Safety Tidbits: 3-25-19

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One night on the drive home you hear about a village in India where some villagers died suddenly of a flu that has never been seen before. Three of four people are dead, and the US is sending doctors to investigate. You don’t think much about it, but on Sunday, coming home from church, you hear another radio spot. Only now 30,000 villagers in the back hills of a particular area of India are affected, and it’s on TV that night. CNN runs a little blurb. People are heading there from the CDC because this disease strain has never been seen before, the death toll increases hourly… over 1,100 hundred are dead.

By Monday morning, it’s the lead story – it has spread to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The President said he and others are praying that all will go well. But everyone is wondering, “How are we going to contain it?” Then, the President of France announces that he is closing the border. No flights from any of the countries where this thing has been seen.

That night you are watching CNN when a weeping woman is translated from a French news program into English. There’s a man lying in a Paris hospital dying of the mystery flu. It has come to Europe. Panic strikes. As best they can tell, you have it for a week before you know it. Then you have four days of unbelievable symptoms, before you die, suddenly, over 10,000 are confirmed dead…thousands more infected.

Britain closes its borders, but it’s too late. South Hampton, Liverpool, North Hampton and it’s Tuesday morning when the President of the United States makes the following announcement. “Due to a national security risk, all flights to and from Europe and Asia have been canceled. If your loved ones are overseas, I’m sorry. They cannot come back until we find a cure for this thing.” Within four days our nation has been plunged into an unbelievable fear. People are talking about “What if it comes to this country”? And preachers on Tuesday are saying “It’s the scourge of God.”

Wednesday night, on the way home from work you turn on the radio and hear this announcement, “This just in, the mystery flu has hit North America – Two women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying and a dozen are confirmed dead in Canada.” Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock to find an antidote, but nothing works. California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts. It’s as though it’s just sweeping in from the borders.

And then around midnight, the news comes – the code has been broken – a vaccine can be made. It’s going to take the blood of someone who hasn’t been infected and so, everyone is asked to do one simple thing. Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood sampled. That’s all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly to the local hospital.

When you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line and they’ve got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your spouse and your kids are there, and they take your blood type and say, “wait here and if we call your name you can be dismissed and go home.” You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the World.

Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming. He’s yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says,” Daddy, that’s me.”

Before you know it, they have your boy and say, “It’s okay, his blood is clean and pure, we think he has the right type. Minutes later, the doctor comes out and says, “Your son’s blood type is perfect – we can use it to make the vaccine.”

Word spreads – people are screaming, praying and crying. But then the doctor pulls you aside and says, “May we see you for a moment? We didn’t realize that the donor would be a minor and we need you to sign a consent form.”

You begin to sign and see the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty. You ask, “How many pints?” And that is when the doctor’s smile fades and he says, “We didn’t know it would be a little child…we…we need it all!”

You say, “But, I don’t understand. He’s my only son!”  The doctor replies, “We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We need his blood to stop this disease and save the world”  You ask – “can’t you give him a transfusion?” He responds, “If we had clean blood we would. Please, will you please sign?”  In numb silence you do.

Then he says, “Would you like a moment with him before we begin?” Could you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, “Daddy, Mommy what’s going on?” Could you take his hands and say, “Son, we love you and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn’t have to be. Do you understand that?”

And when the doctor comes back in and says, “Ok, we’ve got to get started. People all over the world are dying.” Could you leave?  Could you walk out while your son is saying, Dad, Mom… why have you forsaken me?”

And then, a few weeks later, when they have a ceremony to honor your son, some folks sleep through it, some folks don’t even bother to come because they have better things to do, and some folks come and just pretend to care. Would you want to jump up and say, “EXCUSE ME! MY SON DIED FOR YOU! MY ONLY SON, DIED TO SAVE THE WORLD! DON’T YOU CARE? DOES IT MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?”

Think about it and have a Happy Easter…God Bless!