Janette Oke (17 page)

Time slipped by, and, as difficult as the experience was, Edward and Janette began to see that it had been a growing time—both in their relationship with God and in their relationship with each other. They were reminded again and again that if they planned to serve in the ministry, in years ahead there would doubtlessly be many times when they would be called upon to share the grief of someone in their congregation. They could now truly understand the sorrow of loss.

And though the pain was sharp and real, Janette was thankful that a loving God had cushioned the blow as only He could. He had prepared her heart so that there was no bitterness, and He was with her daily, helping her with her sorrow and tears. Slowly, she even began to believe that there might be another child—someday.

Chapter Twenty-four

Returning Home

After Christmas Janette began to search for another job. Since she was certain that her mailroom job at Adams and Westlake had long been filled, she did not want to apply there and have them feel they should find another spot for her out of pity.

Soon she was offered a well-paying position at Miles Laboratory. But it was night-shift work, and had she accepted it, she and Edward would scarcely have seen each other. At that time in their lives, they needed each other more than ever. So Janette turned that offer down.

Eventually she found a job at the
Elkhart Truth
, a local newspaper. She told them frankly that she was hoping she would not work for long as she planned to have another child, but they accepted her anyway. She hoped and prayed for another baby, and it was not long until she was pregnant.

This again was a difficult pregnancy. During the first months, the doctor had to fight to keep the little one. At one point, Janette was sure she had lost the baby, but she was grateful to discover she had been wrong, and at last the pregnancy settled down.

After some difficult months, the Okes decided they would return to Alberta in June. Edward applied for a ministry position in their home district, and they were assigned a church in Montgomery, a suburb of Calgary.

Janette quit her newspaper job. She had not quite come to enjoy her work, but it had filled the days and helped pay the bills. She had also been exposed to something new and gotten a small bit of experience in the field, although she felt she had not been there long enough to absorb much.

The ride back to Alberta, again pulling a trailer, was a long one. Janette was about five months pregnant, and they were concerned about the baby. The roads were rough, and the trailer seemed to exaggerate all the bumps, jerking against the car.

They reached the Canadian/American border at an awkward hour and found it closed to people crossing with all of their belongings. Rather than sit and wait until the next morning, they decided to keep on driving on the American side.

Across Minnesota and North Dakota they went. It was raining and the trailer was beginning to leak. Hour after hour went by and the couple was becoming more and more tired, but they could find nothing in overnight accommodations. At last they pulled into a small town and Edward asked about a hotel.

He was told that the town had two, but the stranger giving the directions was interrupted by another man saying, “You shouldn't send them there.”

They did find a room for the night. It had no lock on the door, the light was turned off by a string from the bare hanging bulb, the window had no blind or curtain, and the sheets and pillowcases had definitely been used—but they took it and were thankful. They desperately needed sleep.

Edward and Janette arrived in Alberta to new responsibilities and a new home. The Montgomery parsonage was a nice little house of four rooms and a bath. Having managed to save $1,000 from their stay in the United States, they were soon shopping for furniture and found a store in Calgary with reasonable prices. Soon they had purchased a bedroom suite with mattress set, living room suite plus two occasional chairs, and kitchen table and chairs.

The salesman who helped them also knew of a used dining-room suite. A couple he knew was going through a divorce, and he was helping them sell their furniture. Janette supposed it was not proper for him to be selling used goods for friends on company time, but they were glad to get the furniture. It was a lovely set for the money asked—table, chairs, bureau, and hutch in great condition. They were very thankful that God had helped the money stretch so far, and they had stayed within their $1,000 budget.

Then housekeeping began. Edward was excited about his first church, though the attendance was a little lopsided. Most of the approximately one hundred who came were children. That meant the few adults of the congregation had to “put in overtime.”

It was a big year for Edward and Janette. Their first home with their own furniture and the nice things from their wedding which could finally be brought out of storage. They had their first church and all the responsibilities that entailed, and each day that passed brought them closer to the expected arrival of their second baby.

