A Treasury of Christmas Miracles (3 page)

At first antibiotics seemed to handle the invasion of infection throughout his system. But the day before, Vince’s fever had
begun to rise and the family had again grown concerned. Still, even the doctors hadn’t thought Vince’s illness could be life
threatening until now.

Paul thought about what would happen if his older brother died and shuddered. Vince was in the prime of his life, and he and
Ruth had two young children. Silently he prayed that God would spare him and give his body strength to fight the infection.

Paul and Laura drove the five miles to the hospital, where they met up with Paul’s parents.

“Is it really as bad as Ruth said?” Paul searched his father’s eyes for an answer.

“It’s serious, son. Very serious. We need to pray.”

The sudden change in Vince’s condition had caught his father by surprise also. Sam Jacobs and his oldest son worked together
in a family-run farm-equipment business. He saw Vince nearly every day and knew him to be strong and in good health.

“If anyone can pull through this thing, Vince will,” the older man continued. “But let’s pray all the same.”

Paul nodded and turned to hug his mother, Ronni. He saw that she had tears in her eyes, and he squeezed her hands in his.

“He’s going to be all right, Mom,” Paul assured her. “God won’t let anything happen to him. Not with those little kids waiting
for him back at home.”

Ronni nodded, but she knew that might not be true. Sometimes people died and there wasn’t any earthly explanation for their
death. Bad things happened in life. Even to praying people. Ronni believed there was a reason behind such occurrences, but
usually that reason remained a mystery. And the knowledge of that never made the tragedy easier to accept.

“Let’s ask God to be merciful,” she suggested softly.

The foursome moved quietly down the sterile corridors of the hospital to the intensive-care waiting room. For the next few
hours there was little conversation as they passed the time praying and waiting for word from the doctors.

At about five o’clock that evening the primary doctor responsible for treating Vince entered the room. By then Vince’s sister
and her family had joined the others, and the waiting room was full of people worried about Vince.

“I’m afraid I don’t have very good news,” the doctor said softly, tucking his hands into his white medical jacket. “Vince’s
fever is very, very high and the blood tests show he’s no longer responding to the antibiotics.”

In many ways the doctor’s words came as no surprise, but still, Vince’s family puzzled over what was happening.

“Doctor, these complications are all a result of my son’s appendicitis?” Sam asked.

The doctor shook his head pensively and pursed his lips. “No, not exactly. The appendix became inflamed and caused the initial
problem. Then, when it burst during surgery, the infection inside spread through Vince’s bloodstream, sending his entire system
into immediate trauma.”

He paused a moment, searching for the easiest terms with which to explain the situation. “Because of that, he’s now fighting
against peritonitis and infection throughout his body. When that happens, the situation is very serious, and the outcome depends
on how easily the person’s immune system can handle the invading infection.

“In Vince’s case, his body attempted to fight the problem, and then for some reason it shut down. At this point the infection
is out of control, and there’s nothing else we can do for him except continue to administer massive antibiotics.”

“Doctor, when you say ‘nothing else we can do for him,’ does that mean he might die?” Ronni sounded brave as she asked the
question, but the others knew she was on the verge of breaking down.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. If something doesn’t change, I don’t think he’ll make it through the night.”

Laura muffled a gasp, while Ruth hung her head and sighed. Sam cleared his throat, his chin quivering with emotion. “When
can we see him, sir?”

“Immediate family may take turns now. Just one at a time, though,” the doctor said. Then he paused uncomfortably. This part
of his job never got easier. “I’m sorry about all of this. Let’s hope for a miracle.”

Then he turned and left the Jacobs family alone to deal with the blow. Ruth stood up, tears flooding her eyes, and headed
toward the door.

“I’ll go see him first,” she said. “I’ll tell him you’re all here. Maybe it’ll help.”

Ruth was prepared for what she saw when she entered her husband’s room, but it was still painfully difficult. Vince was hooked
up to IV tubing and his body was red with the heat of his fever. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be caught up in a
fitful sleep. Could this be the same man who had been the picture of health only a week ago?

“Honey, it’s me,” she whispered, leaning over his bed.

