Safe in the Heart of a Miracle: More True Stories of Medical Miracles

by Gloria Teague

  In horrific memories replayed in future nightmares, it would feel like a bad slap-stick comedy movie done in slow motion, without the canned laughter in the background. Jim was the first to fall and as he went over the edge of the scaffolding, David leapt to save him, making him the last one to go over the edge.

  No time, no time, no time.

  If anyone could’ve heard anything, all they would’ve heard from each brother was, “Please God.” People on the ground later said they didn’t even hear a scream.

  At the age of 34, father of an eight-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son, husband to Suzanne, one day past the tenth anniversary that he’d forgotten, Jim Green was killed on impact.

  Two feet away, David Green had landed close enough to stretch one finger and touch his little brother’s hand. He tried to speak, to demand Jim talk to him, to assure him that he was alright, to scream at God to make it okay, to tell someone to please! call his beloved Theresa. Then his world faded to black.

  His consciousness lifted only briefly while he lay on the grass. He could see a blood-spattered white sheet covering his brother and he wanted to cry, to curse, to plead with the medical personnel racing around.

  Please, I’m begging you in the name of all that’s holy, just stop everything you’re doing, hold on just one minute! Please, don’t let him die. Let me go, but save my brother!

  The first responder crew was quietly giving orders to each other but was unable to hold back the crowd. From the corner of his eye, David could see the man that had nearly been hit by Jim’s apple mere moments before, talking to another man. For a minute, he wished he had been struck deaf in the fall.

  “Yeah, I heard the cops talking. That one’s alive but he won’t make it long. How can anyone fall fifteen floors and still be breathing? It’s just a matter of time. I heard they’re brothers. This is going to be an awful day for their family. But even if he did live, he’d probably be paralyzed, stuck in a wheelchair the rest of his life, be nothing but a burden. Nah, if I was that guy, I wouldn’t want to live.”

  Even through the mind-numbing fear, the desolation of losing his brother filtered through to his heart. In a flash, he remembered all the times they’d played in their homemade fort, all the times they’d laughed as they teased each other, the time he taught Jim to drive, the time a girl broke his heart in junior high school, the time he stood beside him as his best man. The emotional pain was dominant, blocking all thought. And then the shock began to wear off enough for him to realize the formidable physical assault on his body. He prayed for unconsciousness to escape it all. He wasn’t sure he could withstand the pain when it became worse; he didn’t think he could survive all of it.

  Then he made what would be his last decision for a long, long time. In that moment, David decided to let go and let God. That’s when he gave in and slipped away into a coma. In that black trance, his brother was still alive and no pain wracked his own body.

  * * *

  “Mrs. Green? This is MadisonMedicalCenter. I’m sorry to say this, but there’s been an accident involving your husband. Could you please come down here right away?”

  “Jim? Something’s happened to Jim? What happened?” Her voice rose with each syllable.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am—the doctor will explain everything when you get here. Do you need someone to bring you?”

  “No, I don’t need a ride! I need to know what happened to my husband … now!”

  “Mrs. Green, if you’ll please calm down …”

  Suzanne Green slammed the phone down and reached for her car keys. On the way to the hospital she called her mother. Though she was sobbing, she managed to get out the words to ask her mother to pick up the kids at school, tell them only that their father had gotten hurt, and take care of them until she called her back.

  Her sister-in-law was the first person she saw who she knew when she ran into the ER. Theresa was kneeling on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. When she saw Suzanne, she jumped up to run to her, nearly knocking her down with her embrace.

  “Theresa, what happened? Where are the guys? What’s going on? Please, please, honey, slow down. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

  “The cable … the platform … they fell.”

  “They fell while they were working? How far up were they? Theresa, answer me!”

  “Fif … fifteen floors.”

  “Oh, dear God! Are they okay? Are they hurt?”