Because of Janette's medical history, she had been advised to seek out a specialist upon returning to Calgary. A friend had given her the name of a city doctor, and she was pleased to discover Dr. Buchanan to be worthy of his recommendation. They appreciated his care.

When at last the day actually arrived, Janette entered the hospital at about six in the morning. It soon became evident that it would be a long delivery. Edward had almost lost faith that the baby would ever make an appearance and began to feel that Janette was doing something wrong. But they were both able to quickly forget the long, miserable day when their new son finally did arrive.

Terry Lawrence was born around four o'clock on November 19, 1960. The fall weather had been gorgeous up to that point but turned nasty later that same night. Janette was glad that the special event had already happened and that the storm hit after she and her baby were tucked safely in a warm hospital room. Terry weighed in at eight pounds six ounces, a little smaller than his brother Brian had been.

He looked hale and hearty and Janette was relieved, though she had forced herself not to worry about his arrival. If she had been a bit more aware, she might initially have been panic-stricken, for the staff had some trouble keeping Terry breathing at first. He had needed his little “breathing machine” started more than once. Almost calmly, Janette watched, sure that he was in good hands and was going to be just fine.

Dr. Middleton had sent all the records along with a personal note. In it, Janette later discovered, the Indiana doctor also informed the Calgary doctor that because of Janette's past experience, it would be very important for her to be able to hold her new baby as soon as possible. The request was honored, and little Terry was placed in her arms as soon as convenient after they stabilized his breathing.

Those first moments spent with Terry were wonderful, and even after Janette had been returned to her hospital room and settled for a good night's rest, she felt satisfied. Her baby was fine. She was a mother.

However, a terrible scare happened to her the next day. It began with a crying baby. Janette was sure it was the voice of her new son. She made her way down the hall toward the nursery and saw through the open door a hospital intern and a nurse working over a newborn, suctioning fluids from his throat.

Convinced it really was Terry and feeling scared and sick, Janette returned to her room. Just as she had closed the door softly behind her, the intercom paged two doctors almost simultaneously. They were her own obstetrician and her family doctor. This was enough to absolutely convince Janette that her baby was in trouble.

A nurse arrived to show Janette to the scheduled baby-bath demonstration, and she followed obediently, not knowing what else to do. The class had not met for long when a nurse poked her head in the door and asked for a Mrs. Cook. Silence followed as each of the ladies in housecoats and slippers looked at one another and the nurses swept their eyes across the room. There was no Mrs. Cook in the class.

The nurse left, still apparently concerned about finding “Mrs. Cook,” and Janette's mind launched into wild thoughts. It would be terribly easy to confuse two names as similar as Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Oke. Maybe she
had
been the one the nurse wanted.

The tension was more than Janette could stand. She was
sure
something was wrong and was driven to do the only thing that came to mind. She needed a phone; she was going to call Edward. But a recorded message that the number had been disconnected seemed only to add further panic to her mixed-up thoughts. Her baby was in trouble, and she could not even reach her husband!

Her mind hummed and buzzed in frantic confusion. What could she do? How could she help? She could think of nothing, so she returned to her room and waited, terror-stricken.

At feeding time, a familiar nurse pushed open the door and placed Terry in her arms. He looked fine. Janette was so relieved she could have cried. She was still not completely convinced that it had not been Terry out in the nursery under the doctor's fervent care; but if it had been, God had protected her little son. When Edward arrived for visiting hours and Janette told him of her experience, he could not explain the phone message that she had heard. Both the parsonage phone and the phone at the church office were in perfect working order.

The morning finally arrived when Janette was scheduled to take her new son home, and her excitement almost caused her doctor to keep her another day. It may have been her temperature or her blood pressure, but he hesitated to let her go. At last he consented and said she was free to leave, and it was a good thing. She was certain that if she had been required to spend another night in the hospital, she would have exploded.