No Regrets
Sixteen years ago today, this car (with my son inside) flipped multiple times through the median of Interstate 20 near Madison, Georgia. It came to rest ‘wheels down’ in the opposing lane. Hundreds of fans headed to the Georgia vs. Tennessee game waited and watched as the helicopter landed, loaded and then headed off to Grady Hospital’s Trauma Unit. Unable to keep the breathing tube in place, the crew was forced to land so the EMT could re-intubate. Critical time lost.
When I first saw him being rolled toward the ICU, seven people surrounded the gurney . . . one rhythmically squeezing air into his lungs. It was about as desperate a situation as you could imagine. Brain-bleed. Intracranial pressure. Damaged middle meningeal artery. His condition deteriorated steadily over those first hours. Into the night and through the next morning, worse and worse still.
All night we knelt on the floor of Grady Hospital and prayed. Little by little, the group grew. By daybreak, there were 20 of us.
Pray.
Wait.
Pray some more.
On Sunday morning, people prayed at our church. People prayed at churches we’d never heard of. God heard a chorus of prayer pleading for Him to intervene and spare the life of our son.
About 45 minutes after Sunday morning services ended, his condition took a turn for the better. The brain bleed stopped growing. The intracranial pressure stabilized. By nightfall, the bleed was shrinking. The next morning, he was moved from ICU to a regular room. On Tuesday, he was moved to Shepherd Center where acute brain injuries are treated. A week later, he was released. A month later, he was back in school. 16 years later, he’s helping people with skin cancer, loving and serving his wife & two little boys, and serving the God who gave him a second chance at life.
Did our prayers save his life? Did we change God’s mind? Would He have survived anyway? I have no idea. But I can say I’ve never heard anyone regret praying. In a crisis, get everyone who can fog a mirror to pray. You can’t be ashamed of your faith and ask someone to pray for you at the same time. I believe God gets glory when we humble ourselves and ask people to pray for us. And when we lay our heart’s desires on God’s altar and ask fervently and repeatedly for His help, that’s all we can do. Outcomes are His business. Trusting Him is our only reasonable option. He may not get us out of our crisis, but I know He’ll get us through.
Prayer: “Thank you Father for your kindness in allowing our son to survive this wreck. You showed us your Grace through this gauntlet. Please show it to those in the gauntlet now. And especially to those who deal daily with the loss of a dear one for which there is no easy explanation. They need a double portion of your Grace and peace. In the beautiful name of your son Jesus we pray. Amen”
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Responses (4)
Awesome blog. Thankful the good Lord decided leave Ross with us for a spell.
Yeah, me too. For sure.
Great post!
There is no doubt God has both plan and purpose in the midst of adversity. As someone who has received Grace in the midst of the gauntlet I know first hand the power of prayers on my behalf as I have battled metastatic merkel cell skin cancer three times. Thank you for sharing such an important life lesson and thank Ross for the work he is doing to treat those who battle the various skin cancer diseases!
Thank you Tom. Keep up the good fight.