Vince moaned, and Ruth was fairly sure he couldn’t understand her. His fever was so high he had become delirious. Ruth took
his hand, cringing at how hot it felt in her own.

“Listen, now, Vince,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “Everyone’s here; they’re out in the lobby. And they’re praying
for you, Vince. We all want you to hurry up and fight this thing so you can come home for Christmas. You hear me, honey?”

There was no response, and a single sob escaped from Ruth’s throat.

“Vince, please don’t die. We need you. Hang in there, sweetheart.” She ran her fingers tenderly over his blazing hot forehead
as her tears fell on his hospital bed. “I love you, Vince.”

When Ruth returned, Sam took a turn, and then Ronni, and when they had both come back to the waiting room, Laura and Paul
exchanged a glance.

“You go,” Paul said. “I’ll go next.”

It was after eight in the evening by then and the hospital had grown quiet. Laura left the room and disappeared down the hallway.
The others were quiet, lost in their own thoughts and sadness.

A few minutes passed, and then the silence in the room was interrupted as a heavyset, elderly woman leaned into the room.
Immediately Sam and Ronni recognized her as one of their longtime neighbors, Sadie Johnson. She was in her late seventies,
a devoutly faithful woman who spent most of her days volunteering at church. Despite the walker she needed to get around,
she was healthy and still spent an hour each day working in her flower garden.

“Well, I’ll be,” she said cheerfully. “What are you good folks doing hanging around a hospital on a cold night like this?”

Sam nodded toward Sadie politely. “Evening, Sadie. I didn’t know you were ill. You been in the hospital long?”

“Naaa,” Sadie said. “Just here for a few routine tests. You know those doctors, poking and prodding and taking pictures just
to tell you everything’s fine.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Well, it’s about bedtime so I better get going. Just
thought I’d take a stroll through the place and see if anything exciting was going on.”

She looked at the many faces of the Jacobs family as they sat solemnly in the waiting room, and suddenly her face fell with
concern.

“Sam, is everything okay? You people look mighty upset.” Sam hung his head, afraid he might cry, and Ronni answered for him.

“It’s our son, Vince, the oldest. He has infection all through his body.” She reached for her husband’s hand. “The doctors
told us he probably won’t live through the night.”

Sadie looked appalled. “Well, now that’s just not right. Vince’s a young thing, isn’t he? Thirty-something? And at Christmastime?
That’s terrible.”

“Thirty-seven,” Ronni said softly. “His children are very young.”

“Thirty-seven!” Sadie repeated, shaking her head.

“And little kids, too.” The older woman shifted positions, pulling her robe more closely around her body. “Well, I believe
I’m going to have a talk tonight with the Man upstairs and ask him to let me go in Vince’s place. I wanted to be home for
Christmas, anyway.” She grinned and her eyes sparkled. “You know.” She pointed upward. “My real home. Up there with the Lord
and my dear sweet honey-pie, Kenny.” She nodded confidently. “That’s just what I’ll do—ask the Lord if I can leave here in
place of Vince.”

The Jacobs family looked at her in unison, startled by her statement. “Now, Sadie, that’s not necessary,” Sam said quickly.
“We’re praying for Vince and we’ll pray for you, too, so that—”

Sadie waved a hand, interrupting Sam. “No, no. Don’t go doing that. I don’t need no one praying for me no more.” She smiled
peacefully. “Sam, I’m more than ready to go home. I’ve loved our dear Lord all my life, and I’m getting too tired to stay
around here anymore. I want to go home soon and it might as well be tonight.”

She thought a moment before continuing.

“Here’s what I’m hoping to do. Tonight I’m going to ask God to be kind and generous with me. I’ll ask him to take me in Vince’s
place so that come tomorrow morning Vince’ll be on the road to recovery and I’ll be on the road to the Pearly Gates. I’ll
spend Christmas in heaven and Vince can spend it with his family. Wouldn’t that just be the best thing yet?”

Sam was silent a moment, unsure of how to react.

“Well, that’s all settled,” Sadie said, sounding very sure of herself. “Everything will be just fine for the both of us.”
She smiled at Sam and Ronni and then at the others.

“I’ll get to see Kenny on the other side,” she said, winking once. Then she shuffled away.