  These words caused Theresa to again sink to the floor, sobbing. The only word Suzanne could make out was dead. She grabbed the other woman’s shoulders and pulled her up from the floor and held her.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Oh, God, I’m so sorry about David. What can I do? Can I call someone?”

  Theresa shook her head and she closed her eyes. When she opened them she took a deep breath, her words caught on the next sob. “Not David, Suzanne. It’s Jim.”

  It took several seconds for the words to register, to fully impact her heart. Suzanne fell against the olive-colored wall and slid to the floor, moaning “Noooooooooooo.” Nurses knelt beside both women, trying, in vain, to comfort them. Suzanne became so distraught she had to be taken to a separate room for a doctor to explain what had happened to Jim, the man who she had given the cold shoulder just this morning. And for what? A lousy anniversary—the last one they’d ever share.

  The physician’s voice was firm, yet kind. “Theresa, let’s get you off the floor. Come on, go with me to my office here around the corner. We need to talk about your husband.”

  She rose quickly to her feet; staying right on the doctor’s heels as he walked down the hallway. She managed to pull herself together so she could listen and ask coherent questions.

  The moment the office door closed, “Is he dead?” The doctor motioned for her to sit down but she shook her head.

  “Mrs. Green, this is going to be a long conversation so I’m asking you to take a seat. No, your husband is not dead.”

  Theresa dropped to the plush leather chair at the corner of his desk. “How bad is he?”

  Dr. Thomas hung his lab coat on a hook before he sat down behind his desk. “He’s not good. I won’t lie to you; it’s bad. It’s very bad.”

  “Okay, I’m settled down now. I can take it. Tell me everything.”

  He looked at her closely, sternly, “I need to have you stay with me here. You need to make decisions that may affect whether or not your husband lives or dies.”

  Her eyes filled with fresh tears and she gasped, but she quickly regained control.

  “Tell me.”

  He folded his hands on top of his desk and cleared his throat. “First of all, his internal injuries were so traumatic, I had to open him up in the emergency room. I couldn’t take a chance on taking him to OR because I didn’t think he’d make it that far. We’ve stabilized him to the point that he can now be taken upstairs to start surgery, if you consent. Know ahead of time, it’s going to be a long, arduous ordeal. You’re going to feel as if you’ve been part of a marathon that lasts for days, weeks.”

  “If I consent? Of course I will. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Let me give you an idea of what David is facing and this is just today. Remember that a patient’s condition can turn on a dime, at any moment.”

  She nodded in understanding, as much as she could at the moment.

  “If he even makes it to surgery, and survives the many operations that are necessary, he’ll be in rehab for months afterward. All of this depends on whether or not he comes out of his coma.”

  “Please, just tell me all of it—the truth.”

  “It’s a long list already. He’s been given 15 units of blood and ten of plasma, just to keep him alive. Both legs are broken, in a total of ten places. He has several fractured ribs and both arms are broken. He injured his spine and his brain, but I can’t tell you how bad either of those are until we run more tests.”

  Theresa’s eyes felt raw. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, b
ut she remained silent.

  “Now, the good news. He didn’t break anything in his pelvic area and I don’t believe he landed on his head. I think the brain insult is due to a secondary blow, such as when his body hit the ground. His back took the brunt of it, with his head snapping back and hitting second.”

  “What are his chances?” Her chin quivered in spite of her best effort to maintain control. She refused the tears that threatened to be her undoing.

  “If you believe in miracles, you might want to start praying. And if I were you, I’d call in his family, anyway.”

  Dr. Thomas looked weary as he shrugged back into his lab coat. “I’ll have someone call you periodically from the OR to give you status updates. I’ll speak to you myself when it’s all over.”

  The evening bled into night. It was 3 a.m. when the doctor pushed the swinging doors open at the end of the hall. Theresa stood.

  “You’ve got a tough guy there, Mrs. Green. There were a couple of times I didn’t know if I’d be coming out to give you good news or the worst news.”

  She dared to take a deep breath. “So he’s doing well?”

