When we are experiencing major upheavals in life, we sometimes dream about storms at night.  Storms in dreams such as tornadoes or hurricanes represent major challenges that we have.  We wonder how in the world we will go through the storms and come out ok. 

Yesterday I shared how I found out the seriousness of my late husband's aneurysm.  It could burst at anytime.  Below is my experience of flying in a small plane through storms in order to save Dean's life.

Dean's neurosurgeon in Springfield, Missouri told me and Dean's 3 children in a conference that he only saw one of these aneurysms in a year.  The aneurysm was located close to the brain stem in a very difficult to reach location in the brain.  He recommended a surgeon in Dallas, Texas.  Dean would have to be accepted as a patient and air ambulanced to Dallas.

I was tired, worried and wondering how everything would work out.  I owned a bookstore and there were both personal and business bills to pay in addition to the main concern about whether Dean would survive.

Prayer groups and individuals had begun to pray for Dean.  It still amazes me to look back at this time period and see how all the little details began to fit together.

The doctor in Dallas accepted Dean as a patient.  Miraculously Dean's medical insurance agreed to pay the entire bill including the air ambulance ride to Dallas.  The air ambulance was contracted and I was allowed to ride as a passenger.  My youngest daughter offered to run the bookstore until January when she would be starting college.  She offered to do this at the cost of a babysitter for her son.  I would be able to live with my mother in a suburb close to the hospital and use her car.  The hospital was closer to all of Dean's children who lived in Texas.  I began to find hope.

On Friday, October 2, 1994 I woke up eager to ride with Dean on the plane but it was a stormy day with predictions of possible tornadoes.  All air flight from Springfield was grounded.  The pilot told me that he would proceed to Dallas but that I would need to prepare to be tossed in the small Cessna. 

I do not like the small bumps that occur in large airplanes.  As we entered the first stormy cloud bank, the male nurse offered medication to me.  I told him that unless it knocked me totally out I did not want it.  I said silently to myself "God is my co-pilot". 

When we landed at Love Field, I was amazed.  There had not been a single bump through all the storm cloud banks.  The pilot was also amazed.  At the hospital, I was surprised to find out that all of Dean's children were still at the Springfield airport because of the bad weather conditions.  Code Grey was being called out on the hospital loud speaker system which I soon found out was a warning to take safety in the hospital hall from possible tornadoes being spotted in Dallas.  The hospital lost power twice because of lightning strikes.  The medical staff told me to be thankful that Dean was not in surgery because the power outages might have had an adverse reaction on the success of his surgery. 

I feel like prayer was key throughout Dean's entire experience.  All of us have this same connection to God/Spirit when we are going through "stormy" experiences.  Tomorrow I will share more of the power of prayer as Dean prepares for surgery.