When you are told your son is not going to make it...

You Learn to Trust!

It all started with a call in the middle of the night from a friend of my wife's!

Get to the hospital NOW - the screaming - a deafening voice - on the other end of the telephone said...

That is how it began - a night that I learned the true meaning of Trust. I thought I knew it before. No - Now I knew it.

Oh yes - I knew all the definitions of how to Trust. After all - I had trained on the subject for many years. Here are just a few...

The night started like any other night - very routine.

My wife and our two boys had dinner together. Our boys were both 6 at the time. No - they are not twins. They are both adopted.

I always get a little sensitive when I bring up the subject of them being adopted. When we tell people they are six months apart they almost all respond in the same manner - they look a little puzzled - then they blurt out - oh - then they can't be yours.

Why can't they be ours... They have been with us since they were 3 months and 7 months old.

Let's just say that once you have changed a ton of dirty diapers, cleaned up their puke, waited at the emergency room or doctors offices for hours, listened to them cry, helped them through school, watched and waited with them during the birth of your grandchildren - they are yours.

That night after dinner my wife told me that she thought she had a bladder or yeast infection. She thought it would be a good idea to go to the emergency room just to make sure.

I was not that excited or worried since her entire pregnancy had been extremely tough. An when I say tough - that does not even begin to explain it. I think that they placed a new definition of tough in the dictionary after this.

Keep in mind that I had spent 12 years in the Marine Corps so I knew tough.

I told her I would get the boys ready so that we could go and she said no. She had already spoken with her very good friend and she would take her.

To be honest I was relieved. I was glad that she was able to delegate work to her friend. Remember the definition - to commit or entrust to another.

I knew that the wait at the emergency room would be a long grueling miserable experience. Yes - these are thoughts of a selfish person.

I have learned a great deal from that night - including that fact. Age has a way of revealing many things - some good - and some not so good.

Well off to the hospital they went. I guess it was around 7'ish or so. I gave the kids a snack - a bath - put in their pj's - and off to bed they went. Now I had the house to myself for about an hour before I would go to bed.

You see my bed time was 9:00 pm on the dot. I had to be up by 4:30 am to make my routine trip to work everyday. I loved everything about my job except the daily drive in traffic about 60 plus miles one way. Southern California traffic - need I say more?

At 9:00 pm sharp I did just as I always did - went to bed.

It didn't take long and I was sleeping like a spoiled rotten pig. I say this because I don't know if I already mentioned it yet - but I was selfish. Yes - I am working on it.

I should have been with my amazing wife - but no - my wife was thinking of me when she was able to delegate my responsibility to someone else. She knew I was worried about sleep. Give me a break!

Now our lives were about to change - all hell was about to break loose.

It was 10:31 pm - I know exactly what time it was because the digital clock in our room has been burned into my memory bank only to be removed by death itself - maybe.

Again the time was 10:31 pm when I was woken to the sound of a ringing telephone. Normally my wife always got the phone. Why wasn't she getting the phone I thought as it continue to ring.

I sat up and crawled across the bed - the phone was on her night stand - and I picked up the phone.

GET TO THE HOSPITAL NOW! The voice on the other end of the line was screaming. Imagine for a moment you are woken up from a dead sleep to a voice that is screaming for you to get to the hospital and your wife is not by your side.

Not a good thing at all to experience. No not at all.

She continued to scream in a deafening voice - as if I can still hear it today - YOUR WIFE IS HAVING THE BABY NOW!

I leaped from the bed - ran into the boys room - got them out of bed - got them dressed - grabbed the suit case my wife had packed for the hospital - strapped the boys into their car seats I think - and we flew to the hospital. When I say flew - I mean flew.

You see it was about 12 miles to the hospital from our house. I arrived at the hospital a little before 11:00 pm. You do the math.

I carried both boys from the car into the emergency room where I was met by my wife's friend. She was crying and trying to tell me that my wife was already in surgery.

A nurse came over and ushered us into a nearby room.

As we sat down I was overcome with grief. That is - until a very good friend had arrived and came in beside me. Actually he was already there - I just now noticed him.

I was very relieved to see him. There was no one else that could have been there to see us through this except him.

As I sat there I just kept rambling on to him - almost never stopping to listen to what he had to say. I just kept saying you got to help her get through this.

You just have to help her. Over and over again.

A few minutes later the doctor who we knew very well and a personal friend came into the room. With my good friend and my two boys by my side - the doctor knelt down - and with tears in his eyes - said those horrible words.

He said Greg your wife is fine but I don't think your son is going to survive.

My friend grabbed me tightly and whispered to me that my son would be fine. It gave me unbelievable confidence when I heard him tell me this. So I repeated those words loudly to the doctor - I told him my son would be fine - take me to him now.

He said of course I will.

We all rose to our feet and followed the doctor to another room just off the main waiting area for the emergency room. There I saw for the first time my son.

