Luck of the Irish

St. Patrick's Day has always been a fun celebration: green beer, green fountains, green rivers.  So much green! I claim to be Irish, although my family debate continues. Hopefully, DNA testing will someday settle the score.

Three years ago on St. Patrick's Day, I went for a run in our neighborhood. Rounding the corner on my way home, I didn't see my husband's vehicle in its usual place in the driveway. A tiny red flag went up, and I wondered if my father-in-law needed help.

Once inside the house, I saw THE note. Oh, wow. Which hospital? I tried calling my husband's cell phone. No answer. As soon as I hung up, he called me back to say, "I'm in the emergency room; I'm having a heart attack."

Yep, that matter-of-fact news sent me scurrying in the direction Piedmont Newnan Hospital. He was settled in a comfortable bed in ER, only after parking his vehicle and walking across the parking lot to the entrance.

Everything seemed under control. David didn't want to bother anyone right away with this episode. His best friend's sister, Pat, was working the ER that day. It was only a few minutes after I arrived that they administered some morphine. David's last words were, "Oh, I'm feeling that." And then he seemed to pass out. It took a single second to realize he was flatlining.

Believe it or not, I was able to calmly remain in the corner of the room and watch my first ever live code blue. On my husband. Yes, just like the movies. Pat held the defibrillator while everyone was instructed to, " Stand clear." And then it happened--the little beep, beep, beep on the monitor came back. David, oblivious to what just happened looked up at Pat and asked, "Have you called Richard, yet."

Pat: "I've been a little busy!"

I can't say whether or not it's the luck of the Irish. My husband is Norwegian (a close cousin to the Irish.) Maybe I'm part Irish; perhaps Pat is part Irish.

Very likely it was by the grace of God who loves the Irish. And, thankfully,  also the Norwegians.

[Carolyn Fjeran, LowTide explorer/reflective writer with a colloquial twist; horticulturist & gardener; former writer for Cooperative Extension Service, Master Gardeners, and The Newnan Times Herald]