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This Column was published on

11-30-07

Sid Reams

Local Columnist

#260

He fired a shot over my bow

11-30-07

Sid Reams

Local Columnist

In the Navy, when one ship wants to get the attention of another, they have several means of communication. Radio is most common, flags signals is another and when it is very urgent one ship will fire a missile or a salvo over the bow of the other. This signal is a warning shot meant to REALLY get the other ship’s attention. Usually it is just before a fatal shot goes right in the gut of the other ship. In other words, it says to the ship being fired upon “Stop what you are doing or where you are going right now and turn around!” “Or else the next shot will be your demise.” This is one of the many the rules of sea. In life and on land, we get these warnings from all different places. For example; “Warning, smoking is dangerous to your health” or “Don’t drink and drive”. If you think about it we are constantly being bombarded with these warnings. I wonder if we don’t get calloused to them and pay them less and less attention, as we get older.

One week ago I think God fired one over my bow. I had a heart attack. I had been thru some serious stress and I think God did it to relieve some tension. Like a pressure valve on a cooking pot. Or a teapot. I can still hear the whistle. So the story goes like this: My daughter called me last Sunday and told me her 44 year old husband was bleeding from an abrasion he got on his leg from a fall he took while doing yard work at their Settle home. She asked me to come and give her support while he was in the hospital healing. So I got on the plane on Monday, along with my other daughter and my ex-wife (her mom) and we all went to be with her and her husband. Little did we know what was in store for us.

Sitting 3 abreast for 3 hours gives you occasion to talk to each other like you don’t normally do after a divorce. Thank God we do all get along, sort of. Actually it was a time for bonding between us. I kept saying the phrase in the Bible that says, “God uses all things for the good of those who love Him and are called by His name.” I figured that this was going to be a good thing.

Daphne’s husband was in a coma and he died while we were there holding his hand. Yikes! That was very tough and very emotional to watch my daughter go thru it. We did a lot of praying for her. My younger daughter had just been thru the death of her ex-husband and this was highly emotional and strenuous for her. He had died the week before in a motorcycle accident. She held up way better than I would have. Anyway that is the scenario I was in just a few days ago. Stress city deluxe. So I came home on Thanksgiving Day, and then proceeded to get in the hot tub here just to relax. When I got out of that hot, bubbly water, I collapsed. The next thing I knew, I was being lifted into an ambulance headed for Doctor’s Hospital. Poor Karen, I bet she was freaked out watching me being put in that ambulance. She was an Angel and stayed by my side thru this whole ordeal. I watched the world spin around me and I was helpless as they strapped me in and proceeded to stick needles in me to see what was going on. I won’t go into that too much but to tell you that the people who work there are all Angels and gave me lots of comfort, but if it wasn’t for Karen being there every time I looked up, I don’t know what I would have done. If you have someone who is in the hospital or bedridden, go visit them as much as possible. It is very good for them.

When the Doctor came to me in the emergency room and told me that I had a heart attack, that was God’s shot across my bow. I denied it cause I didn’t want to hear it but they convinced me. A HEART ATTACK?? Now I had open-heart surgery about 11 years ago and I didn’t want to go thru that again. The doctor told me that he was going to send me to Stockton to have an Angiogram to look in my heart to see what he was going to recommend.

We went in the ambulance with Jake, the driver and his trusty men John, & Tyson. They promised me a fun ride going backwards at 70 MPH and it was. After a smooth landing, the ER at St. Joseph’s was fabulous and the care they gave me was unbelievable. I appreciated them so much.

Well after the angiogram the doctor gave me a choice. He said I did in fact have a heart attack and I could either have another open-heart bypass surgery or I could put my self on a good diet and take the meds he would prescribe… for life. Well I might be a Montana hick farmer with a tattoo of it on my right shoulder but when it came to pills or the knife. You know what I took. Give me the pills doc and I promise to take them faithfully.

Today is one week later and due to all of that care from my family calling the ambulance to everyone in both hospitals, I feel much better. The shot that God fired across my bow has definitely got my attention and has given me a new lease on life. I just wonder what He has in store for me next. He must not be done with me …yet.

Ok, that’s enough of that for now. Remember to go to your favorite church this weekend and if you don’t have one, come and sit with me at Crossroads on Moffat Blvd. So, here we go again. You keep reading and I will keep writing. I promise. Call me with any comments at 209 607-6651.

This Column was published on

11-30-07

Sid Reams

Local Columnist

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