There are so many details of that day, June 10, 2017, that had to be just right. If the timing were minutes, or even seconds off, the outcome might have been different for Michele. I’ll post more about some of the MIRACLES (and I do not use that word lightly) later. But now I want to focus on the afternoon of June 10, 2017.
It was normal for me to work on Saturdays back then, from 2 – 9:30pm. I was running late for work that day, probably because the kids were fighting and Michele was stressed. But that day was different for her. She told me that she had never felt that anxious before in her life; which said a lot because she usually battles anxiety. But that day, she didn’t want me to go to work. I, regrettably, kissed her on her forehead, I probably prayed with her, and walked out of the door. Little did I know, the next time I saw Michele, things would be different.
It had been (and still is) a tradition to have pizza/movie night on Saturdays as I worked and bedtime meant “witching hour.” So the movies gave Michele some downtime to wind down from a stressful day with the kids. As Michele was getting ready to put the pizza in the oven, she felt something “explode” in her head. She became very dizzy and went to lay down on our bed.
The kids were playing in the adjacent bedroom. When they are occupied with books or Legos, they are usually so focused on what they are doing, they don’t even know there’s a world that exists around them. Michele called for Conner, in what I can imagine was a more quieter voice and strained voice all at the same time. He heard Michele calling for him! Michele tried to call 911, but remembers not being able to for some reason. Conner, who was 9, took the phone and dialed 911. He was absolutely amazing during the call. He remained calm, cool, and collected. He didn’t know our address, but he remembered to look on the side of the house for the house number; he remembered what street we lived on. He put the two together as he was on the phone with the dispatcher. He even remembered to lock up our cat so Gizmo wouldn’t get away when the First Responders arrived. I listened to the call several months later and was stunned by how calm he was. We were told by her neurosurgeon that if Michele had arrived 10-15 minutes later, it might’ve been too late. Thank you, Conner!
Another example of how timing was critical was how her friend Shannon wound up at our house. She was taking her daughter home from a birthday party. They don’t live near us at all. For some reason, Shannon was nearby as the firetruck turned down a street which led to our home. Several more turns needed to be taken in order to arrive at our house. As Shannon saw the firetruck head down that street, she had a hunch that she needed to follow. As each turn was made, she kept on thinking, “Please don’t turn down that street.” Then her thoughts changed to, “Please don’t stop in front of that house.” But they did. Shannon is a good friend of ours, even before the stroke. She knew our boys and vice versa. She stayed at the house so I could to the hospital from work.
Seriously, who follows a firetruck. If Shannon had not been at that place at that time, she would’ve missed it. God was carrying out His plan.
And yet another story involving how critical the timing was…Michele’s parents, who lived in Spokane, WA at the time, were in the middle of a Bible study with their small group when they got the call about the Michele. As soon as I knew how severe it was for Michele, they dropped everything and headed to the airport. Providentially, one of the friends at the group was with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department. He gave them a ride in his car right to the airport. Miraculously, they were able to board the last flight of the night and their two seats were the last ones available. It had only taken them abour 3 hours from the time I called them till their arrival in Portland, Oregon.
Several months after the stroke, maybe even the following year, Michele wanted to meet the person who saved her life. That led us to Fire Station 62 in Aloha (the “H” is silent), OR. I wish I remembered his name. I’m terrible with names. He is a military Veteran of the Special Forces and decided to start a career saving people in a different way. While we were chatting with him, he said he hadn’t been a paramedic for very long. In fact, we were his first really significant case. He remembered everything about that night. He remembered we had three boys. He even shed some light on how the experience was for them. He spoke of how the Sheriff’s that were distracted the kids and played with them while Mom was getting taken care of.
Those examples are only a fraction of amazing things that happened since her stroke. Recapping how everything unfolded only strenghtens my faith in the Lord. Yet, I don’t know why this happened; nor will we know the full reason. But, I do know that He has something AMAZING in my mind.
Journey23 