  “Well may be quite an optimistic adverb at this juncture. Let’s just say he’s still alive, in spite of everything. Every hour, every day, that passes, if he grows stronger, we can hope a little more. I just want you to be prepared if he doesn’t make it.”

  Theresa heard her mother-in-law begin to cry and her father-in-law sniffled. She stood taller and said, “He’ll make it. You just wait and see what my David can do.”

  The next week was a difficult one for the Greens. A funeral had to be arranged and goodbyes said to a devoted young husband and father who had died too soon. Suzanne found it hardest of all because she felt that her husband died thinking she was angry with him—and she had been.

  She asked for a few minutes alone with the body. “Honey, I hope you can see me up there in Heaven. I pray that you know I love you. I’m so sorry.”

  * * *

  David Green was stubborn in his coma, appearing to prefer the darkness to returning to a world of heartbreak. He soon developed an infection that seemed destined to take his life, in spite of the battle he’d waged up to that point. Massive amounts of IV antibiotics at last cured the infection, but David slept on.

  At the end of the second month in a coma, after running pulmonary function tests, it was determined David could breathe on his own. The tube that connected him to the ventilator was removed.

  Turning David’s body every two hours was difficult because he was wearing what is commonly known as a halo, a round metal brace bolted into his skull then attached to rods that are held by a plastic vest which helps support the entire framework. Three times a day physical therapists came in and manually moved David’s extremities. Theresa learned the routine and exercised her husband’s arms and legs after they’d had time to heal.

  This was the routine for three months. Through it all, David was cocooned in his oblivion. The hospital staff marveled at his family’s perseverance. Whenever any of them mentioned it, Theresa just smiled.

  “You must not be used to a patient whose family loves them as much as we love David. We’re here to take care of him until he doesn’t need us anymore.”

  Suzanne visited every day, sitting beside her brother-in-law’s bed. She talked to him about the upcoming holidays, about how much he was loved, and to ask him to open his eyes.

  “Come on, brother, wake up and shock the entire staff. If anyone can do this, it’s you. You know me, David, I’m stubborn. I mean, I was married to your brother for a decade. If that’s not stubbornness, I don’t know what is. So I’m not accepting anything less than a miracle.”

  She took his hand and bowed her head. “Heavenly Father, I come to you today to ask you to let us have David back. Our family has lost enough. You have one of our own as your angel; please let us keep this one. Amen.” She smiled, wiped her cheeks and kissed her brother-in-law’s cheek. In his ear, she whispered “Okay, Davie. I did my part, now you do yours.”

  * * *

  Theresa, Suzanne, her children, and David’s parents were gathered around his bedside singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” when he opened his eyes. His expression was one of alarm when he heard the group gasp, then he visibly relaxed when they all started laughing and trying to kiss his face at the same time.

  Even though his voice was low, husky from lack of use, he was able to speak. “Dad, you’re off key.”

  He couldn’t turn his head but his eyes raced around the room, looking for something, for someone. Then his gaze grew somber and each person watched understanding settle in.

  “He’s gone, isn’t he?”

  Elaine Green took her son’s hand and lifted it to her lips. “Yes, my love. Jimmy’s gone. He’s waiting for us, though.”

  The tears were immediate but quiet. Theresa pulled tissues from the bedside table and wiped her husband’s face. He repeated the gesture his mother had just used on him; he lifted his wife’s hand to kiss it. With a wife’s intuition, she stepped aside when he reached for Suzanne’s hand.

  Whispering, he spoke earnestly. “Suze, oh Suze. Oh God, I’m so sorry. I wish it’d been me, instead. I wish …”

  Her expression was stern but tempered with love. “You listen to me, David Green. Don’t you ever wish that again. It wasn’t your day to go to Heaven. We love Jim, we’ll always miss him, but it was his time to shine. You know how he liked to sing, show off, thought he had the world’s best baritone. Well, I’m sure he can now carry a tune with the best of the angels and God lets him sing lead.”

