Life Comes at You Fast

You know those Nationwide commercials that show life's "unexpected" events that come when you least expect it? One such commercial shows a parent pushing his young child on a swing. After a few pushes, the child is now a full-grown adult who knocks Dad over on the swing back. The commercials all end with, "Life Comes at You Fast. Nationwide is on your side." These commercials crack me up. (You can find them all on various internet sites.) Humor is at the heart of Nationwide's "Life Comes at You Fast" campaign to help educate viewers on the importance of being prepared. By entertaining their audience, they are able to open the door for healthy discussions about insurance and financial services that help prepare their customers before the unexpected happens. As we all know, "Life" does come at us fast.

I've been thinking a lot about that, lately. My friend, Emily, and her family have had one of those "fast" moments come at them, though it was not humorous. Emily was due to have her baby October 17th...her sixth. After presenting at the hospital with a horrific headache, she had her baby on the 12th (Sunday) in the early morning. Her healthy baby has since come home from the hospital. Emily has not. The headache turned out to be a symptom of pre-eclampsia. However, it could not be stopped and this resulted in a full case of eclampsia. She has been battling swelling and bleeding in the brain, seizures, a breathing tube, high blood pressure, non-clotting blood, lots of drugs, and heavy sedation...all a result of a very serious condition call HELLP Syndrome - Hemolytic Anemia (low blood pressure), Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelet Count (prevents blood from clotting) . It is a life-threatening variant of Pre-eclampsia, but far worse. After being in a medically induced coma for a couple days, she had not seen her baby since shortly after the birth. Naturally, when she woke up, she wanted to see her baby. However, the baby has since come home. Things have been very scary for her little family. Her husband has been staying in the ICU with her almost 24/7. Close family members have been around on the home-front to care for the other five (and now six with the newborn). We have been praying for her family constantly. I have been drawn to tears many times these last few days, as I learn more of her situation. I am helping only in the ways I know how (aside from praying for them). I brought in dinner last night and got to see their new, little angel. But I am saddened thinking about how this baby is away from her mommy. And today, I had three of Emily's little girls come to my house to play. They left my house this evening to go visit their mom in the hospital for the first time since she had the baby.

I am happy to note, that Emily's health is improving. The kids were able to go see her tonight, only because her condition has been upgraded and she was taken out of ICU today. Though her recovery has been miraculous, she has a very long way to go. Her platelet counts are rising daily and the the CAT scans have shown no new signs of bleeding and swelling (just what was there before). The breathing tube has been taken out, she is off much of the medications she was on, is able to talk (though still raspy and not for long periods of time), and was up walking briefly today. She was happy to see her six kids, especially her baby.

As I have been following her status updates, I have been humbled realizing just how fast things can change. One day, things are "perfect", and the next day you're living a nightmare. I was imagining what it would be like to go through Emily's challenge without any help. Birthing a baby (c-sections included) without friends and neighbors, and Relief Society sisters bringing in meals, watching kids, or helping you pack (as was my case while recovering from a hernia repair gone bad), would be challenging enough. Just as the commercials state..."Nationwide is on your side", we can be comforted knowing we have an "insurance" plan in place, or at least an "assurance" (or re-assurance) plan. We have a loving Heavenly Father who is on our side as we pass through these unexpected turns of events. Most of us are lucky enough to have family/friends that can come to our aid, be it physically or spiritually. We can pray and hope for miracles, and through that hope and faith, we can find those "assurances" we need. Even if things don't turn out the way we want them to, our Heavenly Father's love for us can be felt. It is through our faith that we are strengthened. We gain a better understanding of His plan for us. We have the ultimate "assurance" that no matter what happens to us; no matter how tough life gets; if we prove ourselves worthy, our family can be together forever in His presence. I can't think of a better insurance plan than that.

You can follow more of Emily's progress here.