(This is going to be super long so I'm breaking it into 3 parts over 3 days.)
Hubby has finally finished all of his schooling and earned his teaching credential. Yay! He finished his student teaching requirements by spring semester 2017. The plan was for him to substitute teach as many hours as he could during spring semester and then hopefully land a permanent teaching job for the 2017-18 school year. All information we had told us that the school district was in "desperate need" of substitute teachers. We were confident that he would be able to get enough work.
However, January, February, and March he averaged only 5 subbing days per month. On Sunday, April 2nd it hit me like a ton of bricks that we were going to be in trouble. We've been barely surviving financially for too long. And now we would be facing 3 months of summer with no more student loans or grants coming in, no permanent job, no subbing opportunities, and we would have to start payments on the student loans. I shared my panic with Hubby. As always, he is the faithful one who continued to remind me that Heavenly Father has always provided for us and that everything would be ok. He feels strongly that only one of us can fall apart at a time, and I'm usually the one to snatch up that role, but he was also at least a little worried.
Monday, when he came home from work, he declared that he had a Family Home Evening lesson planned. This was extremely out of character. After dinner he gave us a great lesson on Nephi building the boat. Heavenly Father will help us do hard things and watch over us. It turned out that this lesson was exactly what our family needed. It applied to more than just that one crisis we had in mind.
The next morning, Tuesday the 4th he woke up before me, as usual, so he could check the website for subbing jobs. When I got up he started asking me questions. He said he had some really weird dreams the night before and couldn't tell dream from reality. I know the feeling. But then he never "woke up" from that fog. He was really confused and could not seem to remember anything that had happened the day or weekend before. At first I didn't think much of it. It's not unusual for him to have a bad memory. Especially if he was still sleepy. I also thought for a time that he was teasing me. But then he kept asking the same questions over and over and over again.
My next thought was "stroke or seizure." I texted my nurse sister to see what she thought. But he seemed to just be getting worse and really scaring me. I did some quick googling and found that even though he is still in his 30's, his diabetes can be a risk factor for stroke. I had the kids quickly pack up school work, declared that we were going to the hospital without waiting for my sister's recommendation, threw all of his medications in a bag, and got everyone piled in the van.
As we drove towards the nearest ER, he continued with the repeated questions and was increasingly more "out of it." It really scared me. At a red light I dialed 911 and put it on speaker. Even though I was afraid of the bill we would receive, the dispatcher convinced me that taking him via ambulance was a good idea. Luckily, I was at that moment driving by a fire station so I parked in the parking lot directly next to them. The firemen started taking information and vitals and the ambulance showed up quickly.
I was clearly not thinking straight because I figured that I would just take all the kids to the hospital with me. I'm really independent and hate asking for help! But as the firemen and EMT's were doing their thing, Brother Ward, a police officer that we go to church with, showed up on the scene. It was so nice to see a familiar, comforting face! I don't know if he was dispatched to us, or if he was just driving by. But I believe that Heavenly Father sent him to us in that moment. Seeing him, a holder of the Holy Priesthood and a calming presence, was a message to me that Heavenly Father was aware of us and that He loved us.
Brother Ward brought me back to reality and assured me there was no benefit in rushing to the hospital immediately and convinced me to find someone to keep the kids.
After the ambulance left and I got back in the van, I saw that all of the kids had their heads bowed in prayer. That warmed my heart! Thankfully Grandma Cindy was free so I was able to drop the kids off with her. When we arrived there, my sweet Secundus was the most visibly upset and almost in tears. But she also expressed faith that everything would be ok.
As I drove to the hospital, I prayed in my mind that Hubby would be ok and that the doctors and nurses would be able to do their best job. I also prayed that His angels would be with Hubby.
By the time we were reunited in the Emergency Department, a man we went to church with when we were first married, Jim, happened to be working from home and saw my earlier Facebook request for two Priesthood Holders to come and give Hubby a blessing by the laying on of hands. I wasn't sure I would be able to find anyone very quickly on a weekday. However, Heavenly Father provided. So that gave us 1. Jim asked around to people he knew, but was unable to find a second. After a short time, the Spirit told him to just go to the hospital and it would be fine. After he got on the road, I received word from a friend saying that her husband, Levi-who also happens to be an EMT, was available and could come. Hubby received a blessing of healing, and I received a blessing of comfort. These men of God had no idea what I had prayed in the privacy of my car earlier, but Levi said in his blessing to Hubby that God's angels were watching over.
I would realize later that these "angels" referred to were not just of the celestial type, but definitely included Jim, Levi, my sister-in-law Stephanie, Grandma Cindy, Brother Ward, and Hubby's friends Jeff and Ed. Our angels also were all the friends and family who visited, brought food, and prayed for us.
**To Be Continued**
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