  She bent to hold her husband’s sorrowful big brother. David’s embrace was awkward due to all the equipment helping him heal, but he let her know how much he appreciated her words.

  “What day is it?”

  Richard Green sat on the side of the bed, next to his son. “Merry Christmas, Dave.”

  David’s eyes again filled. “Merry Christmas, Dad. I love you. I love all of you.”

  With those words David fell asleep in exhaustion. Instead of a coma, this was a restful sleep that would help his body continue to heal so he could, eventually, get back to living.

  It was the first day of spring when David Green returned home. He still had a long recovery ahead and his body would never be as it was before he fell from the sky, but he was now certain he would make it. David noticed the ramp covering the front porch steps and was determined to soon be free from his walker.

  One step, one day, at a time.

  Suspended Animation

  The Rolling Stones could still put on one unbelievably exciting performance. Kendra Bostick didn’t know firsthand since she couldn’t afford a concert ticket, but she’d always been a huge fan. And judging by their post-concert crowd at the restaurant where she worked, they’d whipped their audience into a frenzy. She smiled at the diners’ enthusiasm and laughed at their stories and attempts at singing covers for the biggest hits, but now she was glad it was over, the restaurant was closed, and she was off work. She’d had to stay later than usual to clean up because once there, it seemed no one wanted to leave. They wanted to prolong the fun evening over hamburgers and French fries. It caused her to clock out at nearly 2 a.m. instead of her usual midnight. She’d be okay after a good night’s sleep and the tips were better than she’d ever made before. All in all, it had turned out to be a good day.

  Because the entire area had been taken up with more cars than usual, she’d had to park nearly a half a mile away. The wind blowing off the lake cut through her thin winter coat. Maybe she could find a nice used coat at the thrift store with her extra tips. The cold lake effects from Lake Eerie made her wish she could move south for the winter, but she knew she never would because she loved Cleveland so much, no matter how cold the winters.

  She wished her mother were still alive. She missed her every day. It would be wonderful to drive her little car into that garage that Mom always had open for her, lights on to guide her through
the surrounding darkness. She’d get out, hit the button to close the garage door, and walk into the safe haven that smelled like Mom and cinnamon. When Sherry Phillips had died, Kendra thought she had died with her. Not even losing her dad hurt that much.

  I’ve got to stop thinking about that all the time. Feeling sorry for myself just makes me feel the cold that much worse. Get with the program, Kendra! Think of all that money you made tonight. Think about what kind of coat you’re going shopping for tomorrow on your day off. Think about that dinner and movie date someone promised. You have a lot to be grateful for so shut down the pity party already! You’ve got Jerry, the best husband in the world. It’s a shame that he’s got that terrible cold but it does mean he’ll be home when you get there, instead of at work as he usually would be. When you get home, you can take a long, hot shower, pull on your soft old “granny gown” as Jerry calls it, and cuddle up to that sweet handsome man. Yes, God’s been good to you, Kendra!

  The smile she’d plastered on her face faltered when she heard the first footsteps behind her. She felt her pulse quicken at the base of her throat and she stumbled a bit on the rough pavement. Stepping up her pace she dared to glance behind her, realizing the monster was ready to attack. She laughed out loud when she saw the young man and woman so wrapped up in each other she was amazed they could still walk. She watched them step into the doorway of a closed shop and could hear the murmurs and giggles of people in love. Not even the Cleveland cold could diminish the fire of their ardor.

  Then a new sound, that of a boot or heavy work shoe, dragged across the icy pavement. Kendra slowed her step, listening. There, she heard it again. She stopped and whirled around, only to see a large male figure merely a few feet behind her.

  Where did he come from? How did he get this close before I heard him?

  Quickening her pace, Kendra’s only wish was to reach the safety of her car. The man had made no menacing movement, had said nothing to frighten her, yet every fiber in her being screamed at her to run. After glancing back at the looming hulk, she did just that.