Dead on Arrival - Resurrected by Grace

My Story: Part 5

One week later my mom was discharged from the hospital and on her way home. Eventually, slowly, life returned to a semblance of normalcy although with a new aspect: mom's health. Now she had a whole team of people working to make sure that whatever happened the first time never happened again. Her pacemaker/defibrillator surgery was scheduled and performed. There was a follow-up surgery at St. Thomas hospital in Nashville some months later. Nothing very specific could ever be found wrong with her and to this day I don't think anyone has agreed on which caused what; the chicken or the egg.

But I have a theory: I don't think one caused the other. I think they happened simultaneously. Her heart stopped and her brain seized at the same time. Why do I think this? Because I knew the truth of things. I know things that the doctors never fully realized. My mom was an alcoholic albeit a high functioning one. She was also relying heavily on antidepressants and sleeping medication to get through life. I spent most of high school putting up with her drunken whims. There were so many nights when I thought I'd wake the next morning to find her dead in her bed from an accidental overdose. She was also severely depressed and struggled continually with anxiety. Her job was incredibly stressful given how demanding her boss and coworkers were. She had also suffered heartbreak after heartbreak while looking for love in all the wrong men. In spite of these private struggles that I was usually the sole witness of, my mom lived a full and sparkling life. She is loved by most everyone who meets her and is easily one of the most outgoing and popular people I know. Also, regardless of her addiction, she has been a believer in Christ since she was eighteen. I want you to hear me when I say this: YOU CAN BE A BELIEVER IN CHRIST AND STILL LIVE IN SIN BUT YOU WILL BE MISERABLE. It's called conviction and it's a powerful motivator. When I say "live in sin" I'm not referring specifically to when a girl and guy live together before marriage. I'm talking about when you put absolutely anything before your devotion to God. Anything, big or small, will become the bane of your existence when you allow it to become wedged between you and your Creator. Because a thorn lodged in the flesh, no matter how small will eventually fester and rot; see to it quickly and the infection can be contained – allow it to linger and you end up losing a limb or dying from the wound. However, God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Holy of Holies, Most High King is the resurrector of the dead and damaged. He will restore your brokenness if only you will turn your life back to Him. God is willing to meet you where you are, but He's not willing to leave you there. I speak from personal experience as well as witnessing my mother's life to know this is true.

And so, after many years of self-abuse, anger, depression, loneliness, let downs, and worries, my mother's body waved the white flag and conceded defeat. She collapsed.

Her heart stopped.

Her brain seized.

She died.

But that was not to be the end of her story.

I have omitted using a specific word until now. Although it was used many times by others while at the hospital and in the weeks following her release, I have never felt it was appropriate for this situation: that word is "miracle". First, let's define the word miracle. According to Google, a miracle is "a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency." To put it another way, it is the impossible becoming possible. Nothing that happened to mom was out of the realm of possibility.

Before you write me off as callous, unbelieving fool let me say that I do see the Creator's hand upon the entire situation especially in regards to when and where she collapsed. It was a workday, after breakfast but before lunch which means the school was at its fullest. It was down a hallway set between staff offices and classrooms. More specifically, in front of a NURSING classroom. Every single person employed at that school was trained in CPR. Additionally, there were students there training for medical degrees. From the moment she hit the ground, someone was administering CPR; pumping her heart and breathing for her. Less than five minutes would have gone by before someone stepped in to help. When one of them became tired and couldn't go on, there were multiple others to take their place. What are the chances all of these things would coalesce in her favor? Impossible? No of course not. Just very, very unlikely. It seems obvious to me that the primary intervention of God in this scenario was not in the hospital room where she awoke the next day, it was there, in that hallway where she collapsed surrounded by trained adults who immediately leaped into action.

We don't need ground shaking, earth-quaking miracles to see God at work in our lives. He's there, all the time working within us and others to bring about His will. It breaks my heart when I encounter people who refuse to believe in God because they believe His presence to be inadequate. We think "If He really is God why doesn't He show Himself to me? Show me a sign! A miracle!" I would rather encounter my Creator in my everyday walk than only once in a big, flashy show. I would rather be able to look at my life and see His fingerprints on the every day than to spend my time ignoring Him until He "proves" Himself to me in one big flashy show.

Since this event, 7 years ago, our life has changed drastically. My mom goes by a new name: Nana. She hasn't dated anyone since her "death" and is also sober.  Recognizing and repenting for her addiction has not been an easy journey but I personally think she's doing a great job. She has also collaborated with me on this story which just goes to show what an incredibly brave person she is.  

The following is from my mother: