Pinch Hitter

Hebrews 10:19 -- "Brothers and sisters, we are not afraid to enter the Most Holy Room. We enter boldly because of the blood of Jesus." [NIRV]

image: onlineathens.com

The room was dim and hued with the slight blue green glow of the monitor attached to my husband. There were more wires sticking out of him than I could count and I couldn't take my eyes off the blinking screen. With every struggling breath he took, I watched Steven's heart-rate climb ever upward while his blood pressure continued to tank. Every breath from my own lips was a prayer.

Pneumonia was kicking his butt.

After six whole liters of IV fluid Steven's heart rate began to come back down and his exhausted body lay limp on the bed with a breathing tube in his mouth and a cannula for oxygen around his face. When his eyes finally closed to rest - I softly put the palm of my hand to his chest - just to reassure myself that his heart was beating and his lungs were pumping the way they should.

I know that in the game of baseball a pinch hitter is a back-up player that replaces a batter not performing up to par. In Steven's case - since his lungs were too flooded to do the work alone - a nice man from respiratory came in and issued a pinch breather. From the simple looking tube in Steven's mouth came a wonderful medicine that opened up his air ways. Before too long, the O2-SAT readings [oxygen saturation level] on my nemesis, the monitor, were showing great improvement. My own breathing began to even out some as I began to run down the list of family members who would need to be notified and began dialing each phone number.

I wanted a pinch hitter for my husband. I wanted a patient advocate that would have Steven's best interest at heart and apply the medicine and technology that would allow him everything he needed to heal.

No too long after official admission into Baptist South we were introduced to a wonderful nurse by the name of Damon. Damon is the bomb, let me tell you. If Steven so much as fluttered an eye lid Damon was right by his side - checking vitals, giving meds, and adjusting IV's. Not only did he take the mechanics of his job seriously - but he also put some flare into the performing of it. He laughed, he joked, he talked about his family and then asked about ours. He shared parental anecdotes and even a recipe or two. But he never took his eyes off of Steven. He even committed the ultimate nursing fopaux by second guessing instructions left by Dr. Internal Medicine when it came to the antibiotics in Steven's IV. Damon's sole concern was the well-being of his patient. He was our advocate. He was our link to Steven's doctor and he did everything he could on Steven's behalf to ensure that my husband was given every care possible.

As mere humans mucking things up on this planet - we don't have what it takes to reach God on our own. We were/are in desperate need of a pinch hitter . . . someone who has what it really takes to knock the ball out of the park and bring us all to home plate.

The beautiful thing is: we have that Someone. We can walk boldly over home plate because Jesus shed his blood to cover our inadequacies. His blood washed our sins clean and we can now stand before God free of all the things that we humans allow to come between us and Him. Jesus is our advocate - our link to our Maker. He did EVERYTHING on our behalf to ensure that we are once again reunited with God.

What wonderful news! We have already been gifted One who would go to bat for us! AND -- we know that Jesus has already won the whole game for us.

THAT my friends - is reason to celebrate, indeed!