Krisi sent this into awkwardfamilyphotos.com where it was published a few months ago. We all got a good laugh at Steve's expense. Sometimes I forget how tall Steve is, until I see a photo of him like this. Today, I am praising God that I have the privilege of referring to him in the present tense. Just last Wednesday, he was seconds and a heartbeat or two from death.
A few days earlier, he had called his doctor concerning what was most likely a bladder infection. Since it was right before the weekend, he was given an antibiotic and told to come in the following Wednesday to get it checked out. Normally, Wednesdays are Steve's day off and he is home alone doing paperwork. Instead, after going to the gym to exercise, he drove to his appointment. When he got there, he was ushered into an examination room. The nurse took his vital signs and left with the usual promise: "The doctor will be right in." She closed the door behind her.
Normally, Steve leaves the door closed. Instead, inexplicably, he got up and opened the door. And that is the last thing he remembers. In the next moment he suffered a major heart attack. His heart just stopped. And, unless his heart had been restarted in about 90 seconds or less, he would have died.
The nurse heard something in his room (because he had left the door opened) and told the doctor he might want to check on Steve. His doctor found him collapsed on the table and immediately got him on the floor to start CPR. He called for defibrillator paddles and told the nurse to call 911. Because of his quick thinking (and the absolute sovereignty of God), the doctor was able to restart Steve's heart and get him to the hospital where they put a stent into his blocked artery. The next thing Steve remembers is waking up in the recovery room and wondering how he had gotten there!
I didn't even find out about it until he was in the cardiac ICU post-surgery and by that time his prognosis was good. Even so, I couldn't help thinking of all the "what if's". What if...Steve had been driving when it happened, or he had been home alone, or what if he hadn't had a bladder infection? What if the doctor hadn't come into the room in time, or had a defibrillator or knew how to use it properly...what if Steve wasn't here anymore???
Steve is home now taking a few days off to rest and Sandie is loving being with him. She said she woke up last night and heard him snoring and thought, "What a beautiful sound!" (Your perspective on life sure changes when something like this happens, right?) In any case, we are all marveling at the kindness and grace of the Lord.
Psalm 106:7-8 says that the Israelite's "soon forgot His many acts of kindness to them...even so, He saved them..." My prayer for our family is that none of us soon forget!!
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