Huy (Mike) is 43 years old and came to the United States from Vietnam about 35 years ago with his family. They all live in Houston. He has 2 older sisters along with 2 children, ages 18 and 13. He and his girlfriend were vacationing in Baltimore when he had a severe stroke. His sister contacted us to transport him back home to Houston.
It is a beautiful day to fly and the sun is shining when we land in Baltimore. We arrive at Mike’s bedside where his mom, Nhung has also been staying since his hospitalization. She is a very small framed lady with glasses and a friendly smile.
Her english is broken and at times a little difficult to understand as I am sure ours is to her. She will be flying with us today. Mike too is a small framed guy with dark hair, mustache and goatee.
He has a tracheostomy and is unable to speak. He does open his eyes spontaneously and gazes randomly but doesn’t follow any commands.
Although he cannot communicate with us, we don’t know what he can hear, so we are sure to explain everything that we are doing.
As we transfer him to our cot and monitor the staff are hugging his mom and giving her words of encouragement.
Once back at the airport Hal prays over Mike and we all climb inside of Abe. Our flight is a little long and will require a fuel stop. During the first leg of our flight Mike’s mom gets a nice nap.
Mike looks around for a while and then he too nods off. We stop in Memphis and this gives us an opportunity to stretch our legs.
While on the ground here to refuel, the fire department does a great job of standing by. (This is always protocol with a patient on board.) Nhung grabs a quick cup of coffee and seems refreshed. Mike sleeps the entire time unaware that we have even stopped.
At last we land in Houston where the sky is overcast and the weather very hot. Nhung is very happy to be home. After our drive through the rush hour traffic we are warmly greeted at the rehab facility by the staff as well as about 6 or 7 family members. Mike’s family can’t wait to see him and spend some time with him.
They all wait patiently outside of his room as we make him comfortable and pray. We left his room and spoke with his family as the staff finished their assessment. They all thanked us for getting both he and his mom home safely. We left as they were being allowed into his room.
JAMES 1:17
EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE,
COMING DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF THE HEAVENLY LIGHTS,
WHO DOES NOT CHANGE LIKE SHIFTING SHADOWS.
Thank you to Hal, Jason and Chris for sharing this mission with me.
Many blessings
Shelli Engle RN
