Angel in an Ambulance - Part One Revised

 

Angel in a Ambulance - Part one

By Scott Marsh

A true account of what happened to me while having a heart attack in August of 2013. Sometimes, God sends us special messengers, we just need to be prepared to see and hear them clearly.

    So, how does one explain something that they themselves don't fully understand? Sometimes, this thing called life, just happens. One moment, everything is going fine, and then suddenly one unexpected circumstance, changes the very image of who you are. For me, this was the day I had a heart attack. This one event in my life has robbed me of so much of who I was before, I can't even begin to describe the change that has taken place.
    Everyone has the unexpected happen in their lives. Everyone has that dark cloud headed their way. The event that will shake the very foundation of who you are. Who you are right here and right now that is. But the storm will pass, and the dark clouds will lift. What we have to do as mere mortals, is choose how we react to this sudden change and how we will go on afterwards. The storm can destroy us, or it can cause us to build a better foundation for the next one. Its up to us to choose.
    On August 12th, 2013, I was at work in Jacksonville, Florida. I had just taken my wife and son, back home to Alabama for my son to get ready and start a new school year. Due to a job change after the company that I had worked for, for 15 years had closed, I was in Florida during the week and went home on weekends. My daughter and a nephew lived and worked with me in Florida, and we went home every weekend to be with family and for me to fulfill my roll as pastor of a small community church.
    There had been some drastic changes in my life since the company closed, and I was forced to work in another state, but through it all, I could see Gods hand still working in everything going on.
The job in Florida was the best job I'd ever had. The pay was good and the people that I worked with were awesome. We were just waiting for my son to finish his last 2 years of high school, and planned to sell out and move there permanently. That is until that day.
    That day, I had just sent my crew out the door to start their shift for the evening. It was around 3:45 in the afternoon. As I stood up, a sharp pain ran through my left arm. My chest started to fill full and it suddenly hurt to try and take a deep breath. My friend and manager Robert was at his desk when I managed to walk around the corner and flop down at my own desk. Sitting there a moment or two, I finally called him over and told him I needed help. I could see the concern on his face as he ask me what was wrong. I told him I thought I was having a hear attack. The look on his face wasn't of doubt, but he ask if I was sure anyway. I told him to call 911, I knew I needed to go to the hospital, and I needed to go now. He called our companies first responders, and within minutes, our office had more concerned people rushing in to see what was going on. They helped me get down the flight of stairs next to my office, and loaded me on a ATV mule and took me to the small aid station the company had set up on the ramp. The company was one of the fastest growing aviation repair stations in the country, and employed over a thousand people. At that time of day, most everyone saw what was happening and the ramp was filled with concerned co-workers and on lookers.
    As they helped me into the cool of the aid station, it had gotten so hard to take a breathe, I could barley sit in a chair. My chest hurt so bad, it took all I could do, to speak and try and answer questions. But within moments, Cecil Field Fire and Rescue arrived and took over the situation. They hooked me up to a monitor and handed me a small hand full of baby aspirin to chew up. All I wanted, was to breathe and ask repeatedly for oxygen. They told me an ambulance was almost there and to just hang on a little bit longer. God the pain was so bad. My chest hurt, it hurt to take in each and every breath, my left arm felt like it suddenly weighed to much to even lift. But then I remembered my daughter and managed to hand my friend Robert my phone and ask him to call her. All I could manage to say at that point was, "Brittany". So he took the phone and stepped out the door to call her.
    The ambulance arrived, and they immediately put me on a stretcher and strapped me down. I remember a lady was in charge and seemed to be giving the orders now. As they loaded me in the back, I saw Robert and my director Charlie standing there. The look of concern on their faces told me things didn't look to good, so I handed Robert my badge and inspection stamp, which was still around my neck. He acted as if he almost hated to take it out of my hand, but at that moment, I didn't know if I'd ever need them again. He squeezed my hand as he took them and said he would get My daughter to the hospital and call my wife back home. My wife, I thought, its a 4 -hour drive and she had never made the trip on her own. How would she get here? Then the thought hit me, "would I be here when she finally made it"? The ambulance pulled away as the doors were shut and I lay there waiting to see if they used the sirens. Somehow, I felt if they didn't cut on the sirens, everything would be alright, but as we turned onto the road, the sound filled my ears and my heart seemed to sink a little more. If it hadn't seemed serous before, it certainly did now.
