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Dr. Del Tackett is the author, architect and teacher for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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Emergency Room
Posted on December 18, 2007
Filed Under Personal, Worldview |
It is easy to begin to think that our plans are more than just plans. We start to believe that they are scripts for how things are really supposed to play out.
But, sometimes you have to throw your script away.
I just returned from a trip to Southern California to visit my Mom who had moved into a retirement community near Pasadena a few days earlier. Our plan was to further help her get settled, meet her new friends, purchase some of the items that always get left out on a move, and just enjoy her company, playing her favorite card game once or twice or as much as we could squeeze in.
Script change.
As we got off of the plane, my cell phone rang. It was the community nurse, Lynette. You know something is probably wrong when the conversation begins with “Now, first of all, your mom is okay…” The rest of the story had to do with the fact that she was in an ambulance, headed to the emergency room. After getting a brief description of her condition, I got on-line to find directions to the hospital, rented a car, and headed north to highway 210, pausing only briefly to toss my script into the trash can.
We were following a different one now.
It is important in these situations not to get upset or angry or frustrated. None of those will really change anything…they’ll only make the current script more difficult for you and for everyone around you. Now, lest you think I am lecturing here, I am not. I’m writing this in hind-sight, with an admission that I wasn’t quick enough to get a hold of these early emotions. Once they get started, you have to wrestle them to the ground, and that is sometimes quite difficult.
Yes, I was frustrated. It started with worry, then as we began to realize that she was going to be alright, it moved into frustration. The trip wasn’t going as planned. To spare you all of the gory details, she was finally released from the hospital, but it left little time to do a whole lot more than get her settled back in her apartment and head for the airport and home.
So much for my script.
However, I wanted to briefly comment on what I observed in the emergency room. We were there for about 8 hours before my mom was finally admitted, so we saw a lot. Mainly I saw a bunch of very dedicated and professional folks doing an incredible job with a steady stream of ambulances and walk-ins, including one fellow who burst into the emergency waiting room with no shirt on because it was wrapped around an arm that had a severed artery. At one point, my mom was lying on a gurney in a hallway in the midst of six policemen/security agents who were trying to coax two men to be cooperative while they were being medically attended to. I don’t know why the police had brought them in, but it made for a very interesting front row seat as I observed the amazingly cool and collected, kind and yet forceful way they dealt with a very dicey situation.
I watched as my mom’s physician was busily attending to one situation after another and yet was kind enough to stop several times and give her gentle attention. The nurses, the PCA’s, the orderlies, the emergency room staff…all deeply impressed me.
Anyway, my hat is off to all of you who are involved in the emergency medical care business. I don’t know if every night is like the night I witnessed, but if it is, you live a very exciting life. And from the eyes of a family member who is worried about the medical condition of a loved one, you instilled confidence in me and a deep thankfulness that we have developed such a marvelously well-trained and competent group of true professionals.
You helped me get my eyes off of my own little script.
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39 Responses to “Emergency Room”
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Dr. Tackett,
Thanks be to God for the positive outcome for your Mom! And your Dad? How’s he doing lately? They will both be in my prayers…
I too have observed the “Truth” of some great professionals in the hospital/ER situation. These are the professions that can be more easily aligned with our Lord’s command to serve others! Many take on this “service” with great love and dedication. I admire those that do this kind of work in such a Christ-like manner.
May you and your family have a joyous and blessed CHRISTmas Del!!!
Dan…
Merry Christmas Del, to you and your family. I’m glad your Mom and Dad are with you on this earth for yet another special Christmas. God always gives abundantly beyond what we can ever hope for. I can’t think of a better gift to have!
Dr. Tackett,
Thanks for your posting. It is both authentic and vulnerable! That is what the truth looks like sometimes. On Saturday, I got to help preside over the wedding of my friends Harry and Evangeline. Harry’s wife Carol died of cancer a little while ago. Evangeline’s husband had also passed away. Both of them loved the Lord. So the truth of two marriages ending the way they should, in “death do us part” was both authentic and vulnerable.
On top of the mixed celebrations of a new family out of two, we had to throw the script away. At 7:30 am on the day of their wedding, Harry’s mom went to be with the Lord. Very quickly the script was thrown away…and we surrendered to God’s script.
Henri Nouwen says that we need to give up the illusion of being in control of our own life, and surrender to prayer as the ultimate reality for a Christian. Thanks for your posting…i met you in Toronto, for your first Canadian training in the Truth Project. I liked what i heard there, but i love what i am learning now. Thank you! Blessings from the Crozier house to yours…both in and because of Jesus.
