Joanna’s Operating Room Angel

     My wife, Joanna, doesn’t like to be put to sleep.  However, she had no choice once because her gall bladder had to be removed.  On the day of the surgery, the nurses rolled her through the Operating Room doors on a gurney.  But the surgical schedule was late that morning, so they rolled her gurney against a wall and left her there.

     The hall where they left her was cold and empty, and she only had a sheet as cover.  No one was around and she seemed to be all alone.  Since she dislikes hospitals anyway, the longer she lay on the gurney alone, the more anxious she became, until at last she was shivering with cold and anxiety.

     Suddenly, a strong, warm hand was placed on her left shoulder and a quiet but authoritative voice said, “You don’t need to be afraid.  I’m here with you.”

     She turned her head and saw a petite man in a green hospital gown standing behind her.  Warmth and peace flowed over her body and she asked, “Who are you?”

     The man said in a gentle voice, “My name is Clyde.  I’m your ‘anesthesiologist.’  I’m here to put you to sleep.”

     These words were comforting because Joanna’s father’s name had been Clyde.  So she said to the man, “But I don’t like being put to sleep.  Do you promise you won’t leave me?  Do you promise you’ll stay with me the whole time?”

     The man replied in a soft voice, “I’m here to take care of you.  I promise I won’t leave you.  I’ll be the last person you’ll see when you go to sleep, and I’ll be the first person you’ll see when you wake up.  I’ll be standing at your head the whole time.”

     At that moment, the nurses returned.  They didn’t seem to notice the man standing at the head of her gurney.  Instead, they put a needle in Joanna’s arm, and quickly rolled her into the Operating Room.  Like many patients, she doesn’t remember much after that.  But her operation was successful and she soon returned home.

     A few days later, Joanna decided to write thank-you notes to the doctors and nurses who had taken care of her.  From the hospital paperwork, she made a list of everyone who had cared for her, except “Clyde,” the man at the head of her gurney.  His name wasn’t in any of the paperwork.  So she phoned the hospital and asked for the full name of the “anesthesiologist” named “Clyde” who had been on duty that morning.

     The hospital informed her that there must be a mistake.  Because they didn’t have an anesthesiologist named “Clyde.”  They suggested that she contact other area hospitals, since he might have come from one of them.  She did, but with the same result.  No hospital in the area had an anesthesiologist named “Clyde.”  For that matter, they had no doctor of any kind named “Clyde.”

     Then Joanna realized the truth.  Clyde had been an angel, sent by God to comfort her and give her peace during her operation.  Then she remembered something else.  On the morning of the operation, I had prayed for God to surround her bed with angels and, during that prayer, I had asked God to “put an angel at the head of Joanna’s bed during her whole operation.”

     God had answered that prayer, and had sent Clyde to stand at her head.