“God gives each of us chance after chance.” ~
Job 33:29
Ryan tried to wake his wife of 17
years, but there was no response. When
he realized Jayne wasn’t breathing, he moved her onto the floor and started CPR
until paramedics arrived and shocked her heart back to life.
The hospital medical staff put her on a respirator and immediately
took steps to lower her body temperature to try and minimize brain damage
caused by lack of oxygen. Ryan would
learn later that Jayne’s heart had stopped due to a genetic condition. She lay in a deep coma now. Doctors wouldn’t come right out and say that
the situation was hopeless, but they did admit her recovery chances were slim.
Jayne’s Living Will allowed for hospital care, certain
medications, fluids and nutrition. But
there were limits. Should she have a
stroke, dementia or prolonged unconsciousness, she specified “comfort measures only."
It became clear that medical intervention was no
longer helping Jayne – there was no hope for cure, only an extension of heart
beats. So Ryan and Jayne’s family said
their goodbyes and doctors disconnected her from the machines that had been
keeping her alive.
Ryan agonized over the decision, especially when she didn’t
die immediately. But he never left her
side or surrendered her dying hand. As
predicted, Jayne started getting restless, a condition the medical team called
the “Last Rally.” Just prior to the
final breath, the body tries to regain some body function, like talking or
moving - things they’d not been able to do previously.
Her murmurs got loader and clearer until she said, “Get me
out of here!” just before adding another request: “Take me to Bravo’s,” one of
her favorite restaurants. This isn’t her
last rally, he thought, far from it. Jayne had come out of her coma and was
breathing on her own.
Other than a surgically implanted pacemaker to regulate her
heart condition and some short term memory loss, Jayne recovered
completely. Her only recollection of her
unconsciousness was Ryan holding her hand.
“I could feel a warm touch. I
wasn’t sure if it was Ryan or Jesus, but it made my heart smile deep inside,”
she told friends later. “It’s a miracle
to have survived!”
In the end, it wasn't a miracle, but God’s call to create her
own heaven on earth - a chance to appreciate and give so much more, a chance to
be so much more. What truly means
something to you? Who truly means
something to you? Where do you want to
go?
Lord
Jesus, inspire us to persevere and work till the task is finished, regardless
of any roadblocks. Guide me through the
bushes despite the thorns; to wade through the ocean when no one would part it
for me. Amen
