Publisher’s Corner – Ambulance wait becomes a lesson 

By Sandy Jones 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

My husband’s IV is occluded…again. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

The lady across the hall is waiting for a nurse to respond. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Someone’s heart rate is too high. 

You may have already guessed my dear sweet hubby has been back in the hospital. He’s actually been in the hospital three times, and spent two weeks in subacute rehab since my last column, so I’ve had ample time to get accustomed to these beeps. 

Why beeps? It’s to draw attention to something that could be potentially urgent. Each one sounds a little bit different, just as each one has a different meaning or cause. 

This all started the first week of April when my husband was quite suddenly so ill in the wee morning hours that I had to call the paramedics for assistance. I spoke with the efficient dispatcher, giving her our address and sharing his symptoms. She assured me paramedics were on the way.   

I put the dog in the office and closed the door. Secured the cat. Unlocked the front door, and moved the exercise bike out of the way. All while running back and forth to check on Steve. 

“Where are they?” I frantically asked myself. “They should have been here by now!” 

I grabbed my phone and dialed 911 once again. The same dispatcher answered the phone. “Can you check to be sure they’re actually on the way, please? We don’t live that far away, I should at least be hearing sirens by now.” 

“They are on the way, ma’am; they’ll be there as soon as they can be.” She rang off. 

I opened the bedroom curtains and went back over next to Steve to reassure him that they’d be there soon, while watching him gasp for air, regardless of the fact that the pulse oximeter said his O2 levels were just fine. 

Soon I saw the flashing lights on the ambulance and accompanying fire truck coming around the corner at the end of the block. Apparently they don’t run with sirens at 3:30 in the morning. How thoughtful for our neighbors. I no longer cared that I couldn’t hear them; I could see them. They were there. Help had arrived. 

Why share this? Because my actions that morning remind me of Doubting Thomas and his conversation with Jesus.   

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:27-29 NIV). 

All too often we get caught up in the moment, and we take our eyes off Jesus. We forget to believe just because our eyes don’t see, or as in the case of the ambulance, ears don’t hear. 

And as I have had ample time to hear those “beeps” for attention, I also had time to reflect on how an emergency, or serious illness, can suddenly impact our prayer life. Our prayers may go up with the fervency of those continual beeps, one on top of the other; or one might become so caught up in the urgency of it all that they might become overwhelmed and suddenly their prayer life is as dry as the desert we live in. 

Let me assure you that I knew then, just as I know now, that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are with us in both the good times and the bad. Unlike my shaky faith in the ambulance that morning, I knew that Steve and I were not alone. 

If you are going through a time of trial, like so many are right now, please know that God is with you. Regardless of whether you talk to Him all the time, or even if you haven’t reached out to Him in years. He’s there waiting to hear from you, and He will see you through no matter the situation or its outcome. He wants to be there for you. 

Steve continues to recover and gets a bit stronger each day. So many of you have prayed alongside of us these past 19 months, and we appreciate every single prayer that’s been uttered on our behalf. This is not our first tough chapter; we learned 10 years ago, through our daughter-in-law’s battle with cancer, that God is always faithful. His promises then in Romans 8:28 are as true today. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 NIV). 

Until next time… 

God Bless! 

I just want to take a moment to thank all of our readers who consistently shop our advertisers. When you do support our advertisers please be sure to thank them for the part they play in this ministry — we simply could not do what we do if it weren’t for their support!