Laura returned from Vince’s room just as Sadie was leaving. “Wasn’t that your old neighbor?” she asked Sam and Ronni as she
sat down.

Ronni nodded, still perplexed by Sadie’s unusual words. “She said the strangest thing. She’s going to pray that God takes
her home tonight in Vince’s place. She’s tired of living, she’s lived long enough, and she’s ready to join God and her dead
husband in heaven—just in time for Christmas.”

Laura raised an eyebrow and looked at the others in the room. “She said that?”

“Now don’t put truth into her words,” one of them said in response. “God doesn’t work like that, taking one life in place
of another.”

Sam had been very quiet, staring intently at his hands. Now he looked up and spoke. “You never know about God,” he said. “He
works in mysterious ways. Scripture says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. And I don’t know many
people as righteous—really righteous in the way God intended—as Sadie Johnson.”

There was silence again and Paul privately pondered the woman’s faith and her lack of fear regarding death. He didn’t expect
anything to come of her strange proclamation, but he felt Sadie’s words revealed a great deal of wisdom. The thought of going
to heaven was one of pure joy for Sadie Johnson, not sadness or sorrow. For people as close to God as she was, death was merely
a journey to the other side. Paul felt filled with peace and decided that the woman had in some ways made facing Vince’s impending
death easier.

Before midnight, Paul and Laura and several of the others returned home for a few hours’ sleep.

“We’ll be back before sunup,” Paul said, bending to kiss his mother on the cheek. “Call us if anything changes.”

Ronni nodded. She and Sam intended to stretch out on the waiting room sofas. Vince was their son, after all. They wanted to
be nearby if Ruth or Vince needed them for any reason.

Three hours passed as Sam and Ronni drifted in and out of sleep. Several times during the night they checked on Vince and
Ruth, but Vince’s condition remained critical. At six the next morning Paul and Laura returned to the waiting room and nudged
Paul’s parents awake.

“How is he?” Paul asked.

“We haven’t heard anything since a few hours ago,” Sam said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “He must still be hanging in
there.”

Paul and Laura sat down and held hands, bracing themselves for whatever sorrow the day might hold. They stayed that way for
the next hour as other family members arrived in ones and twos.

Then, just before eight o’clock, Vince’s doctor burst through the door, a broad smile on his face.

“His fever broke,” the doctor announced. “Sometime in the last couple of hours he began making a turnaround and now his fever
is almost down to normal. I have no way of explaining what happened—I’ve never seen anything like it before.” He paused. “Merry
Christmas!”

Tears of relief flooded the family’s eyes. Sam rose from the couch and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you, sir,” he said.
“Does that mean he’s going to pull through this?”

“He’s a new man today, Mr. Jacobs. I think he’s going to be just fine.”

The doctor left and the Jacobs family leaned back in their seats, thankful and relieved.

“Thank God,” Ronni said. “Thank God for hearing our prayers.”

At the mention of prayer several of them remembered Sadie Johnson and sat straighter in their chairs. They exchanged glances.

“Dad,” Paul said, his eyes wider than before, “you don’t think this has something to do with what Mrs. Johnson said last night,
do you?”

“Of course not,” Sam scoffed. “God wasn’t ready to take Vince home; that’s all there is to it.”

Paul nodded, but his curiosity got the better of him and he excused himself from the group.

“I’m taking a little walk,” he explained. “Be right back.”

Laura watched him go and knew where he was headed. She hoped Mrs. Johnson would be happy with the news of Vince’s recovery.

Out in the corridor, Paul walked toward the front desk and asked what floor Sadie Johnson was on.

“She’s on the third floor, sir,” the receptionist said. “Room 325, in the observation unit.”

Paul thanked the woman and rode the elevator to the third floor. There he approached the nurses’ station and waited until
someone noticed him.

“Can I help you, sir?” a woman asked. Paul glanced at the name on her badge and saw that she was the head nurse for that floor.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m looking for our neighbor, Mrs. Sadie Johnson. She’s a friend of our family’s. I understand she’s in Room
325.”

The nurse’s eyes fell. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said, unsure of whether she should tell him what happened. “Mrs. Johnson passed
away a few hours ago.”