GOD SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT

When I walked into the ER at Sarasota Memorial Hospital I thought I would have a routine visit and be discharged and sent home. In the matter of four hours I was in a fight for my life. I was so severely anemic that I needed to have a blood transfusion. I immediately went to pieces, so much so that I had to be sedated. I had managed to stay out of the hospital for three years but I was in more trouble than I knew. 

When Dr. Hahn came in to speak with me he was trying to reassure me, but I would not be consoled. I was just a complete and utter basket-case. Transfusion what the hell???

Dr. Yasmeen Naeem came in to speak with me and she told me I would have to be admitted for the transfusion. She assured me that I needed to have the blood to try and get better. She asked me about my menstrual cycle and how I was feeling. I have always had long periods but what has been happening to me is most women shed their lining but I have not been shedding mine and if my weight fluctuates more than 5 pounds up or down my periods will stop, but when they come back it is heavier than it should be.

I have lost 38 pounds since October of 2011. This blood loss was wreaking havoc on my system. I cut out of my diet the very foods that could help me. Trying to save money and not letting things go bad because I don't eat them fast enough was the very iron-rich foods I could have been eating. 

I prayed, I cried, cried and prayed. My dear neighbor Ms. Barbara Smoker was the only one to come to the hospital. My sisters Sandra and Chapelle were not able to come because they had to work during the day. My youngest sister did not bother to call me until I was sitting out in front of the ER.

What I found to be so compelling was there is a quiet strenght to Ms. Barbra. when we first met I was kind of standoffish with her, not really trusting too many people. She has become over the last year one of my closest friends. Her home feels like a safe haven to me, a place where I feel protected. GOD put her in my path for a reason. She stayed with me in the hospital until I got settled in my room, but GOD  knew that I needed some guidance and he sent my nurse Bill he listened to me, he held my hand as I cried most of the time and to the wonderful charge nurse on 9WT who did my intake. Anything I was uncomfortable with she said we can just move on and until I could gain my composure. 

I was moved to a new room and I was fortunate enough to have another male nurse Mahendra and a CNA named Angie. They were very nice to me and helpful. The way Bill came down to my level to speak to me made me feel better. Mahendra gently touched my shoulder as I wept and knelt down to explain things to me.

I may not be a practicing CNA anymore, but I still have my skills and compassion for other people. I am thankful and prayerful that GOD put those people in my life and for my family and Pastor Michele Wilkes who put down a piece of prayer on the enemy. The devil is a LIAR because I am a child of the child of THE MOST HIGH GOD. He carried me, he continues to keep me and He Showed UP and Showed OUT. He is the ultimate provider.