Well today I had all kinds of plans for how the day was to go. I got up and fed the dog, showered, flossed and brushed my teeth, took my vitamin and had my coffee. I got online to look for a job that my brother had told me might be available on the Boeing job website. I have been without full time employment for nearly two years now and it is ONLY through the grace of God that we have been able to make ends meet. Well God and the extremely creative bookkeeping and financial acrobatics that my wife makes happen that are keeping our two kids in college and a roof over our head.
Well back to my plan for the day, I had planned on getting some exercise, push-ups and some crunches mainly, but I wanted to get 100 0f each in...as I sit here at 11:35pm I did finish 40 push-ups and 50 crunches...it's a start but not what I had planned. In my planning, I wanted to get Champ up to the park to run and catch his frisbee for awhile, get my resume updated and apply for the Boeing position online, I wanted to take a couple of friends to see the new Green Hornet movie and then be home for my wife when she came home from work so that we could go together down the high school to work the boys basketball game. Then we could come home relax a bit and then snuggle down for a good nights sleep. Nice plan, didn't happen...
Well the first part of the day fell right into place, feed the dog, shower, floss and brush my teeth, vitamin, 20 push-ups, 30 crunches, a cup of coffee, then off to the park with the dog by 10am. Upon my return home and getting on the computer, I gotta admit, facebook was my first stop, got distracted with the silly dice game called yacht ( a modified version of yahtzee that I am somewhat addicted to ) so after a few rounds of that game, I finally got the the Boeing website and was scrolling through the job offerings there. As my AADD (adult attention deficit disorder) kicked in, I found myself looking at movie times at the local theater. My typical day when I do public address for the basketball games is to spend some quiet time not talking and sitting alone in a theater watching a movie and just being quiet. I wanted to take a couple of my friends to see the Green Hornet (I already saw it on Friday, but I know they both want to see it too), so I texted them to see if they were available today. Unfortunately, they were both busy, so back up plan B lead me to the Dilemma, Vince Vaughn's and Kevin James' new show. I have an in at the Regal Cinemas in my area as my sister is a manager and she is able to give me free passes to see movies, so I don't have to pay the $10 per show to see what is currently playing. Pretty nice for someone without a steady income! Yes, this is one of the blessings that I count every day! I was able to work it out that I could go to the Regal closest to my house to see the movie, so telling Champ I would be back soon, I went on my merry way to sit in the theater for a couple of hours and just chill.
This is when my day decided to take a turn and God put me in a situation to show who He was making me into and how far I had come (not to mention, how far I still have to go). About 40 minutes into the movie I received this text from a friend...
" Nick my 1 lung is collapsing. If i talk i get dizzy. Trying to get home"
First I am over the "k" being added to my name... second I totally started to freak out! My response was, can I come get you? where are you now? I can be right there
I waited for a few minutes, no response, so I went outside the theater and called him...still no response only voice mail....not knowing what to do I sent a text to a mutual friend asking if he as near or knew where our friend might be. I also forward the text I had received to him so he knew why I was being such a nutcase, his phone went directly to voicemail! Nearly 20 minutes later I got another text saying my friend was trying to get home and then to the hospital, but he wanted me to make a couple of calls for him . I responded that I could make the calls, but could I come get him and help in anyway to get him to the hospital? This was about 10 minutes to 2:00pm. At 2:05pm our mutual friend called and said he had been in contact and our friend was on his way home and should be there in 10-15 minutes and that I should try him again then. He was enroute to Seattle and wouldn't be able to head south for a couple of hours and that his phone battery was almost dead and he would be charging it, but it would be turned off for awhile, but he would be checking it. Not the news I was hoping for, but at least I had some kind of clue as to what was going on.
I went back into the movie to wait and see what developed, both with my friend and the plot line...
As far as the movie goes, it wasn't the comedy I thought it was going to be, although I have to admit I didn't get to see the last 30 minutes or so. I did enjoy what I watched and like both Kevin James and Vince Vaughn, free admission makes almost any movie tolerable.
