When Prayer Doesn't Work

She was just one of many - just another name on the board that had to be checked off before we could all go home. She looked like a typical cancer patient. Her skin was pale and transparent. She was thin and frail. Her hair was falling out from all of the Radiation treatments. Her body was sick and her heart was failing. She needed a pacemaker to encourage her tired heart to keep beating.

I talked softly to her. I used all the kindness I could muster. I knew that she was suffering. I knew that even with a pacemaker she was not long for this world. More than that, I knew that she was scared. You don't have to be a nurse very long before you can recognise true fear in some one's eyes. I promised her medicine - medicine to ease the pain, and to help her relax. It was all that I had.

It startled me when she grabbed my hand. She grabbed it with a force that was way beyond her strength. She could barely talk so I had to lean down close to her mouth to hear what she wanted. "Are there any praying nurses here?" she asked. "Yes Ma'am", I replied. "We are all praying nurses." There were about 4 of us hurrying around the room trying to get everything ready and I was pretty sure that I was telling her the truth. She then whispered, "Before you give me that medicine, would you pray for me?"

So, I prayed. The noise and all of the commotion in the room suddenly stopped. Everyone waited, everyone prayed along. I prayed as hard as I knew how. I asked God to be with her, to protect her, to heal her. I prayed for God to be with the doctors and the nurses. I prayed for God's angels to surround her and keep her safe. She smiled, and went to sleep.

The procedure was typical - no real problems. Afterwards, I woke her up and told her that everything had gone well and that she had come through it all just fine. Again she smiled.

There were a few tell tale signs early on that told us something wasn't right. Before we got her back to her hospital room her oxygen saturation started to drop slightly. At first it appeared to be nothing serious. We left her in the capable hands of a critical care nurse and then hurried back to the Lab to get started with the next patient.

About an hour later someone stuck their head through the door of the operating room to inform the doctor that his last patient had just developed a large pneumothorax. (That is where air leaks into the space between your lungs and your chest wall and your lungs colapse) It is a typical treatable complication. If it is caught quickly enough most people survive it. If however you are as weak and sick as this little lady was then your chances of surviving it are slim and none. I silently prayed for her again - I think everybody did.

I don't really know the end of the story. I'm not sure I want to know. I walked by her room today and her bed was empty.