I bolted upright in bed, heart pumping, adrenalin flowing .
. . there were unmistakable bumps and thuds going on in the room next to mine. .I
knew immediately that Rick was in trouble. I jumped out of bed and ran into his room; as
suspected, he was in a full blown diabetic seizure. He was jerking and convulsing so
violently that I had to pin him down in order to protect him from injury. It was like riding a wild bull. He kept throwing me off and I kept throwing
my body back over his to restrain him.
In the past thirty plus years I have witnessed countless
seizures; they are usually over in about 8 minutes. When it goes longer, we need to call for help. This seizure was still going after 15
minutes. I called 911 while attempting
to keep Rick from harm. No easy task there.
Thirty minutes later the paramedics were on the scene. Rick finally came around and was able to get his sugar stabilized. Paramedics left, we
crashed. We both felt like we had just been in a boxing match.
Rick has been a diabetic since childhood. Over the years it has become increasingly
difficult to regulate the disease. Eventually we found ourselves in a season of
turbulent years when his sugar level was on a constant roller coaster; it
seemed we were calling the paramedics weekly.
I remember that it got so bad I even shopped for a black dress, just in
case. My daughter was getting married at
the time and I cautioned her that she may need to get a backup officiate to
replace her dad. Our days were clouded with
uncertainty and pain.
But then a miracle happened. God provided Rick with an insulin pump. It gave him a brand new
life. It gave us a brand new life. For the
past 10 years or so he has only had a few seizures, a sharp contrast to the 3-4
we were experiencing weekly before.
Hallelujah! What a relief.
But just a few weeks ago we found ourselves once again standing
on the edge of another dark dawn. Rick’s
insulin pump died. We have no medical
insurance to order a replacement. He had
to go back to taking shots. In just two
days we were back to the old life. Oh
God, we can’t live like this! We must
find a way to get a new pump. (These are
not devices you can buy on eBay. They
are strictly regulated by the manufacturers; a new pump costs around $6-7000). We asked for prayers and surfed the web to
see if there was any assistance out there; some sites looked promising.
Meanwhile Rick went to the doctor for his quarterly check up.
The Doc walked in and said, “So your pump died?”
“Yes”
“How are your sugars?”
“We need to talk about that.”
“Well, before we talk, let me ask you, would you like a new
pump?”
“Of course, I would love a new pump!”
“Well, it just so happens that one of my patients recently got a new
pump. Unfortunately, she died two weeks ago. Her husband
brought her pump to us and asked us to give it to someone who could use it.”
(Rick picks himself off the floor and gets back
in his chair.)
Doc continues, “We thought of two patients who could use the pump, you and
another girl. We have called her
repeatedly and she has not answered. So
I guess the pump is yours.”
(Rick. Understandably. Cries.)
“Looks like God
provided for you. Looks like he has a
sense of humor too,” Doc said with a smile.
"How’s that?” Rick inquires.
“Well,” she laughed, “it’s
PINK!” (Assistant opens the box and shows Rick)
Rick laughs with surprise, delight, and gratitude.
God performed another miracle. A PINK miracle this time. Hallelujah! What a relief.
Rick came home wearing his new pink pump. When he told me the story we laughed, cried,
hugged, and praised God together. (We pretty much did that the for rest of the day)
God certainly does have a sense of humor. And He certainly does have an enormous heart. Love Him.
Needless to say, we are humbled, grateful, amazed, and . . .
tickled PINK!
