Do you ever wonder what your visceral reaction might be in an emergency—fight, flight, or faint? We hear tale of frail mothers lifting cars to rescue their trapped children as adrenal kicks in, or a regular Joe sprinting at the speed of light to find safety when chased by some predatory being. I always pictured myself as “The Fainter”—the useless, squeamish, deer-in-headlights individual who would resort to an instant blissful sleep in order to avoid traumatic confrontation. So last week proved me wrong…
Jacob, my 17-year-old (the youngest of the clan), was scheduled for gum surgery. For anyone who has experienced this, you will already be cringing. In a nutshell, it’s where a gum tissue graft is extracted from the roof of the mouth to the receding areas along the tooth line… no, I absolutely did not Google it before the procedure and yes, Jacob totally did. :/
For two hours they worked on his gums while I read in the waiting room, trying desperately not to imagine what was going on in the dental chair. Thankfully, the surgery went well and we were sent on our merry way with an ice pack, gauze, and instructions to lie very low for the next day or so. I set Jacob up with painkillers and Netflix, truly grateful the worst was over. Two hours passed quietly and then…
*Apologies for the grossness that follows* Jacob coughed, ran to the kitchen and proceeded to haemorrhage into the sink before my very eyes. They said there may be “seeping” but this was definitely not seeping. Ordinarily, my husband would step up to the plate in a “bodily fluid situation” (I empathy-gag with vomiters, don’t do blood, and even snot makes me wretch) but as he was at work, it was clearly down to me. I briefly considered the consequences of fainting at this juncture, but quickly realized this was not an option—my boy needed me. “Fight Laura” emerged and I grabbed a giant roll of Bounty paper towels, phoned the dental surgery, rubbed Jacob’s back while he bled profusely, and was told to drive him straight to the surgery. Immediately. And calmly.
Looking back, it was a surreal experience—me smoothly giving square-breathing directions to my boy (and myself), driving like a careful maniac, watching him go into shock as the roll of Bounty pressed against his mouth turned red. My first thought? “God, I’m going to need you here!” Swiftly followed by, “Please don’t let me faint. I’m driving.” And then, “Please don’t let him faint—he’s nearly 6 foot of teenager-ness and I don’t like my chances of throwing him over my wee 5 foot 2” frame.”
For the record, prayer is not always my initial reaction, even in an emergency. It should be, but sometimes I think I’ve got it all under control—when of course, I would be so much better remembering that GOD has it all under control. He’s right there— listening, watching, waiting…
“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all.” Oswald Chambers
As we stopped for a minute, which seemed like an hour (road works—today of all days) Jacob opened the window and spewed out a flow of blood, together with what looked like a small liver. Sorry. It was a massive blot clot. Apologies to the cyclists who rode past at that very moment. My prayers turned more urgent as my son and my car resembled evidence of a massacre, I zoomed my way to that surgery, and led my bloodied boy past the waiting room full of unfortunate pre-surgery patients straight down to the private room.
And breathe. Jacob looked like he had been badly beaten up and I must have looked like death as they made me sit and drink juice as the adrenalin levels finally dropped and I was a weepy rag doll. Another hour and he was stitched up and ready for home. I’d like to say that was the end of the drama, but the next morning found us heading back down to the dental surgeon as another blood clot developed and continued for three hours—slower and less climactic than the previous one thankfully, but I have to say I felt better knowing that I’m not necessarily going to be The Fainter. And praying to my Rescuer again was a no-brainer.
Sometimes it takes a crisis situation to remind us of our vulnerability and how much we need to rely on God, doesn’t it? I love that He gives us the strength to fight when needed, to take flight if that’s the route He would have us go, and if we do happen to faint along the way… He’s our loving, gracious Heavenly Father and He carries us through.
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4
I may have a few more grey hairs after last week (buried beneath the blondeness) but I take delight in the fact that there is One who carries me, sustains me, and is my Rescuer.
Are you Fight, Flight, or Faint? Do you turn to the ultimate Rescuer first? The good news—He’s always there, even when we are slow to remember…
Stay safe out there, my friend, and be kind to your gums—
Linking up with some fabulous encouragers! Check them out:
Great story! I find your posts interesting, challenging and encouraging. Thanks, and keep it up!
Thanks so much, Sam! That’s greatly appreciated! 🙂
You weren’t kidding when you said you had an active week with your son, poor kid! And poor mom!
Right?! I think I got the preferable role in this, in spite of all the mopping up of the blood :/ Thanks for the sympathy, Kim 🙂
Oh my!!Im having palpitations Laura!!Poor Jakey and poor you!!I have to say it would have been great to be (a very bodied) fly on the ceiling of your car. Mind you, you DO have a convertible, was it used in this instance?!!!Im so glad he’s ok now but you’re so right, God should always be our first line of defence so a great reminder with a story that I doubt anyone will ever forget!!!xxx
Haha thanks Heid! It was crazy and we certainly could have done with a real live nurse! I actually put the roof up as it truly looked like a horrible accident had happened in the car… we still managed to freak out a bunch of innocent bystanders! Yes, God is our Rescuer 🙂 Thanks for stopping by xx
Yikes… I was definitely cringing through this one and I can’t imagine how I would have reacted. Prayer is usually my first response, but I don’t do well with blood! Praying for your son for complete healing!
