Meanwhile, back at the ranch - my husband went into day surgery for a simple hernia repair and two days later was re-admitted with paralyzed bowels, facing another surgery. Thankfully, the doctor waiting to operate chose to look further and after four days of tubes, IVs, drains, and many prayers, we were able to come home. God is good.
I learned a lot during our stay and I want to share with you my observations and discoveries so then you can see and know all that I know....which actually isn't all that much as you will find out.
1. Did you know that hospitals use code words for emergencies that might be occurring as you walk through the halls minding your own business? We were told this by an orderly as he pushed Tommy's bed into surgery on Monday. Over the speaker system we could hear a page for a certain doctor to go to a certain area and the call for him was relentless and urgent. I commented on the incessant plea and he very calmly said, "Oh, that's not a real doctor. That is code to let us know that there is something wrong in the building."
Me: "What?"
Him: "If we said there was something wrong with the building, you would panic."
Me: "So...like a fire?"
Him: "Well, our popcorn machine sets off the fire alarm all the time."
Me: "So I should not panic unless you panic?"
Him: "We don't panic...not allowed to."
Me: "So what if there is a real emergency?"
Him: "All codes have the word 'doctor' in them. They all mean different things."
(All I am saying is don't believe what you hear over the speaker because you never know.)
2. Did you know that the ladies in the gift shop are working hard to solve the world's problems? I must say I found myself in there on several occasions and they were always discussing the issues of the day. Who needs politicians? I listened as they talked about AIDS, education, and what they were having for lunch. I smiled and told them to keep up the good work as I walked away with my purchases.
3. Did you know that hospitals use computers to talk to deaf people if an interpreter is not present? As Tommy waited for surgery in what I would call a long line of unsuspecting and sedated victims, a girl came in who had been in an accident. She was deaf. They had no way to talk to her so they wheeled in a computer with an advocate on the screen. The doctor would tell the advocate what to ask the patient using sign language and when the patient would sign back, the advocate would tell the doctor what she said. It was very interesting. All the nurses crowded around to watch.
4. Did you know that three times a a year England flies over two American football teams to play in their soccer stadium that seats about 90,000 people (way more than ours will seat) and it is packed to max with screaming British fans who love American football? They pay a high price per ticket just to watch us play. Isn't that crazy? We watched the game from Tommy's hospital room. (It's not like I could overrule a wounded man in his time of need for entertainment, right? Besides, this was amazing to me. England going berserk over American football. Who knew?)
5. Did you know we had a nurse from Kenya? Of course you didn't. How could you possibly know that? But she and Tommy had something in common. He had been to Kenya two years ago and she knew the village where he had visited. Her husband is a believer and they belong to a church here and the pastor of that church along with her husband went to one of the pastors' luncheons Tommy started a few years ago. Tommy had met her husband!
But that isn't the end of my story, nor is it the most important thing I want to share with you.
She told us that Americans are so unselfish. We both said, "What? Americans? Did we hear you right?"
She said, "Yes."
I said, "But we are so spoiled."
She said, "You will sell your houses, your belongings, everything - to go and minister to the people in Africa. You give from what you have so that others might gain. Where I come from, the people have nothing and what they do have, they cling to out of fear that it might be taken from them. When Americans are lacking in something, they figure out a way to fix it, they look elsewhere for an answer. At home, the people just sit and wait. There are no other resources for them and they will not share or help another person because they are afraid they will lose what they do have.
When I go home, I tell them to think about how they can solve their own problems by working together and coming up with an answer."
She had kind things to say about our country. She said that everyone there thinks that money falls into Americans' hands. It doesn't - but it can be worked for. There is no encouragement to work for anything where she came from.
When she left the room, I said to Tommy, "It is hope. We have it. They do not."
We do. I thought about it for awhile and she is right. If something breaks, we figure out a way to fix it until it breaks again. We make do whenever we can.
The world is in a mess. Political agendas can help to make changes, but the real changes can happen without them. It is an issue of the heart and mind.
Let's continue to 'figure it out'. Let's not seek things for ourselves, but for others in need. Let's 'sell all we have' and offer hope to the world. They are waiting.
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