    The lady in charge was asking me questions, that at the time, I didn't even care to answer. But when she ask which hospital, the closest one was the first thing that popped in my head. While I had been in Jacksonville for 18 months, I had no idea about hospitals, but right then, any help, any help at all was what I wanted.
    When the ambulance had arrived, the first thing they did was give me a small pill under my tongue, and now as we were leaving, she was giving me another one. I couldn't see her very well, because she was sitting near my head and behind me a bit, but as she gave the driver instructions and I could hear her speaking with the hospital, I felt somewhat reassured she knew what she was doing. After a few minutes, things actually got quiet as the ride was underway. All I could hear was the sound of the sirens blaring as we bounced along, until I saw her reach up and get the paddles off the wall next to me, and watched as she ripped my shirt up suddenly. The monitor I was hooked up too suddenly started making a long steady beep, and that's when I noticed the man at my left side, for the first time.
    He was huge. How I hadn't noticed a man of his size and height, was beyond me. He took my arm and inserted an IV and talked very smooth and calmly to me as he did. He opened a small vile type bottle and took out a small red pill. I could see that it was the only one in the vile, and I hoped if it didn't work, he had more. As he took it from the bottle, I watched as he blew on it like it was dusty, and I could smell a very sweet scent come across my nose as he started to place it in my mouth. "Put this under your tongue", he said as I opened my mouth to receive it. When it hit my mouth, the scent and taste of this little tiny pill almost took my breathe away. If you can imagine the scent and taste of every type of fruit on earth at the same time, that's what it tasted like. It was without a doubt, the best thing I'd ever had, and it was almost to good to endure the taste of. Berries and melons, bananas and nuts. The taste is just something that I can't describe, because with only having one and only having it for what seemed to be a moment, all the different taste and smells that suddenly engulfed me just can't be described. It was the most awesome thing I'd ever had. But just as fast as I tasted and smelled the wonderful odor of it, I felt better. Within seconds, everything seemed to be getting back to normal. My chest stopped hurting, My arm didn't seem so heavy, and best of all I could breathe again, but now without pain and discomfort. That one little pill had been all I needed. As I looked up at him, the giant of a man sitting next to me took me by the hand, the way a friend that really cared about you would and he began to talk to me in a calm, smooth voice.
    The big black man, as I call him, told me he knew that I was tired and that I wanted to go to sleep, but that it was imperative, that I stay awake. Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, "you still have much work to do here and your family needs you. Be strong for those that need you". And with that he turned away and watched out the back of the ambulance door windows as we bounced down the road. Suddenly, I felt the need to pray. I'm not sure if it was out loud where they could hear me, or if it was just softly to myself. But I prayed for God to forgive me of anything that might separate me from Him and that He would be with my family and church family. The funny thing is, I believe in Gods healing power, but I don't ever remember asking Him to heal me, not even once.
    Then I just watched my big friend as we traveled down the road. Every once in a while he would look down at me and smile, then turn and look out the windows. I remember thinking how he acted as if it was his first ride in an ambulance. He was tall and had wide shoulders. His head nearly touched the ceiling and his knees were bent under him, as he sat on the tiny stool next to me. Soon, I felt a sudden stop and the ambulance began to back up to what I knew was the hospital. I had no idea how long the ride had taken, it seemed like only a few minutes, but it had to have been at least 30 or so minutes from where I worked. The doors opened and the big black man stepped out and walked around the side of the ambulance, and nurses and hospital staff wheeled me into Riverside Hospital.
    Once inside, a nurse drew some blood while a doctor and staff started prepping me, right there at the desk. The doctor confirmed that it was a heart attack and said I'd be taken straight to surgery.