Rusty Crozier
Yes, emergencies are not always what you like…God is there as you know and He has our best in mind. Many years ago we had several bad operations for our children, they are in their fourties now. But these events caused them and me to see God is always there helping us. Have a great Christmas and God Bless you.
Thank you both for your generous words. I work in an ER and it does not always run so smoothly but we try. The lesson on the Emergency Room is expanded to the “outside” world. You learn to take deep breaths, take a step back from whatever situation is handed to you, count to 10 and move forward. What good is the worry and frustration? Put your mind on a higher level of expectation. The Lord really is in on it. Many vintage years have led me to this point.
Glad all is went well for the Mom.
Del,
Having a son who has been a brittle type I diabetic since age 13 and with my wife’s heart condition we have seen much of the inside of the ER. As you were, we were gratified and comforted by their dedication and proficiency. The December 2006 issue of National Geographic has an outstanding article about the medics in Iraq showing again that those who chose to serve are truly gifted by God. Praise Him for all of them.
Patrick
Dear Dr. Tackett:
I also ahve experienced an emergency room situation and appreciate the staff. I thought that your use of the word “script” is so fitting. I will see life in a different light now.
thanks for your honestly
Sharon
Dr. Tackett,
My son is a registered nurse…after a few years as hard rock miner, then deep sea diver, then ambulance attendant while going to nursing school, then emergency room work while still in nursing school.
I’m an old, former field engineer who worked around the world, was in Korean conflict, etc.
I learned to keep my head and passed that trait on to him…Many do such…
I’m proud of him. To meet him in medical emergency is to meet a kind, gentle but tough guy who does the things you saw.
When I see these things, I often wonder what the percentage of Christians are involved…In my experience it’s significant.
Those of us who know God is in control are a bit better equipped to stay calm knowing that “all things work together for those that know Him…” We are here to help God…
My son can walk into a room where someone is in serious straits, or dying, and know if the family is Christian or not… It shows…
Glad it worked out well…
God Bless,
Vern
Who says “God has no sense of humor!”? I find He usually changes the script on me just when I have no thought of living through the birth of a testimony. Times, as when kids throw up in the back of the car while you’re doing 60 MPH in the left lane. Times when tires blow out on the church van on the way back from a grace and fun filled outing. Times when you’ve scraped together just enough money to take a real vacation and on the 2nd day you broke a leg. And for the observations made, the grace experienced, and the testimonies shaped, I wouldn’t have any one of them deleted from my life.
Dr. Tackett,
Your message arrives at a time when I am trying very hard not to let go of my “script”.
Four years ago I was in a auto accident that has left me with a badly damaged spine (eight bulging discs, two of which are protruding). I was a professional ski instructor, and mountain climber. The day after the accident I shot my first national television commercial. I’m a cinematographer.
The doctors have offered very little to help me. Surgery is not a very good option as it only stands a partial chance of reducing the pain and no chance of increasing strength in my back.
I know that all things work together for good for those that love God, but I’m having a hard time seeing how that’s going to work at the moment. I’m 54 years old and I don’t know what God has left for me.
I don’t want to let go of the old script, I don’t understand what the new script is, but I would really like to know and accept the new script.
Thanks, Barry
P.S. Thank you Dr. Tackett for The Truth Project. I have been through it once and facilitated it once and it has really opened my eyes.
Thank you for reminding me that although the scripts of our lives are ever-changing - the loving scriptwriter will not!!!
Hi,
Thanks for this post - it was very insightful
I had to go to Emergency once here in Canada, and I have to say that I was blown away by the way things ran as well.
God Bless
Dr. Tackett,
It certainly goes without saying that God blessed the successful outcome of your experience.
In similar fashion I was striken with an attack of appendicitis while at work on Friday. By Saturday noon the operation had been completed and, according to the attending physician, it was just in time. I had not planned on being quite this inactive over the holidays, but perhaps God knows best. Too often we become anxious about events such as this and lose sight of the real meaning of CHRISTmas.
With All The Best Wishes for the Season,
Mike
We recently were scripted to spend time in the South Fulton Hospital Emergency Room with the same impression of the excellence of the training and work of the medical personnel there. Our group also had a sense of humor. They wore shirts that had printed on the back: ” ER You watch it. We live it.”
Dear Dr. Tacket,
I’m happy to read the events happening in the ER with a good ending on your mom’s side of the story.
