The Kindness of Stranges

Tuesday, June 22, 2010, Just before noon I got one of those phone calls no one ever wants to get.  It was the Hershey Med Center telling me my husband was there in the ER after a motorcycle accident.



Once I finally got through to the nurse working on him I was told she was just finishing cleaning up his wounds if I wanted to call back.  I have no idea what they were thinking...call back?!?  I told my coworker that I was going to the hospital and then my manager and left.  They understood completely.



My husband had a job interview that morning.  I was hoping he was on his way home from it and was so excited that he was just not paying full attention.  That, or the roads I told him to take home because of construction on the main route were quite curvy.  I told him he would enjoy them on his motorcycle but I certainly didn't want him to enjoy them that much.  It wasn't until later that evening I would find out that he was in the accident on the way to the interview, not the way home.



I got to the hospital about 12:30.  Pastor Linda showed up about a 1/2 hour later.  She was filling in for our pastor who was at confirmation camp with our eldest daughter and many others from our local synod.



A friend from church happens to work at the hospital and it was when she saw my husband's name and went to the ER to see if it was really him was how they got ahold of me.  He remembered he was married but that was about it.  Coherently anyway.



I called his mom, had her get my youngest daughter and wait for more news.  I also called my mom and a couple of my sisters.  I would have called all three...my normal memory for phone numbers is pretty good, but for some reason the one phone number was evading my memory.



Sean went into surgery around 4pm and Pastor Linda was still with me.  We got ahold of my pastor at camp to let him know so that he could tell Aria.  I didn't want her to be upset when she came home and saw him and realized that we never told her.



When Sean got out of surgery around 6pm and all was going to be ok they said it would be about 1.5 hours before he got to his room.  I took this time to come  home, change out of work clothes, and get my youngest daughter.  I told Callisto her daddy was in a motorcycle accident and we were going to go see him.  As she got ready I posted a prayer request on facebook.



Now, I pretty much accept any and all friend requests on facebook so you may wonder why I would tell the whole world about my husband.  Simply put it was the fastest and easiest way I knew of to inform everyone that I needed to inform.  We found out later it was in the news, so total strangers knew anyway.



Callisto and I left the hospital around 9pm after she got to see that her daddy was OK.  We grabbed a little dinner, especially since I hadn't had anything to eat all day, and then got home.  She went to bed, and I checked my facebook.  The outpouring of prayers and well wishes was amazing.



The next day was even more amazing.  I have friends on facebook that live local, some I know, some I have met because of my job but don't really know, and some I have never even met.  Just about everyone was asking if there was anything they could do.  The biggest help was the meals.  I had total strangers offer and bring by meals for the family.  One less thing to think about and do has been a huge stress relief.  It may not seem like much, but it really is.



I am currently taking care of Sean.  Neither one of us is sleeping much, him because of the pain, me because of caring for him, and knowing that I have the kindness of strangers has lifted some of that burden.



Thanks to the internet we have contact with just about the entire world.  We may all think that the world is not doing well, but I have seen the good side of things thanks to this accident.



Continued prayers are appreciated as we make our way through the healing process.



Matthew 25: 31 - 46



31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.



34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'



37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'



40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'



41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'



44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'



45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'



46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."