My New Birthday

 “Mama, we need to celebrate today. Do you remember why?’ I heard Betsy say and I answered, “I do. While I don’t constantly dwell on it, I will always remember.” Of course, I remembered why. As I reflected on what she asked, I was taken back in time to the date she was referring.  Sometimes, I see vivid details of that day, and sometimes, it’s just a blur. It was a day, much like today, when the schools had early dismissal due to the possibility of severe weather, and James, Betsy and I were at my mom’s sheltering from the latest tornado warning. I remember thinking how unusual it was to get time off from school for the possibility of severe weather. Oh, how times had changed since the days of watching the scrolling school closings on the bottom of the TV at the zero hour when it had snowed, but never had there been a stormy weather school dismissal. I now see a higher power in all of this. This was a Wednesday, and for us that usually meant rushing around getting from school to church for activities varying from nursery duty to choir practices and church supper, but this day, all activities were cancelled. After the fact, we realized how great a blessing it was that we were all at home together. 

We had made it through the warnings and gotten the all-clear from the weather announcers. All seemed good to go. I even started making supper for all of us. Soon after that, I started experiencing a small wheeze, so I took appropriate measures and administered my asthma meds accordingly.  I had been in the hospital just a day and half before, so I figured it was just a little residual flare-up. This proved to be false. It wouldn’t break. In fact, it was almost as if the meds were making things worse. In fact, in the short time of about 30 minutes, I could tell that not only was the flare-up not going to settle down, but I was headed into a dire situation. I had my mom call 9-1-1 and we waited, not so patiently, for the ambulance. I had done this countless times and usually I was taken to the ER, treated and brought back to baseline only to return home that day or the next. This time, I could tell something was different. I suddenly seemed to be in a fog. I knew we were waiting for the ambulance, but it was as if the world was spinning around me like a surround-sound movie. I could hear myself asking, “Where is the ambulance?’ and then I suddenly was hearing sounds, nothing exact…images, pieces of phrases, beeping sounds, but nothing to give clues of a time and place, until I heard a voice, “Jeannie, I need you to cough.” I complied with a weak cough, followed by the abrupt feeling of a tube being removed from my throat. As I opened my eyes, the surroundings were blurry, but I could barely make out faces of people; people from far enough away that I knew more time had passed than it seemed. There stood my father, brother and stepmother, who lived over 650 miles away. How long had it been?  I tried to recollect anything in my mind.  Could I remember what I had been dreaming about? It was all jumbled and non-descript images.  It was actually quite disconcerting. 

I later learned it had been three days and my mom filled in the details more fully. Apparently, even after I asked about the ambulance, they did indeed arrive and I conversed with them and received initial treatment, although I remember none of this. At some point, while they were treating me, my mom noticed me sitting on the couch, stiff and blue, my glasses clinched in my hand. I was immediately scooped up and out the door by the paramedics, where I was rushed to the ER.  

I can’t imagine the drive to the hospital for my mom and children, because they had no idea whether I was revived until they arrived at the hospital and were ushered to a private room to speak with the doctor. He confirmed that literally minutes stood between me waking up or me not being here to tell this story. I have severe asthma and the continual attacks and treatments had caused so much damage that it was affecting my other organs and they systematically responded by shutting down my heart. Thankfully, the heart has checked out completely clear, and I have since received effective treatment for the asthma. Although I will never breathe at full capacity, for the most part, my condition is manageable, and I have specific emergency guidelines to follow to avoid possibly going to the ER too late. I am grateful to all who provided the necessary care that day. I never wanted my family to experience such a scary event. Thankfully, it turned out to be the best possible outcome. Not everyone gets a second chance at life.  

Today marks the five-year anniversary of that event, an event that not only completely changed my work life, but reminded me that God is more powerful than anything. James and Betsy insist that we celebrate this “new birthday” every year as a testimony of that.  

I know that before I was born, God knew I needed to be exactly where I was on April 5, 2017, and I will never know why I was kept here, but I know God gets all the praise and honor. This event has caused some hardships for me in that I had to retire from teaching, and will never have the stamina to work full-time, especially doing something I love. The flip side of that is the fact that I have been able to support both my children by attending meetings, important events, etc., which I was oftentimes missing because of my duties as a teacher. These are memories I will cherish, and I hope they will remember when they are looking back someday.  As a Christian, I know life on Earth isn’t always rosy, yet I have an inner joy and peace because I know I am where God wants me to be, and my faith cannot be shaken!  

Jeremiah 39:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”