Thanks be to God for He is so Meciful!
Have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Sofia Tenorio
I have found too, squash the feelings of panic/anger, let God take over. We need to be bendable. Let’s pray that we give into His will. I see that when we read the bible, it prepares us for these kind of “changes”. You really then practise what you believe in. From the head to the heart.
I also have a mother-in-law in a community in Pasadena, we have also observed their kindness and care. My own mother was a nurse and showes these same qualities to this day, at age 82, my Mom visits those she says “are more in need than she for company”, it is a quaility I hope shows up in me someday!!!
As for my script oh did that hit me hard today. Our daughter attended the institue a year ago, decided to stay in Colorado. The ’script” has recently not been what either of us had dreamed of. and it is hard. In spite of disapointments I am learning to trust God and live on His stage rather than mine even when it looks like it may be a flop….He is still in control
Thanks for sharing, glad that it all truned out well for your Mom and for you.
Merry Christmas.
DR.TACKETT,I AM SO AMAZED AT PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS AS I HAVE HAD A QUADRUPLE BY-PASS EIGHT YEARS AGO. I TELL ALL OF THEM THEY ARE AS CALLED TO THEIR PROFESSION AS ANY MISSIONARY OR PASTOR OF THE GOSPEL BECAUSE WHO IN THEIR OWN STRENGTH AND DESIRES WOULD ON THEIR OWN WANT TO CUT PEOPLE UP AND WORK UNDER THOSE KIND OF SITUATIONS AND PRESSURES TO HELP GODS CHILDREN. REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR THESE PRECIOUS PEOPLE.
Dear Dr. Tackett,
Christmas time brings us to a confrontation with LIFE! God so loved us He sent His only Son; A babe in the manger. Oh,so humble circumstances; none of the comforts of home.
As a nurse, now retired, I have seen Christmas in hospitals: the new born babe, the injured father, the dying mother, the seriously ill child, and the elderly neglected one with no one in attendance. However, in all of these circumstances there is the One present Who changes all things. Because of HIM I could offer, hope, consolation, comfort, love, understanding and guide them to The One who is responsible for CHRISTMAS and the greatest gift ever given! It was the most expensive and it was given to all.
I am thankful your Mom is OK and will keep her in my prayers. May God give you continued assurance of His Presence in all of her circumstances and in all of yours.
Thanks so much for your obedience to HIM in bringing ‘The Truth Project’ into so many lives. It has blessed all who hear it. It changes our worldviews and helps us to see and hear God’s directions in our lives more clearly.
Thank God for changing the ’scripts’ in our lives. In the change we are usually blessed!
A Blessed Christmas to you and your family.
Dr. Tackett,
As a pediatrician, I have been on both sides of that fence. Add in being a Mom and a wife, and I find myself going weeks at a time without even thinking of a script, much less following one! And yet, I find myself taking solace in the “Sacrament of the Ordinary”, or the “Sacrament of parenting”, or in your case, the “Sacrament of being a good son”. I find the most frustration when a completed task has no satisfying box to check off indicating that I’ve actually accomplished something. Eight hours in the emergency department definitely falls into that category! But, I suspect those are the times that God is most pleased with our actions.
Thanks for continuing to observe Truth in the everyday parts of life.
Blessings,
Joani Jack
Dr. Tackett,
It’s amazing what healthcare professionals deal with every day. The average person does not understand the “calling” we have. I, for one, am a hospice nurse; and it is, indeed, a calling. I am blessed to be with patients and their families each and every day on the job. I am even more blessed when I am present at their passing. God is with me every day in my work and in my personal life.
Del,
I am pleased to here you had a positive experience with your interaction with emergency services. Having been a firefighter/medic for 32 years of my life, I am always reminded that I have been blessed with an occupation of being able to serve others on their worst day, and hopefully & prayerfully make a positive difference.
Thanks for saying thanks.
In response to your query, YES, Emergency Rooms are very frequently just as you described. I work in a hospital and have frequented the ER enough to see and hear the same stories as you related.
It makes me think of the phrase (that I may not have word for word):
“You make plans, God laughs”..
I hope your mother is doing better since your blog. While I am here a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. One of my best highlights of 2007 was being introduced to The Truth Project and Professor Del Tackett. Del rocks!!
Thank you Brother Del for sharing this experience. Time and time again, we see that Father knows best, and His ways are above our ways.
