Angels All Around
(The Lord) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NRSVU)
My husband, Steve and I were on a Mediterranean cruise when he developed severe respiratory failure. He spent the night in the medical unit on the ship, receiving oxygen and breathing treatments. The next morning, we arrived in Barcelona, Spain and were taken by ambulance to the hospital there. The ship’s doctor wanted him to have a CT scan to make sure there wasn’t an underlying problem. Unfortunately, the scan showed two nodules on his lungs. One was small, but the second was medium-sized and in a bad place. Steve was admitted to the hospital. I hadn’t used the 4 1/2 years of Spanish that I took in high school and college in over 50 years. Most of the staff spoke as much English as I did Spanish. I was feeling overwhelmed to say the least!
That is when my angels started showing up! First was a representative from the hospital. He spoke English and told me since I was a foreign national, I would be allowed to stay in the hospital with Steve. I can’t tell you what a relief that was! Later, he met our bags (the ship packed for us), brought them to our room, and even “found” me a meal. I hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours at this point, so food was a real blessing! The hospital staff was wonderful! The nurses also showed up with trays for me a couple of times a day. I had peanut butter crackers that were my backup plan but never had to use them. The nurses and I communicated with the help of younger staff members who remembered some English and sign language. Thank goodness our doctor had studied in the U.S., could speak English, and was very honest and caring about what we were facing. Then there were my translation angels. An Australian lady who had been living in Barcelona for 17 years stepped up in Admissions, and another lady chased me down and took me back to the hospital reception desk after I had given up.
Leaving the hospital was another challenge. I had Steve in a wheelchair, two suitcases on rollers, and a heavy duffel bag (that was supposed to be empty and folded up in a suitcase by the end of the trip). I took Steve down first with our backpacks. Then I went back for the duffel bag. I was dragging it through the hospital when a nice young lady told me to take one handle, and she’d take the other! She even offered to go back up with me to get the suitcases, but those I could handle easily. I got a taxi to take us to our hotel (Steve wasn’t allowed to fly home for 48 hours) and started moving everything outside. This was the only bad experience I had in Barcelona. The taxi driver was not happy with me. Our hotel wasn’t very far away, and we were a lot of trouble. But once again an angel showed up. A young lady walking down the street saw me struggling to get Steve out of the taxi and into his wheelchair. She stopped and helped with the transfer and watched my luggage while I took Steve inside and got someone to get the luggage (the driver had left our suitcases in the street and drove off as soon as the door closed on the taxi).
God’s grace was sufficient for me. His power was made perfect in my weakness. This was a horrible experience in so many ways, but I left Barcelona feeling truly blessed by God and the people there. Many more than I have mentioned helped. Some were “just doing their job,” but went much further than that. Others saw a need and stopped to help. Few spent more than 5 minutes out of their day but made a huge impact on mine. I kept thinking of the line “There are angels all around” in the hymn “Standing on Holy Ground.” It really doesn’t take much to make a difference. You just have to be aware of others and step up. There are angels all around and you can be one too!
Margaret Williams
My husband, Steve and I were on a Mediterranean cruise when he developed severe respiratory failure. He spent the night in the medical unit on the ship, receiving oxygen and breathing treatments. The next morning, we arrived in Barcelona, Spain and were taken by ambulance to the hospital there. The ship’s doctor wanted him to have a CT scan to make sure there wasn’t an underlying problem. Unfortunately, the scan showed two nodules on his lungs. One was small, but the second was medium-sized and in a bad place. Steve was admitted to the hospital. I hadn’t used the 4 1/2 years of Spanish that I took in high school and college in over 50 years. Most of the staff spoke as much English as I did Spanish. I was feeling overwhelmed to say the least!
That is when my angels started showing up! First was a representative from the hospital. He spoke English and told me since I was a foreign national, I would be allowed to stay in the hospital with Steve. I can’t tell you what a relief that was! Later, he met our bags (the ship packed for us), brought them to our room, and even “found” me a meal. I hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours at this point, so food was a real blessing! The hospital staff was wonderful! The nurses also showed up with trays for me a couple of times a day. I had peanut butter crackers that were my backup plan but never had to use them. The nurses and I communicated with the help of younger staff members who remembered some English and sign language. Thank goodness our doctor had studied in the U.S., could speak English, and was very honest and caring about what we were facing. Then there were my translation angels. An Australian lady who had been living in Barcelona for 17 years stepped up in Admissions, and another lady chased me down and took me back to the hospital reception desk after I had given up.
Leaving the hospital was another challenge. I had Steve in a wheelchair, two suitcases on rollers, and a heavy duffel bag (that was supposed to be empty and folded up in a suitcase by the end of the trip). I took Steve down first with our backpacks. Then I went back for the duffel bag. I was dragging it through the hospital when a nice young lady told me to take one handle, and she’d take the other! She even offered to go back up with me to get the suitcases, but those I could handle easily. I got a taxi to take us to our hotel (Steve wasn’t allowed to fly home for 48 hours) and started moving everything outside. This was the only bad experience I had in Barcelona. The taxi driver was not happy with me. Our hotel wasn’t very far away, and we were a lot of trouble. But once again an angel showed up. A young lady walking down the street saw me struggling to get Steve out of the taxi and into his wheelchair. She stopped and helped with the transfer and watched my luggage while I took Steve inside and got someone to get the luggage (the driver had left our suitcases in the street and drove off as soon as the door closed on the taxi).
God’s grace was sufficient for me. His power was made perfect in my weakness. This was a horrible experience in so many ways, but I left Barcelona feeling truly blessed by God and the people there. Many more than I have mentioned helped. Some were “just doing their job,” but went much further than that. Others saw a need and stopped to help. Few spent more than 5 minutes out of their day but made a huge impact on mine. I kept thinking of the line “There are angels all around” in the hymn “Standing on Holy Ground.” It really doesn’t take much to make a difference. You just have to be aware of others and step up. There are angels all around and you can be one too!
Margaret Williams
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