Hospitals are notoriously easy to get into but difficult to leave! That was the case with Bob's hospitalization. He was given the green light to go home before 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, but it was 2:25 p.m. when we left the hospital.
But the day was not wasted. Bob's nurse for the day, Courtney, introduced herself to him and warned him the process could take several hours. Before I arrived that day, Courtney had seen a book which I had taken to Bob for him to read during his stay, "America's Providential History." Bob explained a little about the book to her, and she was very interested in it because she had homeschooled her children prior to moving to North Carolina from Pennsylvania about 6 months earlier, and her young boys love history.
During the ensuing hours, she came into Bob's room frequently and told us how things were progressing. Mostly, we were waiting for everyone to sign off on his discharge papers and for the pharmacy to fill his prescription for his free month of heart medication. Since Bob wasn't the only one being discharged, he had to "wait in line," so to speak. Anyway, we could tell from the way Courtney spoke and the things which she spoke about that she was a Christian, and I wondered if she'd found a home church since her move from Pennsylvania. I know that finding a new church home is one of the most difficult things when a person moves. So I asked her, "Have you found a church home yet?"
"Yes, we're going to Durham to King's Park."
Together, Bob and I exclaimed, "That's our church!"
Courtney and her husband had been attending for about 2 months! God is amazing, isn't He?! We got Courtney's e-mail address from her and informed her that we could connect her to people her age in the church, as well as others who homeschool. She was so grateful, and we were so excited that she attended our church. You might wonder why we'd never seen her -- well, King's Park seats about 2100 people, although it isn't full on Sundays, and it's difficult to find people you know, not to mention noticing people you don't know!
Lunch time arrived at the hospital and we were still there. Again, I was blessed with a meal on a tray. Later, Bob got dressed and ready to leave, and after Courtney explained everything to us as she handed Bob his medication (we later got 3 more prescriptions filled at the pharmacy close to our house), Bob walked out of the hospital! We thought he'd have to be wheeled out, but they allowed him to walk! It was amazing to see him do that so soon after his heart attack.
He was so happy to be home; he's been resting and working some, but only light work. I can testify to the fact that he's not been doing any heavy work or straining himself. We e-mailed Courtney later in the week and told her where we usually sit every Sunday in church, and after the service, she found us and introduced us to her husband. "You look so good!" she exclaimed as she gave Bob a hug. It turned out that the people we were sitting next to were involved in homeschooling, so Courtney and her husband got to meet them right then.
Our friends pretty much swarmed Bob at that point, including two of our pastors and elders, who laid hands on him and prayed for him. Many people were surprised to see Bob in church in the first place!
We realize that God's hand was on Bob the entire time. Stents do not work on everyone. An attorney at the office where I work had open heart surgery to perform a quadrupal bypass the Friday after Bob's attack because stents would not work for him. He will not be back to work for weeks. We're so grateful that the stents fixed Bob's problems.
Looking back, we can see that the blockages in Bob's heart were building up over a long period of time. Even last summer he was out of breath when he'd do heavy work and would often sit down to rest, his face flushed as he struggled to breathe deeply. Even though Bob is fit and trim, his genetics couldn't be controlled, and the plaque that built up over time finally caused a very significant, sudden problem. But God was still in control!
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