I tried my friend at 2:25pm, no answer, just his voicemail...then he called back just a minute later...the voice on the other end was barely coherent and I could barely make out the words "home" and "hospital" before we were disconnected. I frantically tried calling back, to no avail. I hurriedly left the theater at a run to my car, trying to call our mutual friend as I headed for the parking lot. It went directly to his voicemail, so I knew his phone was off, I left a message letting him know that I was on my way to the house, but as I had only been there on one other occasion I was panicked as to getting there without getting lost. Not wanting to waste time I headed in the general direction with prayers to God to watch over my friend and give me the guidance I needed to get there in most expeditiously. A bolt from heaven struck my right in the forehead as I remembered that the one previous time I had been to his house I had put his address into my map application on my phone to help me find his place. Under the recent searches I found the address and was able to get directions via the navigate to location function! Certainly a blessing and insight from God!
At 2:52pm I received a call from my friends phone, again I could hardly understand a word, he was gasping and coughing so hard that his words made no sense. Then to my great relief a woman's voice came on and said that he was at home and wanted to know how close I was? I let her know I was less than 10 minutes away and would be there shortly. When I arrived, my friend was lying on his bed, gasping and shaking. I was at a loss. Inside I was literally freaking out! but externally, I was trying to be stoic and calm, getting him a clean shirt and fresh coat to wear to the hospital. Getting all the things he thought he might need if they admitted him overnight or for an extended stay (a certainty from my uneducated medical perspective). He could hardly sit up, but we got him dressed in the clean shirt and slipped his shoes on and out to the car we went.
As we were heading down I-5 to St. Joseph's hospital in downtown Tacoma, my friend was concerned about all kinds of mundane issues. He had me call his office and advise them of the status of a few of his business meetings, I let them know we were heading to the hospital (something he said he didn't want me to tell them?) and that he was having a hard time breathing and could barely talk at the moment. His phone is normally very busy, as luck would have it, his Mom called while we where driving and I let her know what was going on. She and I have never met and I tried to explain in brief while making sure she knew her son was going to be ok. As he said to me, "Don't worry I'm not going to die today". I was glad he knew that, I wasn't so sure as he was in extreme pain, breathing shallow and erratic and essentially having multiple seizures as we made our way through traffic.
Finally, after what seemed forever! I pulled into the emergency drive at St. Joe's, with my window rolled down I hollered to the person wearing the "valet" jacket that I needed a wheelchair and someone to help my friend. As I came to a stop at the curb next to the entry door, they were bringing out a wheelchair, I leaned across the car to pull the handle and open the door for him and snapped the latch right off! Yep, broke it right off in my hand with one quick pull! Stupid German car, plastic handle where it should be metal! frantically, I jumped out of the car, ran to the passenger side and helped him get out and into the emergency room. All the while he as saying how he hated the hospital and all the time he had spent there. The whole way to the hospital, he had been giving me instructions as to which Dr's names I should tell the emergency room nurses, where his files were kept and a myriad amount of other details that pretty much just washed over me as I steered my way through the traffic.
I must admit, I thought it would be more difficult to get him some attention, of course, having someone who can't breath and is shaking, convulsing and generally in terrible condition when you enter the emergency room, makes for quite an entrance. With minimal paperwork and a few choice nuggets of information, regarding his file and the specific doctors with knowledge of his pre-existing condition got him admitted rather quickly. My car was left at the curb and the woman working the valet came in and handed me a ticket saying that my car had been parked and to call when I wanted it back. I thanked her and made sure everything was being done to take care of my friend. After fielding a few calls from his phone and sending a few texts to those who needed to know and returning calls to those others, I was able to get a visitor pass from security and go find out how he was doing.
