An Angel on Earth

I awoke to the soft voice of someone saying, “Mr. Woodford, you’re all right.  You’re in Recovery and I’ll be here with you every step of the way.”

I opened my eyes, to see a nurse, LaTrena (and not just any nurse I might add), who unaware to me would become my angel over the next few days.

“There are tubes and wires in you, so try not to move.”  She touched my hand.  “You had us worried for awhile.”  She adjusted my pillow, covered me with a fresh blanket, and sat down in the chair next to me.

“I made it,” I managed to mumble from my now alleviating stupor.  I looked around to discover that there were machines and monitors all around me.

“Yes sir, you did” she responded.  “Don’t worry,” she said, “we’ll get rid of most of this equipment soon.  We need it to monitor your condition for a little while longer.”

“How did it go?” I asked.

“The surgery went fine,” she hesitated.  “You bled rather badly, and they had to open you again to stop the bleeding.  That’s why you see the hoses.”

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I lifted the blanket to see two rather large hoses running from my chest.  There were also lots of wires coming out of me a little farther down on my stomach.  “I’m bionic,” I muttered.

LaTrena laughed.  “Well, at least they didn’t affect your sense of humor.”  She stood.  “Would you like some ice chips?”

“That would be nice,” I answered, “where am I?”

“You’re in the Cardiac Care Unit,” she replied.  “I’ll be right back.”  She stepped away and I lifted my head to see my surroundings.

There must have been a dozen patients, from one end of the room to the other, all in various stages of recovery.  Beds were everywhere, and nurses moved from one “stall” to another quickly.

I laid my head down and closed my eyes.  “God,” I prayed, “you got me through the surgery, now help through the next step.”

LaTrena returned with the ice.  She spooned a small bit into my mouth.  “Take it slow,” she said, “you’ve still got a lot of anesthesia in you.  We don’t want you getting sick.”

I sucked on the ice cube and felt the wonderful coolness hit my throat.  I began to realize how long it had been since I had food.  “What day is it?” I asked.

“You were out for quite a while,” she answered.  “Surgery was early yesterday.  Today is Tuesday.  It was touch and go there for awhile.”

“Where’s John?” I asked.  “Is he all right?”

“He’s fine,” she continued.  “We restrict the visiting hours in  the CCU, so he’s in the waiting room.  He’ll be in shortly.”

She gave me another ice chip.  “Are you in pain?” she asked.

“Considering they’ve just split me like a chicken, I’m doing o.k.  Morphine got anything to do with this?”

“We have you on several pain killers right now,” she replied.  “As you improve, we’ll begin taking them away one by one.”

Another ice chip.  Just to have a cool liquid in my mouth was heaven!  As I swallowed, I heard someone walking up.  “Hey, there.”  It was the familiar voice of John.  “I see he’s eating a little bit,” looking at the nurse.

“He’s very lucid,” LaTrena said.  “If you’re going to be here a few minutes, I’ll check my other patient while you visit.”

“Thanks,” John answered.  He took the cup of ice from her and she disappeared through the curtain at the end of the bed.

“You had us on pins and needles for awhile,” he said.  “I’m glad to see you’re back with us.”

“Well,” I chuckled, “I always told you it would never be boring.”  I tried to move my legs but they were bound to the bed.

“They don’t want you escaping,” John laughed.  “They’ll get rid of this stuff soon enough.  Right now you need to do exactly as they want.”  He reached behind me and fluffed my pillow.  “‘Surgeon says the surgery went fine, and after they got the hemorrhaging stopped, you’ve responded quickly.”

“Must be all that Ibuprofen I’ve been taking for months,” I answered.  “Probably thinned my blood out.”

“They won’t let me in but 10 minutes out of every hour, so you need to behave,” John continued.  “I’ll tell you, being in that waiting room all day is starting to get to me.”

“Why don’t you go home?” I asked.  “You can’t do anything here.”

“I’d rather be here; there’s nothing to do at home.” 

“LaTrena’s great,” I said.  “She’s watching me like a hawk.  My slightest ‘groan’ brings her running.”

“That’s what she’s paid to do,” John said, “but I do agree, she’s very sweet.  She’s keeping me in the loop with whatever is happening with you.  And by the way,” he added, “you’re going to be fine.”

“I got a miracle and an angel in two days,” I answered.  “”Guess God’s getting me ready for the next chapter.”

LaTrena walked over.  “Sorry guys, I gotta kick you out,” looking at John.  “You can come back in an hour; we may have the tubes out of him then.”