We are being blessed by your ministry and The Truth Project is producing transformation.
Marry Christmas from Epling family to Tackett family and Truth Project team.
All Because of Calvary,
ty epling
Dr. Tackett,
First, I’m glad your mom was alright. Second, thanks for the recognition of the ER personel, they see these situations 24/7/365 and keep going back for more. It is one area of many (all) in a hospital that can be regarded as a high burnout area for staff. I work in a tucked away area of the hospital (Laboratory - also high stress) but deal with them by phone several times a day. 99% of the time everyone remains polite and professional, in the worst of situations. I, too, have seen policemen keep their cool while trying to help someone with outrageous behavior, praises for their dedication as well. We only hear the bad stuff when these people ’snap’. Thank you for portraying the important work they do and do it finely and under great pressure. God is good. God bless America, Land of the free, and God bless our TROOPS. Merry Christmas, Tracey MacDonald
I am a nurse anesthetist (CRNA). I was trained by a private school to whom the military had subcontracted. I have worked as a medical technician, EMT, physician extender, nurse aide, LPN, RN, Critical Care RN, ICU, post open heart ICU and finally anesthetist. Daily, MY script is thrown to the winds. I may come in expecting to perform plan “A”, but after 30 minutes find myself on plan “M”. God works through all of us in very different ways. There are days I know HE has guided my hands; I look at what was done and just say to myself, ‘No way I just did that’. Especially when in an operating room whirling in chaos if something goes ary, and of course lots of folks are looking to the head of the bed, and there you stand, praying. Praying the decisions you make in the next 10-15 seconds help your patient live. NOTHING replaces the gratitude of the families as they see their loved one after the events. Praying with people before surgery is also a very special time. We meet them and in less than 30 minutes they trust us with their life not really knowing who we are, but trusting all those intials after our names.
I’m glad your mom did well. I pray she lives a long and happy life. Also that your next script would be able to be played, just as your wrote it. If it does let me know how you did it! Mine never seem to go like I wrote either.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
In his service,
Kevin CRNA
Hi Del.
As an ER physician, this one got me. You are correct. Not everyday is like that. Some are worse, some are ‘quiet’ (although we do not like to use the’Q’ word; the jinks, you know). I am sure that your demeanor and professionalism were also appreciated by the ER staff, as you saw what they deal with. But as you know, the calm that you and yours demonstrated is not always scripted, either. It comes from knowing the Truth and having the Peace of the Spirit. Otherwise, you would be lost and acting out, as you witnessed others doing.
Having met you in person a few times and “graduating” from your Project class in Charlotte, I have a sense of your enthusiasm for what you do, and the intensity you have for Him and your students.
Our scripts are merely a straight line we draw daily, from here to there. But what fun would that be? The Lord wants us to see much more. While we need to keep our focus on Him, what He has us do today is usually not on the page we wrote.
Larry
PRC
Del,
Yep, been there and done that!
Last Christmas morning, we were preparing for a big day with the family and food, etc. My mom was visiting. She awoke feeling very bad. We had her ambulanced to the closest hospital. Bottom line: She had some issues that needed attention, and it was good for her that they surfaced.
In this case, I was the “scriptor” who through away my script. We were blessed to attend to her needs. It was one Christmas we shall never forget.
God bless you and yours in this happy season,
Larry
Dr Tackett
I am very glad your Mom is doing better and yes I can relate to ERs and the wonderful help that they provide. Just this week while I was on a business trip to Reno I got a panic phone call from my wife in North Carolina. She had tried to replace the battery in the smoke detector and had fallen with what appeared to be a slight concussion from our conversation. My very next call was to our Pastor and staff and they turned in to help my wife while I was making my way home. Later her Doc said called 911 and get to the hospital because her neck hurt. Here is my thanks to a great pair of EMTs that worked to get my wife to the ER and to more testing and finally home. Those EMTs replaced the battery before leaving the home.
Praise God for dedicated people who minister to us in our times of need. My wife is sore but find
George Crosby
Hickory NC
Dr Tackett
I appreciate your reflection and insight as always. Being an OB/GYN physician and facing unpredictable and emergent situations frequently I thank you for your respectful comments on those who dedicate themselves in the healthcare profession. I am also reminded of a quote from John Eldredge’s book The Journey of Desire that I thought you’d appreciate:
Someone has altered the script.
My lines have been changed…
I thought I was writing this play.
Madeleine L’Engle
I’m sure glad I’m not in charge!!!
