Every once in a while God sends you a helicopter - get on it!

With the above in mind, let me tell you how I almost refused all three out of stubborn manliness and pride. This is also a lesson gents in something more profound:

"ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR WIFE!"

I had been feeling great, on vacation working around the house. On the 19th of December something hit me like a ton of bricks and given my usually well-controlled asthma, hit my lungs. Breathing was a struggle, my heart was racing, pain across my chest and shoulders, I almost thought I was having a heart attack. But wait - I don't need a doctor, I just had a treadmill stress test ECG and echocardiogram as a routine thing and at 63, and not too skinny, I got to 94% of maximum heart rate, no restrictions or hypertension and when I started my blood pressure was 120/78. I had been a runner for about 30 years of up to 30km a week. Of course, I ignored it and struggled through. It was a Thursday and the Fox was concerned over the weekend. "Go to the doctor!" Well, finally she said it again on Monday the 23rd. I said no and then lay down. Suddenly a little voice said, "Listen to your wife." It was late 7PM and we found a walk-in clinic and obtained an anti-biotic. It was just before they closed.

God sent a truck, you see. He sent it through my wife, whom I should have listened to earlier, but I eventually got in it.

On the 27th, I felt bad and called the Respirologist, the office was closed and I left a message. On the 30th, the Fox said, "Are you going to call?" Well, I hesitated, after all, I left a message. Again the Fox said, "Call!" I did and it turned out they had over 100 messages and the secretary had not yet gotten to mine. If Fox did not insist, I would not have called and gotten in and checked and things would have gone from bad to worse. I explained the situation and my Jewish doctor with a picture of St. Pio of Pietrelcina on his wall saw me right away. He did not like what he heard and sent me for an xray and had the result on his computer before I got back to the office. Cardial effusion of an unknown cause and ordered into the hospital. I was admitted until January 2 and sent home with treatment and the pericarditis is resolving itself. It turns out, whatever bug I had, latched itself on to the pericardial sac and wreaked havoc.

Last night, January 10, at about 5, I felt week and took my temperature, it was 99.5. As Fox arrived home, it was 100.6 at 5:40 and I suddenly realised, we are not waiting for the helicopter, we're getting into the truck. "Take me to the walk-in" said I. "Don't you think the hospital would be better given the situation?" said Fox. Well, guess what. The walk-in had a sign up that they were taking no more. I asked the receptionist to ask the doctor, the doctor said "No." Well, that was the Holy Spirit. Why? Because, it turns out that I am a fluid kind of guy - the heart is clearing up but now it is in the lungs but caught at the early stage so now, I have influenza and on Tamiflu and they only ascertained this after another xray and various blood tests and ultrasounds - the walk in clinic would have given me a useless anti-biotic and sent my on my way. As an aside, the doctor at the urgent care centre of the hospital said that at the sister hospital where I had been, there was an outbreak of influenza and they had no doubt that that is where I got it. In my case, this was caught early enough that Tamiflu should knock this demon back to Hell. I can already feel some relief - Laus Deo!

I was in this hospital on the 31st of December. Fifteen years to the day that my brother died in that very same hospital of pneumonia of a bug he caught there on the 28th. He had leukaemia and was susceptible to anything and everything. He had gone for a minor matter but it would become the death of him.

Is my point becoming clearer?

As I look back on all of this, there was no doubt in my mind now that I was sent a truck and then a boat and I was turning them down out of my own manly pride.

I have no doubt, none whatsoever in my mind and in my bones that God sent me that truck and that boat. Finally, he sent me a helicopter. My wife was the truck driver, was in the boat and was flying the helicopter.

Thank you Lord for the helicopter piloted by my beloved. Thank you for waking me up and hitting me hard enough to get on it. I'm glad I got on.

To you, dear readers and friends, thank you for your prayers.

And above all:

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS!

 

I.  Praise to the Trinity

We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.

All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting.

To Thee all Angels cry aloud: the Heavens and all the powers therein.

To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Sabaoth;

Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy Glory.

The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee.

The godly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee.

The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee.

The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee;

The Father of an infinite Majesty;

Thine honourable, true, and only Son;

Also the Holy Ghost: the Comforter.

 

II.  Praise of Christ

Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.

Thou art the everlasting  Son of the Father.

When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man: Thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.

When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.

We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.

We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.

Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting.

 

III.  Prayers

O Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine heritage.

Govern them and lift them up for ever.

Day by day we magnify Thee; and we worship Thy Name, ever world without end.

Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.

O Lord, have mercy upon us.

O Lord, let Thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in Thee.

O Lord, in Thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.