4:30 a.m. is not a good time to get a phone call. It’s actually a terrifying time to get a phone call when you have a loved one in the hospital. My heart sank when the caller was a nurse. “You better get here soon. She may not have much longer.” What? Why? What happened? She went in for a ‘simple procedure!’
I raced to the hospital and found my grandmother – my Mamaw – in ICU. The previous day, she was supposed to have a few benign colon polyps removed. But we were told as soon as the surgery began, her blood pressure dropped. The surgeons had to stop the procedure.
We thought she would need a couple nights rest to fully recover. But suddenly, there we were – my entire family crammed into a hospital room, overcome with shock and anguish. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This isn’t fair.
I remember hearing, “Doctors don’t know why her blood pressure keeps dropping. We’re doing everything we can.” Talk about ‘helpless.’ All we could do was cry, pray, and wonder if she could hear our expressions of love through the ‘beeps’ of what seemed like a hundred machines.
I remember staring at her beautiful face… eyes closed and motionless. I thought of all our precious visits from years past: snapping green beans together, making ice cream, playing cards, shooting basketball (“pitching baskets” as she said), and sitting beside her in pews as her husband, my Papaw, preached in small town Methodist churches across Virginia.
My mom suggested we all stand around her mom’s bed, hold hands, and sing Mamaw’s favorite hymns. I remember us singing Old Rugged Cross, Amazing Grace, and others. It was a beautiful, magical moment – the purest expression of love I had ever experienced.
Somehow, she would survive. My grandmother lived another seven years. Seven more birthday cakes. Seven more Christmases. I am forever grateful to God for that extra time. Doctors had no explanation for why she recovered. They called her “the miracle lady.” Medically, her survival seemed impossible.
I don’t want to imply that my grandmother lived because we prayed and sang hymns around her hospital bed. How many families have done the same thing, only to watch their loved one pass away? How does that work with God? All I know is… I’ve learned to lean on Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”
Regardless of any outcome, God has the final word. And because of that, nothing is impossible.
Ed Doney, Staff Writer
