Cooperative Living March/April 2014 - 42

RURAL LIVING by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
On New Year's Eve day, Brook was
quite ill. The doctor prescribed some
sulfa medications. Momma gave
Brook her pills, and the child dutifully
swallowed them.
Not long after, Brook became very,
very sick. She was allergic to the
medicine. The rescue squad was
called. Heroic measures were taken; a
medic named Murray dedicated himself
to helping Brook breathe. Her
heart rate had dropped to 44; her
oxygen plunged to 57. Brook went
into anaphylactic shock.
A medical evacuation helicopter
PAW-PAW,
BROOK
AND THE
BLUE
PAJAMAS
oday's column isn't what you'd call
amusing. It is, however, the most
uplifting story I've heard in years,
and I hope you will agree.
It's all about a little girl who is 4 years
old. She is a delightful and dainty thing,
quite precocious, with a developed sense
of self that defies her few years.
Let's call her Brook. Over the past
Christmas holiday, Brook was not feeling
all that perky; something was wrong with
her " innards. " In addition, she was
missing her " Paw-Paw, " her grandfather
who had recently died. Brook and PawPaw
had been the best of pals.
For her upcoming birthday at the end
of December, Brook's doting parents
asked her what she wanted as a gift. " I
want to see Paw-Paw, " she resolutely
answered. Her parents let that pass, and
bought Brook an iPad and lots of pretty
birthday things in blue and green, her
favorite colors.
T
was ordered to the scene. Brook and
Momma were loaded inside, and the
helo took off through the air for the
closest major hospital.
When they examined
the little girl,
doctors told Momma
that Brook was a very
lucky child to have
arrived as soon as she
did.
When Brook
regained her bearings,
her mother asked,
" Did you like flying in
the helicopter with
Momma? "
" Well, " Brook said,
" Paw-Paw was there,
too. "
Momma was
perplexed.
" What do you
mean? "
" Paw-Paw knew I
Most of us have read or heard similar
stories, but the majority of those happened
to adults. Little children who have
just turned 4 years old haven't heard
these stories. And, while they can be
quite imaginative, there are just too
many " tells " in little Brook's tale for her
to have imagined it.
What a wonderfully uplifting idea for
all of us to embrace. Our dear departed
loved ones are there - looking out for
us, coming to our aid, shining brightly in
the sky.
'... He told
me that
whenever I
wanted him,
I just had
to look up
and he would
be the
was scared, so he
came to sit beside me
on the bed, " Brook explained. " He
was wearing blue pajamas. He held
my hand the whole way. "
" What did Paw-Paw tell you? "
Momma wondered.
brightest star
in the sky.'
" I told him I missed him, and
he told me that whenever I wanted
him, I just had to look up and he
would be the brightest star in the
sky. Then he kissed me on the lips, "
said Brook. " I went to sleep, but
Paw-Paw told me I had to go back
down there, because they weren't
ready for me yet. "
40
I had a similar experience during an
acute medical crisis in 2010. They'd
done all they could for me here in Hot
Springs. I could tell by the doc's face that
things were dire. I was loaded into an
ambulance with the doc
and two dear friends
standing by, wide-eyed
with worry. I could
barely think, but I knew
I was scared.
Just before they
slammed the ambulance
doors, I looked up. And
there, up in the patch of
sky between the door
and the frame was a
bright rainbow.
" I'll be okay! " I told
my contingent. " There's
a rainbow. Mom's watching
over me! "
My friends and the
doc murmured to each
other, " Poor Margo. She's
delusional. "
And then they, too,
looked up into the blue,
cloudless sky.
" There is a rainbow! " doc exclaimed.
" Dotty's watching over her after all. "
During that long ride to Lewis Gale in
Salem, I think I nearly tanked a time or
two. But I was no longer scared. I had
Mom with me.
So, know this about our heavenly
angels: Apparently they're up there, even
if we can't see them. Sometimes they'll
send us a rainbow. And sometimes, they
might be wearing blue pajamas. 
To order Margo Oxendine's A Party of One,
email recorder@htcnet.org, or call 540-4682147
Monday-Thursday from 9-5.
Cooperative Living/March-April 2014
Cooperative Living March/April 2014

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