Thankful He's Alive! — Finding Something REAL

It’s 3am on Easter Sunday. It’s still, dark, and my feelings are raw and tender. For a few moments yesterday, I thought I was losing my husband, Brian, and the image of what I thought could be him dying is now etched in my brain.

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny but cool, day. When I left for an early morning workout, Brian and I had discussed the family meeting we had scheduled with the kids for lunch and about surprising them by first going to an Easter egg hunt. We made plans for Brian to pick me up at the park in town. Our exchange daughter is 16 and the rest of our kids are ages 14, 12, 10, and 8. The last time we had taken our crew to this particular event at a local winery was pre-Covid, so in an attempt to start Spring Break off on a fun start, and redeem some childhood memories, off we went. The kids had a blast running around at the all-ages hunt and gathering eggs full of trinkets and candy, while Brian and I casually strolled the beautiful grounds next to the river. We made small talk with friends we knew and discussed ordinary things like the weather, what we were going to make for lunch, the church service we planned to attend today, and what we were supposed to bring for the family Easter brunch. Before we left, we even participated in the adult portion of the Easter egg hunt. Grateful to be wearing tennis shoes for an unexpected workout, we lined up along with other eager adults and shamelessly raced to grab eggs that were launched into the vineyard.. Despite some scrapes, we each captured an egg and our winnings were a free bottle of wine and a watercolor art print. Woohoo!

We made a couple errands that involved a nice discount deal on the lunch our kids requested, and found some unexpected yard sale treasures, and we came home having had a wonderful morning. Then it was time for our planned meeting. We sat down for what we joked was a “working lunch” with the kids. We legit had a productive time. We brainstormed Spring break, discussed our expectations, responsibilities, and fun things we each wanted to do. As a family, we decided on a theme for Spring Break 2024: “Grateful, Happy, and Relaxed.” By the end of our time together, we had a calendar written out for the week including fun plans and work projects. That day, Brian wanted to trim the tree with our younger son. A couple kids were going to clean the vehicles. A couple more kids were going to assess the work to be done outside for later in the week. And I headed into town with my mom to pick up Brian’s vehicle which had accidentally been forgotten from earlier in the day. On the way into town, I excitedly told my mom about our meaningful family meeting and she reminded me of our dessert plans for the evening.

After lingering in town for a few minutes, I got home, kids were already cleaning out the other vehicle. I took a few minutes to look around and retrieve a bunch of wrinkled papers and junk from underneath seats and compartments in Brian’s SUV. I didn’t know what to do with his work papers, so I went to find him. I walked out on our back deck and when I saw Brian, I pretty much forgot about the papers. He was up in the tree, busy clipping branches. Two of the kids, were “helping” him with a long pull saw from below. Even though he was about fifteen feet off the ground, from the vantage point of the deck, he was at my eye-level and about ten feet away from me. I told the kids, to hand me their clipper tool so I could help from the deck. Before I set down my jacket and purse, I took a photo of my hard-working husband in the tree.

I would make a terrible eye-witness because the details of what happened next are blurry. I started clipping, Brian asked one of the kids for his water bottle and complained he was dizzy and needed some water. Then he said he needed to get out of the tree. No big deal. But then he didn’t get out of the tree.

I encouraged him to get out of the tree. But Brian paused. He was dripping sweat and his coloring wasn’t right. I started yelling at him, asking if he was okay and to get out of the tree. He dropped his water bottle, seemed to lose his footing, and slid down a couple feet. What was happening? It felt like slow motion. Freeze, Fight, or Flight? I am a freezer. I yelled at the kids to call 911 but even as I yelled it, I didn’t know if that was necessary. Wasn’t he okay? I felt glued to the deck. Was my husband going to fall out of the tree? What was happening?

I learned yesterday that a couple of my kids are flyers, another is a freezer like me, and my fighter kid started yelling.

I didn’t know whether to run down to the base of the tree, which would require a me to circle around the deck and take my eyes off of Brian for what might feel like forever, or whether to keep my eyes on him. But then it got worse. He slumped against the tree, his eyes rolled back, with sweat pouring from his brow, and a long train of drool pouring from his lips. In that moment, I thought he might have just died. And that’s when I took my eyes off of him to get to the base of the tree. I kept yelling about 911. The kids later said they heard him snoring in the tree. But I missed that. By the time I got the ladder closer to the tree, our kids were on the phone with 911. I told a couple of the other kids to run and get help from the neighbor or their grandpa down the street. Then I knew Brian was going to be okay when I heard him tell them not to call 911. I knew he was lucid enough to be concerned about the cost of an ambulance. I could hear my fighter kid screaming fears to the dispatcher, thinking his daddy was going to fall out of the tree, as the calmer ones relayed information.

Eventually, Brian slowly came down the ladder. Once he was laying on the ground, his face covered in sweat and tree clippings debris, I was able to speak with the 911 dispatcher. The aid car and fire truck arrived about seven minutes later. The medics said Brian’s blood pressure was low and said he should go to the hospital. I offered to take him. I fumbled to get the car and necessary items. On the way to the hospital, Brian gulped down about 25 ounces of his electrolyte water and a banana. His biggest complaint on the drive was he had lost his contact lens when his eyes rolled back and now his vision was messed up. A small problem given the enormity of what could have just happened. After some discussions, a normal EKG, an eye flush, no sign of the lost contact, and some blood work, the ER staff sent us home with instructions to stay hydrated, stay out of trees, and follow-up with his general care doctor.

And to be honest, all I can think of as I sit here typing this with tears in my eyes? I’m not sure I’ve ever loved my husband more than today. I’m just so grateful.

We came home and after getting cleaned up and offering a prayer of gratitude, we went over to my parent’s house where the kids had been well-cared for by their grandparents. We ate pizza and dessert, and debriefed a scary scene they will probably remember for the rest of their lives. Brian comforted and joked with them and by the end of the night, most everything seemed pretty normal. Kind of like, did that actually happen?

When I was saying goodnight to the kids last night, I asked them about the experience. A couple admitted they thought their daddy had died in the tree. We talked about what that felt like and thanked God that he didn’t die. We are so thankful he’s alive!

And as I went to bed last night, I couldn’t help but think about a time 2,000 years ago when a man really did die on a tree. When what should have been a beautiful weekend was marred by unexpected death and angst. I wondered about the disciples. All of the sudden, the man they loved and adored was dead. For a split second yesterday, I felt some of that anguish.

But then Sunday came.

And as I sit here in the dark this morning, contemplating my husband being alive and well, I can’t help but think of the disciples on that Sunday- the morning of the resurrection. Jesus was dead. Not maybe dead or kinda dead or looking dead but actually dead dead. And his loved ones had no idea what was going to happen early that Sunday morning.

Thank God He didn’t stay dead. His living changes everything.

Death is no longer the end of the story.

History records that those eleven men would be so moved by seeing the risen Jesus they would go on the change the world. Ordinary people dropped everything to tell anyone they could about Jesus being alive!

They were filled with gratitude.

Today maybe I understand that gratitude just a little more.

So thankful for Brian- he’s alive.

And even more thankful Jesus is alive! And because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

“He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.” ~Matthew 28:6a