160 over 90

Tears of relief streamed down Mary’s face as she listened to the doctor. He was the first person to empathize and identify with her since she started sharing her discomfort and pains. Mary couldn’t believe it but she knew better. This doctor was an answer to prayer. Mary had prayed that just the right professional would be available to talk with Mary. Mary wanted someone who would know what her problem was and would understand and correctly identify what it was. Her own doctor was just too busy to see her that morning. So she had decided on going to the walk-in clinic.
What a gift that turned out to be because this doctor that she finally did see had gone through what Mary was going through himself! After taking her blood pressure and showing concern for her BP of 160/90 he shared that he had been on a treadmill in his living room when he collapsed. His medical background and the other doctors in his field helped him discover what his problem was. At first, they had said he had angina. However, he was not satisfied with this diagnosis and booked himself in for a stress test.
All of this eventually led to a triple by-pass. Mary looked at him from her chair in his office. Despite hearing was she did she was relieved, albeit, a little frightened at what might happen. After some comforting words and a little hug the doctor immediately booked Mary in for cholesterol as well as a zillion other blood tests. The doctor encouraged her to go right away and get the tests done and so Mary sat for another two hours waiting to get her blood taken.
While killing time Mary talked to two other people who were also waiting to have their blood drawn. One was an older thin woman who had cancer of the stomach and had decided not to take anymore radiation and chemo therapy as she had enough. The woman seemed to have a very peaceful demeanor. The other person was a tall man with sparse hair, who was older, perhaps in his late 70’s, and he also had cancer. His was in his liver. What surprised Mary was that although he had open heart surgery and then the cancer was as reticent about his cancer as the woman had been. Mary was bewildered at the attitudes. They took their situations as very matter of fact. They both agreed it was what life was offering them right now and what other choice did they have, seemed to be their response. Boy, that stupefied Mary, but somehow their quietness also brought calm to her spirit. It was good talking to these two people who had multiple operations and had lived through so very much. After her visit at the medical center Mary took her prescription for nitroglycerin spray to the pharmacy. They didn’t have any! She would have to wait until the next afternoon to get the spray. Mary wondered to herself how many people had died while waiting for their medication to arrive! Everything seemed to be happening so fast because she had hardly gotten home from the doctor’s and a cardiac unit phoned. They booked Mary in for a stress test on Friday! This was Monday.
Later over supper Mary shared the morning’s events with her husband Robin. For the second time that day there were tears running freely. But these ones were not Mary’s but her husband Robin’s. He had lost one wife and this was not an easy pill to swallow. He did not want to lose Mary, too. Mary could only hold Robin and reassure him that she didn’t feel this problem was leading to her death, not now anyways. But Mary had needed to talk about it and talk she did. Mary knew in her heart that God‘s healing solution for Mary’s weight and troubles might just be these heart troubles. This could be the “whatever” God was going to use.
Mary knew the tears were not over just because the day was yet a sense of relief filled her that she had done something about her pain. Not knowing and not doing anything had only exacerbated the problem. With a sigh she relaxed in her chair and sipped at a cup of tea. Things were about to change. She knew it in her spirit. It was unnerving but was a good thing. “Thank you, God” she whispered. “Thank you, for your “whatever” and my answer to prayer”.