Patricia is a 64 year woman old on dialysis who had been hospitalized nearly 4 months after suffering a catastrophic unwitnessed anoxic medical event. After resuscitating her and getting her to the hospital, according to her daughter, Waverly, she died twice while in the ICU and God brought her back each time.
Countless medical professionals grimly told the family to prepare for the worst, that if she did survive and regain consciousness, she would very likely be in a vegetative state and be unaware of anyone or her surroundings.
Repeatedly, the family was asked if they wanted to remove her from the ventilator because that was the only thing “keeping her alive.” Each time their response was “not until God said it was so.”
With the patience of Job, the family waited on HIS answer and fervently prayed that God’s will be done.
Exactly 30 days later, the day before Thanksgiving 2013, she woke up with a smile! It was an additional 3 months before she was able to speak, but her first words were, “God is good!”
With such a life altering event and with the acute phase passed, Patricia still needed skilled care and was transferred to St. Vincent Seton hospital in Indianapolis for further treatment and rehabilitation.
When it was determined that she was stable and strong enough to be safely moved, and with no family nearby, GOW was contacted to transport Patricia to Maryland to be closer to her daughter, Hope.
Patricia and Waverly was picked from Seton by the GOW medical crew along with the Heartland Ambulance team who had driven down from Lafayette that morning.
Once airborne, Hal and Nellie had us uneventfully to Dulles International Airport in one hour and 38 minutes. Patricia dozed off and on and required very little care throughout the flight.
When we arrived in Virginia, the temperature was 30 degrees. That actually felt “warm” compared to what we had been experiencing here locally, but Hal was keeping a close eye on the weather coming up the coastline from the south. The same storm that iced in Atlanta last week. We needed a quick turnaround.
We were met at the FBO by Gateway Ambulance and we got a smiling Patricia off Nellie and into the ambulance for transport to Collingswood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Rockville Maryland.
After giving report to the receiving nurse and praying over Patricia, back to the airport and home. We beat the ominous weather by a wide margin and had a smooth flight back to Indianapolis.
Just like Patricia succinctly said, God is good!
In HIS name
Alan Taber, R.N.
Mission 287