Awed by Him who knows my needs,
Lee Davis
Dr. Tackett:
Thank you for sharing! I was in the ER with my stepdad just yesterday! By God’s Grace we worked with HIS plan for our day and were blessed by the caring and gentle ER staff. God’s hand was quite evident throughout our experience.
Before we left for the ER we prayed for God’s provision, wisdom and direction. Our God is faithful!
Tracy Gilbert
I have heard it said that “life is what happens when you have other plans”. And we know that God has his plans for us that often dont resemble what we had. I’m glad for the outcome you all were blessed with -maybe this is God helping you to prepare for the next step in his plans.
Del,
I am very interested in your idea of the “script”. I often am not aware I had a script until the actors jump off the stage, if you will.
This year we had our first child - a girl. As the year started, we were filled with anticipation, wondering what parenthood would be like. As the year ends, I’ve had 2 surgeries and she and I have decided that we needed 1/2 a dozen trips to the emergency room. I’ve had post-partum depression and our close friends have had a lot of issues. As we prepared to lead the Truth Project at our church in May, the ridiculous cast of people and events was amazing!So many times this year, I’ve asked God why he didn’t prevent this stuff, where he was in all of this. One day I was driving and talking to him (as I often do) like he was sitting in the seat next to me. I asked him, “Why is this stuff allowed to happen? Where’s the protection?” His answer - not audible, but definitely not a thought that came from my brain - was “You have no idea what has been asked of me.” Immediately after, the passage in Job came to my mind where the Lord is allowing Job to be tested but gives Satan limits. Praise God for the limits!
As for the medical professionals you’ve encountered - I am very glad to hear that your encounter was good. We’ve had mixed encounters this year. We’ve had amazing medical personnel that have done things for me that I cannot imagine doing for another person outside my immediate family (and even then, I’m not sure I’d have the stomach for it). Then, we’ve also experienced people who have seen so much of it that they’ve lost the perspective that this is happening to real people. Isn’t that like Christianity? Some are out sharing with the world with a kindness that makes people see Christ - and others are just clocking in, annoyed that yet another person needs something.
Del, I can certainly relate to issues about our own scripts and I can easily relate to personal issues that arise and want to take when the script does not play out as I think it should. I am personally struggling with those very things with regard to my small business and my marriage. Our desire to have our scripts played out is certainly a reflection of our selfish old nature. It is also an evidence of the spiritual battle we are engaged in as the enemy seeks to exploit our own weaknesses at the moment we are weakest.
For us it seems that the cosmic battle intensified when we decided to be involved in the Truth Project and the opposition was very apparent last spring as we sought to begin the dvd sessions at our church.
Now we have the opportunity to host the simulcast training day and the personal opposition is relentless and very nearly overwhelming. Thanks be to God for his limits and to Keely for the reminder.
I am also reminded that someone said God will not allow us into a battle we cannot win.
As I conclude I am reminded of your frequent statement to “turn and gaze upon the face of God” and I will seek comfort and strength there.
Thanks for your teaching
Rick Perry
Dear Del,
Thank You.
Love,
Mrs. Anwar Sharif Amir Allen
Hi Del Tackett,
I thank God that your mom is doing well.
I really enjoyed reading this blog thanks for sharing.
I was in the audience yesterday when you spoke at Catalina
Foothills Church in Tucson. I am new to faith in Christ (even
though I am 72 years old) and am hungry/thirsty for learning
how to witness effectively to nonbelievers. Your comment about
putting together some DVD materials focusing on examining the
TRUTH stuck a chord with me. I would like to encourage you to
follow through with such a project. The Truth Project has been a
tremendous resource for me and I can envision a companion
project for nonbelievers being a terrific resource and antecedent
to presenting the gospel to them. I pray that Truth Encounter
becomes a reality and is blessed by God in a similar way that He
has blessed the Truth Project. You are an inspiring Tour Guide.
May God continue to use you to further His Kingdom.
Del,
We pray your mom continues to enjoy health and strength.
I could write a book called, “All I Need to Know I Learned in the ER.” When you carry in a broken, bleeding child, you learn how fragile your child’s life is and how much you must depend on God to take care of them. When you bring in an elderly parent, you learn how to return the love that has been given you. When you bring in that parent with diarrhea, you learn about “feet washing.” And when I was stuck in the ER on a beautiful sunny snowy day, I learned not to cry because my brother was on the slopes, but to embrace the “script” God had written for me.
grace and peace,
Ruth