with Hannah last year, I see that there is a certain, special connection with this type of situation that has formed inside of me. I guess I first feel the significance of the vulnerability and fragility of life. We have seen more than our share of loss over the past year, and it could not have hit closer to home than to have lost our own daughter. Secondly, there is also a certain “comfort” now in being in these situations. (Comfort may not be the right word, but it’s as close as I can come.) By this I mean that the shock and the natural aversion to the life-and-death seriousness of these situations is no longer a part of me. I feel that everything that we went through with Hannah, from the unexpected sudden severity of her peril to the emotional and physical fatigue that we endured that week to the devastation of the loss itself that persists indefinitely have each, in their own way, prepared us to be able to be in critical situations “comfortably.” This doesn’t mean that we always have something wise to say, but it means that we can be in a position to help in the hardest of times. It’s like our loss prepared us to identify with these situations and there is an understanding that we truly empathize instead of just sympathies with all those involved. Perhaps this is the “blessing” of a broken heart!?
I spent the entire day of the surgery at the hospital. It honestly was unnecessary since the surgery took all day and there was nothing for me to actually do, but I felt that my presence was the right thing to do the entire time I waited. This brush with critical care was different, and different in a good way! The surgery went well, and my friend is recovering at a pace that’s above average. The reality of a positive outcome, although expected, did seem a bit foreign to me, and I thanked the Lord that I could witness the healing of the ICU, without the loss. That was a very welcome change!
Something else unexpected was that, of all the hospitals in southern Wisconsin, my friend ended up in Madison in the same hospital and on the same ICU floor as one of our previous friends, earlier this year. It seemed odd to walk into a “familiar” ICU, and then it got even more uncanny when I was able to reconnect with two of the nurses that we got to know previously. Tray and Dylan, both immediately recognized me on sight, and were happy to see me. They were each assigned to assist my friend on different days, and we were able to take a little bit of time and to catch up. I’m not sure what the significance of making these friendships mean, but it certainly seems to be more than a coincidence…
Switching gears now. As I was getting into the car to drive to the hospital, I got a message from Dr. Markman about a “Zoom meeting” that he was going to be in later that day. This meeting was with a state representative in Michigan, and he welcomed me to participate. So, I turned the car off, got back out, and then an hour later we spoke with the aid of the Representative about Dillon’s Law. (The representative was not able to be part of the meeting due to sickness, but hopefully we will be speaking with him soon.) This aid had allergies herself, and with the Representative’s background in EMS, we hope that someday soon we can get Michigan to pass their own version of Dillon’s Law with his support. After the meeting ended, Dr. Markman and I spoke together for a while about the need to hold more of these kinds of meetings. I see that there is a wide-open door for us to involve ourselves in saving lives and sharing Hannah’s Story through this aspect of allergies. I told him that we will do whatever we can to contact more government officials in other states, but also that our biggest hinderance in making long-term commitments right now is finances, since we are just starting out as a nonprofit. We will continue to take advantage of the opportunities that we have in this area and the others, and we will see where all these things lead in time. There are no coincidences, just steps that lead us to an unknown destination.
We are blessed
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