It was a little after 4pm by this time and I was running a little tight on time. Getting back to hallway C I found out that my friend had been taken to x-ray and would be back soon. As some of you might know, I do the public address for the Puyallup Vikings boys basketball games at Puyallup High School and the JV game starts at 5:30pm and I needed to be there by 5pm. I pretty much knew that wasn't going to happen as all of my equipment, computer, microphone, mixer and cables were all at home. After a couple of calls to my wife, she said she would be able to put everything together and bring it down for me and we could meet at the high school. My friend returned on his chauffeured adjustable bed with an IV hooked up, an oxygen tube in his nose looking much better than when I had last seen him, much to my relief! He told me to not worry that they probably wouldn't be keeping him and it would just be a bit before the let him go back home! In my humble opinion, NO WAY! ( I had just witnessed him convulsing and having seizures for the last half hour) I'm no doctor so I kept my opinion to myself and tried to cheer him up by taking a picture on his phone of his sorry ass sitting in the bed blowing on an inhaler! I let him know I was there for him, whatever I needed, thinking in the back of my mind that I really needed to leave about 20 minutes ago to be on time for the game. He is uncanny sometimes, as he asked me what I had going on tonight...I told him nothing important and I could get someone to cover for me, as I would stay until we knew what his situation and status was. He shook his head and said that I needed to go.
There of course were others who were enroute to the hospital as we were talking. He said there was no sense in me just standing around waiting for him and that he had been through this before (many times) and in his opinion, they would be sending him home within the next couple of hours. I told him I would be able to be back by 9pm about 4 hours away if he still needed anything and was still in the hospital to let me know. I sent a couple of update texts, called the valet to get my car and let my wife know that I was going to try and make it on time, this was about 4:40p. At 5:02p I was still waiting for my car and I was on the phone letting my wife know that I would NOT be there in time for the tip-off of the JV game, but I was making every effort to get there as soon as I could and to apologize to the others working who would have to cover for me.
The 12 miles or so from the hill top in Tacoma to downtown Puyallup is not a strenuous drive, but trying it at 5pm in the rain is another issue. 45 minutes later, I was in front of Paul Hanawalt Pavilion and unloading the gear from my trunk to connect my equipment to the PA system in the gym. With only a couple minutes left in the first quarter, I was surprised that there was so much game left. It took me a few minutes to get myself situated and ready to be on the microphone and halfway through the second quarter the mic was handed to me and I took my customary spot.
It is at these times that I sincerely thank GOD for blessing me in so many ways. The stress of the previous few hours was knotted up in my neck and under my shoulder blade, yes a small annoying pain compared to what I had just witnessed. Being on the mic and calling a basketball game is such a release for me. The calming sense washed over me as I settled into the game and the routine of being the public address announcer. It is kind of a contradiction for me, as I am in a crowd, speaking over the PA system with the loudest voice in the gym, yet I am really in a place all my own. I know it may be hard to understand what I am saying, being in a crowd and in a sense at the center of attention (not really me, but the game is the center of attention and no one really listens to me) but I am part of the whole, so you can kind of see where I'm coming from. Anyway, for all of that, I am in a place that is all my own and I am comfortable there.
Between games, my friend who was going to the hospital to take my place, came down to the gym to pick up our friends laptop, change of pants and work notes out of my car and said he would text me with an update once he got back to the hospital. Much to my relief, shortly before the start of the varsity game, I received a text letting me know our friend had indeed been released from the hospital, was on his way home, feeling better but extremely tired. With joy in my heart I went through the motions of calling the varsity game to the best of my ability with the gifts God has bestowed upon me. A hard fought game, ended with the Vikings on top 75-69 and me happy to be part of it.
Not the day I had planned...but through the grace of God I was able to help a friend in need and put a few things in my life into perspective. Tomorrow, I've got plans too, we'll see how much of it I will be able to accomplish, but I know for sure if I get a call from a friend in need, I will drop what I am doing and make every effort to make a difference and help in whatever way I can.
Thank you Lord for opening my heart and my eyes so that I can be a servant for good, in service for God! Let me be your tool, let your will be done in me and through me, may I be your humble and obedient servant in whatever service I can be of most effective use to bring love and light to those with whom I come in contact.
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