It’s amazing what you do when there isn’t any Plan B 🙂 Thanks so much for your prayers… up last night twice with nasty bleeding still 🙁 Blessings to you and thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Wow, what an experience, Laura!! I am the same way in that sometimes prayer is not my initial reaction. It’s crazy to me because after years of reading the word and wanting to be “sold out” for Jesus, sometimes I find myself forgetting to pray when times get rough. Your post is a good reminder to use prayer as the first line of defense!
Right? You’d think we’d learn… guess it’s all that humanity or something :/ Thanks so much for stopping by and encouraging me—it’s much appreciated. Blessings to you!
Love this! Though I could have done without a few of those gory details… HA! Prayer should be our first line of defense, but as you called it above, our humanity so often gets in the way of that… Darn the devil for making us forget! Blessings!
Hi Liz—thanks for stopping by! I’m SO SORRY about the yucky stuff, but you have to admit it would have been way less dramatic without the gore 😉 I appreciate your encouragement today—blessings to you!
Love the point you make of using prayer as our first line of defense instead of our last! I’m convinced God cares abot every aspect of our life, and nothing is too small to bring to Him in prayer! Just love reading your blog posts each week:) Trusing that Jacob is back to normal!
Hey Crystal! I absolutely agree—He is a God of detail and a God who care deeply about His children 🙂 After another couple of bleeds yesterday, I think Jacob’s finally on the mend—thanks for your concern! Always lovely to hear from you—blessings!
Hi, Laura, thanks for visiting from Faith ‘n Friends. Your visit to me is what brought me to you.
I’m right there with you on not always going to God first, even in a crisis. I try to resolve a situation on my own, then after awhile, I think, “Oh, I should have prayed about this.” So, you are not alone in that.
What a story! I’m glad I didn’t read that before my daughter had her wisdom teeth removed last year. My imagination would have been running wild with all kinds of scenarios like that.
So glad Jacob is on the mend and that you found that you are stronger than you ever thought.
Blessings,
Patti @ Embracing Home
Hi Patti—welcome here! Thanks for your encouragement—it’s good to know we are all works in progress 🙂 Sorry for the disturbing content—unfortunately Jacob needs to have his wisdom teeth out, too. I think we’ll shelf that for next summer’s fun activity… I appreciate you stopping by—blessings to you!
I’m so glad he’s doing okay. I’m usually fine in the crisis and a puddle afterward. I can’t imagine how frightening that had to be! Wow!
Thanks so much, Deb—”puddle” just about sums me up after the drama! But it was another learning experience, another opportunity to lean into the father’s love and care 🙂 And we all survived! Blessings to you 🙂
Oh my word! Dental horror stories are just awful. But you are so right on- and I love the Oswald Chambers quote! Glad you and your son are alright and that the Lord protected you and armed you to fight when fainting would totally be understandable. Just prayed for a quick recovery!
Thanks SO much! I really appreciate your prayers… I think he’s finally on the mend. Lovely to have you here—thanks for taking the time to encourage 🙂 Blessings to you!
I’m actually a fighter. I’ve handled many a laceration of hands, heads and lips and a couple of broken bones during my kids’ growing up years. But your story is pretty fantastic. I’m not sure if my driving would have been as calm as yours! A good reminder that there’s often more within us than we know (until it’s tested!) thanks for sharing.
Whoa—sounds like you’re a pro! This was the first time I’ve been alone in an emergency situation… although, of course I wasn’t actually alone 🙂 I’m pretty sure I was singing “Jesus Take the Wheel” between deep breaths on that drive! Thanks so much for stopping by—blessings to you!
Oh my stars! That situation sounds AWFUL! You are a brave Mama and you did it! With God’s grace sustaining you. I love your fun writing style that engages us and keeps us smiling while learning an important tidbit of truth. How do we handle our emergencies? Do we turn to Him … or not. I hope your sweet boy is feeling better and your nerves have recovered! Thank you so much for joining me at #MomentsofHope!
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Haha—thanks Lori! Always a little drama going on to keep life interesting… 🙂 Jacob is now healing up nicely—thanks so much for your concern. Always a pleasure to join the lovely writers at #MomentsofHope! Blessings to you!
Laura, you have a wonderful way with words. I was laughing at your descriptions and thinking of the poor bikers. So glad it ended well. Blessings!
Thanks very much, Deb 🙂 You’ll be pleased to know Jacob is now totally back to normal and all is well! Thanks for stopping by. Blessings to you!