I had one of “those” phone calls early one morning this week. You know, the kind where your world turns upside down and all your plans are changed instantly.
I answered my phone and heard my son say, “Kella took Nolan to the doctor this morning. He had a seizure while they were there and they are taking him to the hospital by ambulance.”
My heart felt like it dropped to the floor. Ten-month-old Nolan is adorable and such a precious baby. He’s so easy-natured and smiles all the time. It made me cry just thinking about him going through that.
I told Jason I’d be there as soon as I could, and I began rushing around the house getting dressed, praying all the time for our sweet baby boy. When I got to the hospital, Nolan was one sick little boy, completely out of it. It hurt seeing him like that. The nurses were so kind as they zipped in and out of the room dispensing medicines and checking his vital signs.
The hours seemed long as we waited, watching our tiny boy cradled in his mama’s arms. While we sat there, Kella filled us in on what had happened that morning. Nolan’s fever had gone quite high so she had taken him to the doctor’s office for their early hour appointments.
He began the seizure as she carried him into the room where they’d be seen. It lasted for six minutes—a lifetime for a scared little mama—as my little buddy’s body jerked and shook. When he started turning blue, the doctor gave him oxygen and then the ambulance transported Nolan to the hospital.
As the medicines started doing their job, little Nolan’s fever began to go down, and as it did, our little guy began to awaken. It was such a relief to all of us when we saw those beautiful blue eyes opening. We sat there for several more hours as they tried to get him to take some of his bottle, hours where he faded in and out.
And then Kella told us something that so touched my heart. She said, “While I was driving to the doctor’s office this morning, God whispered, ‘Are you going to be okay when I send Nolan to the hospital?’”
She said, “I thought that was so weird. Why would God send him to the hospital? But then the thought hit me, ‘If You do, God, I know You took care of Ava and you’ll take care of him, too.’”
READ MORE: THE CROSS ON THE HILLSIDE
Two years earlier, their daughter, Ava, had also had a seizure when she had a high fever. Kella called 9-1-1. She was at home, alone with her daughter, and terrified—verging on hysterical. But then—in that wonderful way God has of orchestrating the details of our lives—when the 9-1-1 operator answered the phone, it was Winston Parrish, a dear friend who was also a paramedic.
He calmed Kella down and told her what she could do to help Ava. He got in touch with our son who was at church that night and let him know what was happening. And then he told Kella, “I’m going to stay on the line with you until the ambulance gets there.” I can’t tell you how much that meant to us.
And now two years later as we sat at the hospital with little Nolan, we talked about how precious God had been to send exactly what Kella needed that night with Ava.
We were so grateful that the doctors released Nolan later that day. On my drive home from the hospital that afternoon I was thinking about how good God had been to our family and of how He had provided all that was needed that day.
He prepared Kella’s heart before the crisis arrived.
She could have been at home or in the car on the way to the doctor’s office when the seizure happened, but God had her and Nolan at the doctor’s office where he could get the help and the oxygen he needed.
God brought the fever down and provided the relief of hearing the doctor say that Nolan’s seizure was a febrile one that was brought on by the high fever and that he didn’t expect Nolan to have any more problems from it.
And He was so gracious to have all of it happen where our four-year-old granddaughter didn’t see it. Ava would have been so scared to see her beloved little brother like that.
God provided sweet friends who prayed us through. We literally had hundreds of people praying for Nolan and our family, and their messages and phone calls were such a comfort.
I’m so grateful my littlest buddy is okay, and I’m thankful beyond words for a God who walks through the tough moments of our lives with us, providing exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Isaiah 46:1)
