The Angel in the Storm

You never know what will happen. Who will need your help...or when you will need it yourself. The lesson today is Be Available and Be Willing.

My husband has recently started sharing his side of our story, and he has described the personal impact of what he endured with his last seizure.  My "angel" came on that day.

I clearly remember packing up the girls in our minivan that Friday morning in early March, just seven months ago now. We had a fun day planned since I was off work and were starting it off by dropping off the SUV to be serviced. Adrian had just started to drive again, and we gals were only a few minutes behind him arriving at the service center.

As I pulled in and waited for Adrian to come out, I noticed a fire engine but gave it only a fleeting thought of curiosity. Minutes later, after Adrian did not respond to my text, awareness suddenly hit as I looked up and saw a vehicle move out of the way to reveal a body on the ground surrounded by people.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I rushed out of the van and ran to what I knew was my husband. Lying on the concrete floor, he shook and turned purple, then was briefly still.

By now, I had seen his seizures enough to be able to maintain a certain measure of composure during an incident, but this one rattled me. It's arrival was completely shocking. I was totally flustered and began mumbling that "yes, this happens but it's been six months" and "I can't believe it" and "my little girls are alone in the van" and "it's going to get worse, move people away cause he's going to get up soon and move all around!"

In the midst of the crazy, a woman approached me. She said, "I can help. I know what you're going through; my son has seizures." Who was she? Did she work there? Was she part of the EMT team that just arrived? No. She was just waiting for her car to get serviced, and she became my angel that day. Thank you, Mel.

What happened next is a blur as Adrian's postictal confusion began, and it took about 7 firemen and EMTs to control him enough to tie him down on a stretcher and get him in the ambulance.

They told me the name of the hospital where they were headed but advised me to calm down before driving. This is where Mel stepped in. She knew exactly where the hospital was and offered to drive the girls and me in the van. I hesitated only briefly, realizing I needed someone ANYONE to help me, even a total stranger.

I could still hear Adrian's yells, coming from the ER, as we arrived at the hospital and I checked in. By the time we went back to him, he was finally becoming aware and lucid. We held each other and sobbed.

Mel kept watch over the girls in the waiting room, so they did not have to see Daddy like this. I just had to trust that God had provided this angel for me and she would take care of my girls. Call me crazy, but I really had no choice. I probably could have called a co-worker, but no one was close by.

As I looked at my husband in the ER again...I think this was his eighth visit in recent years...I saw scratches and sores on his nose, ears, and hands from the struggle, but the unseen pain in his body and eyes far surpassed any caused by those.

He said this one was worse because he actually remembered yelling during the crazed postictal state. The EMTs had given him Valium to calm him, but all it did was make him aware of his misery. For the record, he NEVER EVER wants Valium again.

Within two hours, Ade was being discharged. This is quick from our experience, and we suspect they just wanted him out of there.

As we drove Mel back to her car at the service center, she shared more about the difficult journey she's been on to find healing for her young son's intense battle with seizures that actually caused him to even stop talking for a time. They were finding answers but it had been a long road, so she completely understood. As it turns out we were even more connected, her husband works for the same home builder that I did at that time.

We dropped her off with big hugs of thanks and have not seen her since. Without family nearby in Virginia, I would have been a wreck trying to do this on my own. She dropped her plans that day just to help us, and we were blessed by her!

We received another blessing when I picked up our SUV later. The Honda service center, where we had created quite a scene, did not even charge us for the service to the vehicle. A touching and meaningful gesture.

The fall that day was hard in every way, and we are only now feeling recovered. Yet, we are so thankful for all the kind people at the service center, the emergency crews and especially our angel Mel who helped us get back up again on that frightful day.

Stay tuned for our next post to read about the truly AMAZING MIRACLES that transpired over the following month.