“Hi, this is Holy Spirit Emergency Room and we have Steven Crawley here, do you know who he is?”
Stunned by the blasts from the cell phone clinched in her hands upon her chest, she had answered the phone but is quite confused as to whether what is happening is real or she is dreaming. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand you, can you repeat that.” The voice on the other side of the phone repeats the statement. Lynnette’s heart begins to pound out of her chest and panic strikes her.
“Yes, he’s my husband, why is he there?”
“We found this number in his sketchbook and since he is unable to communicate with us to give us any background or insurance information, we decided to give it a try.”
“What do you mean he can’t communicate with you? What is going on?”
“Mame, we can’t share any information with you due to HIPPA laws, but we do need insurance information. Can you give me that information?”
Fully awake, but not inhibited by full consciousness she answers. “Of course I can, give me just a minute. Is he breathing? Can you tell me anything? I am going to give you insurance information and you can’t tell me if he is breathing. What kind of place is Holy Spirit Emergency Room?”
“Holy Spirit Hospital is located in Mechanicsburg, PA. Mame, do you know why he was here? Does he have any family here?”
“He was there to attend a conference, but he was supposed to be on a flight a little after 5 this morning headed home.”
“He isn’t on a plane and he isn’t getting on a plane today. Does he have family here?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Ok, well we need insurance information.”
“We have United Healthcare.” Lynnette continues to give the number as her body, soul and mind all go into something short of hysteria, trying to figure out why they can’t even tell her if he is breathing. “How do I find out anything? I am in Arizona, more than 2500 miles from you. I can’t get there very quickly and I have no family here except my three children under five years old. I need to have some sort of information as to where he stands and if I need to get there immediately or if he has just had an accident or what.”
“Mame, law does not allow us to share anything with you. We will be doing our job and in the meantime, take care of your children. After getting things done here, we will get back in touch with you, but we still will not be able to share his status.”
“Are you serious? Can you put yourself in my shoes? Do you have a wife? What if she was 2500 miles away and you were told what you just told me, what would you do?”
“I don’t know. The best thing you can do is stay calm and take care of your children. I would probably be very upset, but I know that the best you can do is wait.”
“Is there anyone I can talk to?”
“No, mame. I am sorry.”
“Wow, I don’t think it gets more unreasonable than this. What has our society come to. Bye.”
Lynnette then calls her boss, who in turn answers the phone at a super early hour when she thought she would be leaving a message. “Oh hi Denese. I thought I would leave a message. I just got a call from an emergency room in Pennsylvania. My husband is there. They can’t tell me anything, but I was calling to let you know I would not be working today. I don’t know what comes next. I don’t even know if he is breathing, been in an accident or what. They just called and said they had him and needed insurance information. And get this, they identified themselves as ‘Holy Spirit Emergency Room.’”
“They can’t tell you anything?”
“No, they said because he can’t communicate to give permission, they can’t tell me anything because of HIPPA laws.”
“Sounds fishy to me. They ask you for insurance info, but they don’t tell you anything. It could be a scam Lynnette. I would call the police department there.”
Lynnette hears her boss, but doesn’t want to share what has taken place the last two days and the concern she has had for her husband. Calling the police does appear as a good idea anyway though. Maybe they could give her some information.
“That’s a good idea. I will.”
She hangs up the phone and calls the police department. They get her in touch with a man who had taken Steven from the hotel to the hospital. John shares with Lynnette that Steven was incoherent. The policeman is still at the hospital and shared that Steven was being tested for diabetes, brain tumor or injury. The hotel had called him and asked them to come talk to him because he did not seem in his right mind.
“When I first spoke to Steven I asked him some questions like what are you doing here and what is your name, but all he did was repeat the questions back to me. We were concerned for his safety to himself because he did not appear coherent in any way. The lady at the front desk of the hotel thought he might be in diabetic shock.”
“So now he is having medical testing. Do you know any way I will be able to get info on how he is doing after the testing?”
“No, you will have to wait until he is able to give them permission to talk to you. You can call me later if you like. I will be here at the hospital for a little while until they know they have everything in order for Steven.”
“Ok, so if I need to, I can call you for the time being. Thank you so much for caring and taking him to the hospital. I am not sure every policeman would have done that.”
Lynnette hangs up the phone and calls her mother in law.
“Heylo” it’s Steven’s dad.
“Hi, can I talk to Ann.”
“Hold on a second.”
“Hello”
“Yeah, well Steven isn’t coming home this morning. He is in Holy Spirit Emergency Room in Pennsylvania.”
“What? Holy Spirit Emergency Room. What kind of name is that?”
“That’s what I thought when I got the call waking me up in the middle of the night.”
“So what is he doing there?”
“They can’t tell me anything. The best I can do is talk to the police officer who took him there.”
“What did he say?”
Lynnette continues to share what the police officer shared and then gives her mother in law the phone number to call him herself.
“We are about 2 hours outside of Shreveport. When we get there, we will go to the airport and Steve will get the first plane out to Tucson. He can then help you do whatever we need to do next. Drive you to Texas and us keep the kids while you go to Pennsylvania or whatever.”
“OK, I will let you know if I hear anymore.”
“I am going to call the police officer and see if I can get anything else from him.”
They end the conversation and Lynnette goes to the bathroom floor in the quiet house where all of their boys are still sleeping and breaks down. The weight is too heavy. She is prostrate on the floor of the bathroom crying out to her heavenly father and shouting with anger with him and her husband. She is angry that he has left her with three boys all alone and on top of that gotten himself picked up by the police and hospitalized because of this calling from God. Through the tears she screams out.
“Who are you and how could you allow this? He loves you and just wants to know your direction! He believed he was hearing you!”
She didn’t think that God would allow something like this to happen to someone whom was choosing to spend much more time with him and studying his word with eagerness. How could God allow this to happen? Why would he put a family in this state?
She struggles to tear herself from the floor as she realizes that it is nearing time for the boys to awake. There is so much to be done and she doesn’t have a clue where to start, but knows she must pull her broken spirit together in order to make it through the day.
However, a few very long minutes later suddenly realizes she can’t move. She can barely find the strength to stand much less care for children or herself. Instead she remains on the floor. This time instead of anger, the waterfall of tears from her eyes to the ground is asking her heavenly father for strength. Lynnette knows that although she is angry, the only place she will gain strength is from God. He can pick her up and give her strength to get through the day caring for the boys. She begs.
“Lord, give me strength to get up and make it through today. Help me oh Lord to be a loving mother to my children. Prepare me to have to prepare them for what is ahead. Provide me patience, understanding, peace and energy. Today will be difficult and there are three children who love their daddy dearly who are depending on me to give them faith that daddy is going to be ok and they will see him again. You are my rock, Lord. You are my shield and protector. As my savior and Lord, you know what is to come and what I can handle. Show me the next step and please protect us all today oh Lord. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Lynnette feels the change in herself as she has a little more strength. A little more calmness overcomes her as she realizes a little boy is peeking around the bathroom door. Her heart is no longer racing, just broken.
Rylan sees that his mommy has noticed him there and smiles with a delight that warms her heart. He so glows in the morning and is always so happy just to start the day. He rushes over and wraps his arms around his mother’s neck. Rylan doesn’t know what is happening but certainly knows his mom is hurting. He asks for nothing, when the norm would be to request milk at the first chance. Instead he remains with his mommy, just loving her. The smallest child sometimes understands the simplest of things.
