Life Is Precious!

Sweetheart writes:

 

It's been a long time since I've written. The move to Colorado has brought with it a lot of unexpected challenges. It has also brought with it some wonderful opportunities.

Saturday afternoon I was spraying the weeds in my front yard. My neighbor came out of her house in a panic. She called out to me, saying that she needed help and couldn't get her husband to wake up.

I dropped the sprayer and ran across the street. I went in to the room where her husband was on the bed. The pillow was soaked in sweat. He was breathing slowly, erratically. I checked for a pulse and found something. I tried to wake the man. I wasn't sure what to do, so I called Wendy. She said to call the paramedics, which we did.

The 911 operator asked me to listen for how often the man took a breath. I relayed the information and the operator told me to get the man on the floor. After doing so, the operator told me to begin chest compressions. As I placed my hands on the man's chest, I realized that this was a very serious situation. I did about 30 chest compressions before the paramedics arrived.

In a matter of minutes there were fire fighters, paramedics, and police officers all working on the man. The man's dog started to freak out, and the dog bit me as I tried to pick him up. I could see on the paramedic's diagnostic equipment a flat line. It was all kind of surreal.

While I was across the street, Wendy shared with that the wife was asked for the legal paperwork for Power of Attorney. The wife had a prepared notebook with all of their legal paperwork easily accessible. Wendy made a copy for the paramedics and returned the original to the notebook. This made all the difference in the situation. Wendy was very impressed by their preparation. We talked about making a similar book.

Wendy came over and sent me across the street to get the boys. She started talking with the wife. I got the boys ready to go for a little ride. I offered to drive the wife to the hospital in her car so that she'd have a way to get home. Wendy followed us there with they boys. When we got to the emergency room, the nurses sent us to a little room with a couple couches and a TV. The room had a keypad so that only doctors and nurses could open the door.

After a while the ER doctor came in and started telling the wife that the man may have had a heart attack but they didn't know exactly what had happened. (Later I learned from Wendy that the paramedics had asked the wife if he had a Do Not Resuscitate order. The fireman said that the man's heart had stopped.)

All my life I've seen shows and movies where someone is in trouble and a person starts beating on their chest. I never thought I would be the person doing that. I was glad that I had taken CPR training but I realize now that I was totally unprepared to handle the situation.

Take a moment to love the people you care about.

After all the excitement, we decided to do some grocery shopping. (Everybody's gotta eat.) The boys were crazy in the grocery store. I asked Underfoot what was going on. He said he was afraid that our neighbor might die. It is a very real possibility. Underfoot is a very tender child. He feels in a way that I can relate too. I remember the confusion I experienced as a child because of the social norm which told me that boys were not allowed to feel. I remember not understanding why I was not allowed to acknowledge feeling.

Two weeks ago a friend from Tucson texted me to get information about the Mormon cemetery in Tucson. I knew when we left Tucson that his mom was in bad shape. I called him back and we had a chance to catch up. As we talked, my friend related that his mom wanted to be buried in the Mormon cemetery.

So tonight after everything  with the neighbor I decided to call my friend who's mom was in bad shape to find out about her condition. She passed away on Tuesday. It was interesting to hear my friend talk about how on one hand he wanted to be angry that she was gone, but on the other hand he was glad that she was no longer suffering. I wish I could go and spend some time with my friend, just to be with him as he goes through the grieving process. I know that the day will come when I will be the one to mourn the loss of my parents.

Life is precious. Don't let inconsequential things take precedence of the people you love.

Love you.