God, who has a sense of humor, removed my fourth and last concern. The nurse came in with a magic marker and wrote a big black “NO” on my right knee. The surgery was to be on my left knee. The doctor will not be able to miss the “NO” sign!  One by one God blessed me with His peace. 

I’m a runner and had had no problems with my knees – my feet had annoyed me more than once but not my knees – until one morning my left knee began to click. We’re talking a “cricket” in your knee type clicking. My positive thinking, or lack of a grasp of reality, told me that it would go away.  The click did go away and was replaced by a popping noise. Since I excel in rationalization I decided that the pop would go away, too.

A morning later, in the kitchen, I turned wrong as I picked up my cup of coffee. Instantly, my knee made a new sound. A sound like that of a tear and then a pain shot through my noisy knee. I collapsed to the floor from the pain.  The best I could do was to move slowly on the floor, pushing myself with my good leg, toward the telephone. With much agony I finally stood on my right leg, punched in my husband Joe’s work number and told him what happened.  He said, “I’ll be right there.” When Joe got home he called our doctor who told us to come straight to his office. After seeing me he sent me to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI.

MRI Results

The MRI showed a tear in my meniscus.  The doctor recommended arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear. He also explained to me that infection, amputation, paralysis, and death are possible risks of the surgery. Those are fearful potential consequences for a click, pop, and tear.  I signed the “You’ve Read the Risks” paper, hoping that the doctor will stop before paralysis or death.

My Four Major Concerns

I entered the hospital with four major concerns. One, the no eating before surgery. Lack of food sends my body into hunger cries. Two, general anesthesia and I are not best friends because the after effect was usually nausea. Three, the queasy bumpy ride on the hospital bed from the hallway to the elevator and elevator to more bump and roll to the surgery theater. Yes, my sensitive stomach is my Achilles heel. And four, I had heard stories of doctors operating on the wrong limb and I definitely didn’t want that to happen.

Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One

With much prayer and trust, Joe and I entered the hospital for my surgery. One by one I smiled at God’s blessings in answering our prayers. Answer number one, the first thing that the nurse did for me in pre-op was to start a water and glucose drip which took care of my concern about being hungry. The second answer was when she added a port to my drip. “This is pepsin,” she said, “it will keep you from being sick from the anesthesia.”  What a blessing to not be sick.  The prayer answer to my third concern was even more amazing. Joe asked where he should wait while I’m having the surgery.  The nurse answered, “The pre-op, operating room, post op and recovery are all on this floor. You can wait in the room across the hall.” Glorious news to me…no bumpy ride down the halls to the elevator!

God, who has a sense of humor, removed my fourth and last concern. The nurse came in with a magic marker and wrote a big black “NO” on my right knee. The surgery was to be on my left knee. The doctor will not be able to miss the “NO” sign!  One by one God blessed me with His peace.

The Surgery

It was time to go to surgery. The nurse gave me a shot of valium; and guess what? I was a goner until I woke up in recovery.

Going Home

It’s all over but the re-hab. Joe left to bring the car to the front of the hospital. A friendly young man pushed me in a wheelchair to the car. Joe got out to help me. As we were leaving the young man leaned into the car window, handed me a card and said, “Have a blessed day.” There was something about the man that caused me to ask, “Are you a Christian?” His face lit up in a smile and he said, “Yes!” Joe smiled, too, and called from the driver’s seat, “So are we!”  We thanked him for the card and repeated his salutation back to him, “Have a blessed day.”

The Card

As we drove off I looked at the card, and said, “It must be about music because there were colorful treble clefs floating all over the front cover.” I opened the card. Tears came to my eyes. It was God’s message to me for the whole day at the hospital from entrance to exit.

“Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God hath done!  (Johnson Oatman Jr., 1897)

“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:13).

Epilogue

My knee healed and I’m still running!

Miriam Gautier is a member of Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Stuart, Fla.