On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
Early one September morning in 2021 I received a phone call that tore my heart. My cousin was calling to let me know that our 44 year old son was hospitalized with Covid and on a ventilator. Instantly sobs overcame me. Not just because of his grave condition but because two years previously our son and family severed our relationship.
Even though Covid patients couldn’t have visitors, this mama heart wanted to know how he was. We were in Florida and he was in North Carolina. We wanted to be there but we weren’t wanted. Thankfully, our son’s wife was updating the cousin and she was updating us.
He was in a small, rural hospital in the mountains with a “make do” ICU setup in the ER. He needed transfer to a higher level of care quickly, but no beds were available. We reached out to our friends to pray for a bed. God answered and He answered big. Our son was flown to Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. He was very ill.
During the day I was calm, trusting our son was receiving good care. Night time was a whole different thing. In my work life I spent 23 years working on a medical/surgical hospital unit. I knew that the greater number of deaths occurred in the early morning hours. Statistics show from three-five am. Every night in the early morning hours I would wake up praying over our son. Fighting in my spirit for him, my heart breaking that he was alone. I asked Holy Spirit to pass to our son the love we had for him, As a child he liked to have his hair stroked when he was ill. I asked Holy Spirit to be my hands. Later a friend told me that she was waking around the same time to pray for him.
By coincidence, our Florida pastor was in Durham performing a wedding. He called and offered to go to the hospital to pray over our son, if the hospital would allow it. That meant a lot to us.
I called the hospital and spoke with the department that handles patient relations.. I was shocked that clergy were not allowed to visit the sick. Not even to stand outside their ICU room to pray over them. I cried and pleaded with the hospital to no avail.
This is when Covid almost broke me.
Our son was on the ventilator for many days. During the weaning trials he responded with flailing violence. After several attempts, the day came when a decision was made to administer a sedation along with the extubation. Praise God this attempt was successful.
A few days later he was discharged home. He doesn’t have any memory of leaving his home for the hospital. He was a bit bummed he didn’t remember the helicopter ride to Duke hospital. I am thankful he that even though he was alone, he doesn’t have any memory of his time on the ventilator.
A funny aside, when he woke up he asked the staff where he was. They told him he was in Duke Hospital. His next over mountain town has an affiliation with Duke and he thought that was where he was. They had a hard time convincing him he was 300 miles away from home!
Several months later he reached out to us and our relationship has been restored. This mama heart is thankful.
After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience. Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites, Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix
In addition to blogging, I’m a general “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books
My 2023 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.
Old Things R New 