If you were to walk into our home right now, you wouldn’t know that one of our family is missing, save for the single light shining in his window. We’ve settled into a new normal, more or less, navigating most days and nights without the drama of early on, at least until something beyond our recent baseline pops up… None of us can reliably predict how we will react to any sudden surprise situation.
Beth came in around 11:00 Monday night, feeling generally unwell. She had gone out to dinner with a friend and shortly thereafter, began to feel ill: tightness in her chest, chills, an erratic heartbeat...so she decided to call it a night. Earlier that day, she had taken the final dose in a vaccination series required for her job. By the time she finally made it home, her face was flushed bright pink and the simple act of breathing hurt; Grace convinced her to call the nurse helpline for advice. After explaining her symptoms, the nurse recommended she go to the closest emergency room to rule out an allergic reaction…
None of us wanted to hear those words, but clearly, something was going on…it had to be done.
Initially, Grace was going to drive Beth to the hospital and stay with her, but in the ten minutes it took to get ready, she started melting down… Although she volunteered to take her, the weight of being the ‘responsible adult’ coupled with waiting for a diagnosis in the middle of the night immediately overwhelmed her resolve and good intentions. I went instead…Grace went to bed…John slept through it all…
Thankfully, it was relatively quiet at the hospital and by divine chance, I knew the intake nurse. Beth was taken back straightaway and her vitals confirmed something was definitely wrong…a fever of over 103 degrees, a rapid resting heart rate and elevated blood pressure along with chest pain…
As it turned out, it was not an adverse reaction to the vaccine; unbeknownst to her (and us), she had pneumonia…
I understand why Grace couldn’t deal with it; I didn’t want to either, and I don’t bounce back from all-nighters anymore, at least not as easily as she does. But her hospital aversion makes me wonder if a career in the medical profession is a good choice for her, although I know it’s always different when a family member is at risk…
At some point, we all have to stand firm and confront the demons that remain…it’s the only way we can ever overcome the fears left behind.
I hope my own behavior will be a model for her to emulate…
“A good example is the tallest kind of preaching.” –African proverb
Wishing you many blessings…tg
Tammy will update her blog twice weekly…