I wanted to drop to my knees and cry like a baby. I was in disbelief. You see these kinds of things on television involving someone else's family - not your.

There my son was on the table lifeless with at least six medical professionals working frantically to save him. They were breathing for him - who knows what else - I just knew I was unable to help.

I turned again to my friend. I pleaded with him to help in any way possible. You see he had the ability and knowledge to know what he needed. He has helped countless individuals in just as bad or worse condition.

He was a very famous person. He just held me tightly and repeated again that my son would be fine - trust me - and trust them.

He said it with such confidence again that I could not help but trust him in what he said. If anyone knew that what the doctors were doing it was him.

I was trying to remember how my friend knew that this was happening - after all he was already at the hospital when I arrived. How could that be. I must have called him after I knew. He and I were very close.

He would do anything for me - he proved that many times over the course of our relationship. Even today we are so close.

They told me that they had already contacted Loma Linda University Hospital and that he would be airlifted. They were sending a team to get him.

This was music to my ears since my sons heart had already stopped two times now. Fortunately they were able to revive him. This all happened before I had a chance to see him for the first time.

The problem was something called paroxysmal supra ventricular tachycardia or PSVT. This is a condition that causes the heart to beat out of control.

In most cases so fast the machines can not even count the number of heart beats. The hospital that he was in was not equipped at all to handle his condition. I am not criticizing them at all - they were amazing.

But the doctors at the local hospital did what they should do - and were able to delegate his condition to a place that was able to handle it. My friend knew exactly what the condition was and knew with the right treatment my son would be fine.

They had to put him into this so that he could make the helicopter ride to the hospital.

As soon as they closed and locked the glass compartment his heart stopped again. The deafening sound of the machine that counts his heart beating rang out.

If anyone has ever heard the sound of that machine flat lining with someone that they love attached to it - it is unmatched by anything else.

The medical team all froze in their tracks. They were stunned that his heart had stopped. I very clearly remember they all looked at us - most likely wondering what we were gong to do.

Would we loose it - or would we hold it together. Well let me tell you - I was on the verge of loosing it.

I had visions of my son being placed into a coffin and being buried. My friend gabbed me while the machine was flat lining and said - he will be fine - trust me. Haven't I asked you to trust me. Then trust me. As soon as I said that I trusted him - my sons heart started on its own.

I needed to entrust others to handle this life threatening situation. This was extremely hard for me. I was this Marine - take charge of the situation - don't leave things to chance - don't quit - never say die.

My wife was wheeled out on a stretcher so she could see our son before he was loaded into the helicopter. I asked my friend to go with him. Now no one else would have been allowed to go.

But if you remember I told you my friend was incredible. He was very well known and he was going along even though I couldn't. I said make sure he is ok - and my friend just said what he had said already - trust me.

I then had to go get some things for my wife - since she was going to have to be in the hospital for several days recovering from the emergency C-Section. They didn't take their time removing my son.

I took the boys home and I got some things together for her. Before leaving to go to Loma Linda I called them. I was put right through to the doctor.

When I got onto the phone he began rattling off medical terms that flew over my head.

I interrupted him to ask what he was trying to tell me and he says - OH MY GOD - I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE CARDIOLOGIST. You see he was frantically working on my son trying to save his life.

Now I wondered if I was going to make in time to see him or not.

I loaded the kids up and off we flew to Loma Linda. Normally it was about an hour drive but I know it was not that long this night.

By the time we arrived they were able to get my sons heart beat under control. I met my friend who was right by my sons side. Although the doctor told me that my son was still in danger - my friend told me - again - trust him and everything would be find.

The doctor also told me that my son would be in the hospital for months - maybe longer based on his condition.

My friend disagreed . Again he knew.

After a few hours there I needed to go back to the other hospital where my wife was. I asked my friend to continue staying with my son and of course he had no problem.

I flew back to the other hospital which was about 100 miles away - give or take. When I arrived my wife told me that she was checking out. I told her there was no way she could leave. She had just had major surgery hours earlier.

She looked me in the eye and said - there is no way I am staying here when my son is there. Get me out of this hospital or I will get out myself. Now I knew my wife well enough to know that she was not kidding.

She was leaving that hospital or she was going to die trying.

Well - she was right. We were gong to leave the hospital. It would require us to sign a release not holding them liable - but we left.

My wife is the most wonderful person in the world. She would cut off a limb for her family - and that day was no different. I love everything about her.

Fourteen unbelievable days later my son was released to go home from the hospital. There are some good stories to tell about the first few days upon him coming home but I will save those for another page on my website.

Let me tell you about my friend though. You see that night I solidified a very special relationship with him. He has books written about him that I read daily.

He is on the news and in peoples conversations constantly. People argue about his abilities. But I tell you I know for a fact he is what he claims to be.

You see - He is Jesus Christ. He gave his life for us. That night he was with me and my son from the beginning to the end. I will always be grateful for that and all the other marvelous things he continues to do for me.

Thank you and May God Bless you!



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