Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Email from Sally Herman a Trauma Nurse

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine…
Song of Songs 6:3
Great is His love and faithfulness. It’s His faithfulness that carries us!
Let us sing about the glories of His name.
His awesomeness let us forever proclaim!
Until, He ...Our Bridegroom comes and takes us--- His Bride, away!
As we flew over the scene of the accident, all I saw was crumpled metal. Car and truck metal, various car parts, broken glass and personal belongings had been thrown all over the highway; stopping all traffic from the west to the east. From the air, I had to rub my eyes a few times to figure out the mechanics of this multiple car and truck accident. A runaway car had crossed over the median; thus, rolling against the oncoming 75-mph traffic like a torpedo out-of-control. Caught completely off guard, people driving in their cars and trucks slammed their brakes in hopes to keep from colliding and crashing. However, what was hoped for ended up being cars and trucks rolling all over the highway like wind-swept tumbleweeds blowing across the desert floor.
Many helicopters were called as this scene filled up with ambulances and fire trucks. Police stood on all sides of the highway stopping all oncoming and going traffic. As we gathered our wits, my partner and I quickly jumped out of our helicopter and walked over the mountains of metal while carrying all our gear--not knowing what to expect.
Our patient (a 26 year-old woman with the most beautiful china doll face) was lying on the ground, covered with a blanket while supported on her side by three firemen; she was crying out in pain.
I knelt down beside her. As I was kneeling down onto the gravel and glass, I took a quick look at her crumbled car and noticed something that took my breath away. In the driver’s seat was her husband. The car had completely wrapped around him before turning on its side. He was lying still in what was left of the drivers seat; his head covered with a blanket.
I knew.
I knew he had died instantly. Lying on the ground beside the driver’s side of the car was his left leg that had been torn from his large muscular frame.
My heart stopped for what seemed like forever--as I took all this in.
His bride lay on the ground crying out in pain. I quickly came back to the task at hand and began examining this young girl for life-threatening injuries. The firemen supported her on her side; for she could not lie on her back. Her left leg was folded up like an accordion. She had fractured her left femur which is one of the most painful of all trauma injuries. We got to work right away. We started IV’s and told her that her pain was going to go away in a just few minutes as I drew up the much needed pain medication. She looked at me, covered in blood from the top of her head down to her arms and chest and politely said..
“Oh thank you, thank you so much!"
Her pain had ceased with the appropriate medication and we pulled her left leg into a traction splint which further relieved the excruciating pain from the fracture. We had placed her on oxygen and I then began to examine her other injuries.
Where did all this blood come from?
I tenderly wiped the blood from her face, her eyes while feeling all over head for external wounds that had caused such blood loss. None.
Wiping off her chest, shoulders, arms and hands---- still nothing.
I then realized something. She was covered with the blood of her groom. When the firemen had extricated her from the vehicle, they found that she had been thrown behind her husband during the impact of the crash.
He had taken the blow; he had died in her place.
It was the shedding of his blood that had covered her. He had shielded her from what would have been a sure fate of death for the both of them.
My eyes welled up. The reality of this hit me. I took a moment to glance down at her left hand. There it was. She wore a beautiful diamond ring; however it was now covered with the blood of her husband.
Simply put---she wore a blood-diamond.
I dropped the gauze towel that was in my hand. I could no longer wipe off anymore of that precious blood. It was as if this moment had become very Holy in the midst of the surrounding chaos that comes with working an accident scene of this magnitude. People were crying and yelling while firemen were running around ripping through car metal with loud machinery in order to set other patient’s free.
Trying to work quickly, we did all we could for her before we lifted her up and carried her traction-splinted body on the backboard to the helicopter.
I walked beside her and held onto her blood-covered hand.
“We are going to take you in the helicopter, sweetheart. We are going to get you to the hospital where they can take really good care of your fractured leg.”
She looked at me completely unaware of the proportion of her loss along with the reality of her own redemption and softly said, “Oh… thank you, thank you so much.”
You see, the human body by God’s design is built to handle only so much shock at one time. Even though she had been trapped behind her dead husband’s body and the firemen had to work around him to get her out---her mind had blocked it. It is a God given self-protecting mechanism built within our soul. The pain from her fractured femur was enough to overtake all of her senses. If she had grasped the reality of all her losses, her physical and sensory systems would have exploded and she would have quickly gone into shock--shutdown. She would have physically died.
Flying over the desert to the trauma center, we worked on our beautiful bride. Arriving into the trauma center---we gave report to the trauma team as they quickly began to work on her.
We told them there was a 963—on scene.
She would not get the tragic news of what had happened until the proper people were positioned to be there for her support. I left her with the team and quietly went up to the hospital roof where my helicopter was awaiting. It had begun to softly rain. I was numb to what had just happened.
Lord, Jesus… Why does there have to be so much pain in this world?
I couldn’t shake off my grief for this girl. At that very moment, the sun started shining against the light rain. I closed the door of the helicopter as we started to slowly lift off the helipad. My mind was far away…. However, God was working to break through the distance and held my heart in a defining moment.
God answered my questions.
For, as we started to fly, I noticed our helicopter was eclipsed by the most colorful rainbow I had ever seen. In fact, from the middle I could see both ends of this beautiful color scheme.
We were exactly centered in the middle of this beautiful creation!
And can you believe this? It stayed with us until we landed safely at our home-base.
Although, not audible… God was speaking. He was speaking to my questioning heart in a way that was as beautiful as that rainbow.
My child---do you remember the story? Do you remember the promise I made at the creation of that rainbow? Although, many years have come and gone, my Word still stands strong. My child, I made a promise to you and to the entire world that I would not drown-out the evil of the world—again.
Instead, I would bring to the entire world the promise of redemption by my Own Son. He would be the One to absorb all the evil of the world; be crushed, broken and shoulder every blow of every evil thing meant to destroy you. My dear child, He is Your Bridegroom. His blood is the blood that covers over you. He bought and saved you; your engagement ring is covered by the high price of His blood.
My child, Your Bridegroom is coming back for you. Hang on.
I promise you, that every pain of this world will be ended.
I PROMISE
I Love You,
Your Bridegroom.
Great is Your Faithfulness, Oh Lord.
It is Your Faithfulness that carries me.
Even in the many times I’ve run away.
Forsook Your love and all Your grace.
Still, You called me back by my own name.
Yes, You care---You cared enough that I would be saved.
I will forever sing the glories of Your name.
Your awesomeness I will proclaim..
Until You come, My Bridegroom---until You come
to
Take Your Bride away.
Like a thief in the night….You will surely come!
You will come and take Your Bride away!
Hang on my child… your hope is in His promise!

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