Big Mistakes and Powerful Mercy from Above

Big Mistakes

It would be hard to guess how many doctors, interns and fellows I met while Bill was in the hospital. There were so many that most of the time I didn’t even try to remember their names. Just when I thought I had memorized their faces a new one would pop in, so it didn’t surprise me when an unfamiliar guy in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck came into Bill’s room. The nurses had taken Bill somewhere for a test. The doctor (he was actually an intern) looked around the room and asked me if I was a family member and I said yes, that I was the wife. He then proceeded to tell me that some test results were back and he needed to speak with me about them.

Before I could even ask what tests he was referring to he told me that they showed extensive liver damage and hepatitis. (I’m pretty sure he said what kind of hepatitis but by this time I was in shock and I don’t remember a lot of the other mumbo jumbo he said. “The prognosis is grim,” he said. (I do remember that part.) After a few more minutes of explaining the test results to me he mentioned that they had drained 4 liters of fluid from his stomach. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.

This just wasn’t sounding right.

“What is your patient’s name?” I asked.

His eyes grew huge. “Oh my God,” he said. “Is this room 710?”

By now I was crying. “No, it’s 708.”

He started pacing the room and running his hands through his hair while I continued to cry.

“I don’t know how this happened,” he said. “This room looks just like 710.”

I finally stopped crying but I was shaking all over. “Look, you obviously made a mistake. A big mistake. We’ve been through so much and you just scared the living daylights out of me.”

He apologized over and over and begged me not to tell anyone and I didn’t….until now.

I don’t want to get him into trouble and don’t believe I will by sharing this or I wouldn’t tell you. Even if you guessed which hospital there are hundreds of interns and my lips are sealed. I suspect he was overworked and tired. I know his mistake was unintentional and he seemed sincerely sorry. Before he left I made him promise me that he would never enter a patient’s room without double checking the room number and asking for the patient’s name.

Powerful Mercy

He was in a pretty big hurry to get out of our room and I sat there alone in silence. He couldn’t possibly realize how frayed my nerves were and just how much he’d upset me. How could he be so irresponsible? Then I realized I was focusing on me and my feeling. There was someone else in the picture who hadn’t been in the room. The man in room 710 was about to get the worst news of his life.

He was someone’s husband. Someone’s father. Someone’s loved one. Someone’s friend.

And so I prayed for him and his family and while I was at it I prayed for the young intern as well.

No matter how hard we try to do right, occasionally we mess up. I have made more than my fair share of mistakes. Some of them were small and some were BIG, but I am forgiven by God. Thank you, Lord for your mercy!

I’m so thankful for God’s gifts of grace and mercy. If I can’t share that with everyone I meet then I’m the one who is making a big mistake. Thank you, Jesus, for taking my sins to the cross.

This Sunday will be Bill’s first Sunday back at church. If you live close enough we’d love for you to be there with us. We want to thank you for #prayingBillhome and we want to praise God for holding our hands while we walked through the valley. Just message me and I’ll send you the church address. Hope to see you there!

For more of Bill’s story click here….https://nanahood.com/praybillhome