It was on the 5th of January, 2010 at around 11:00 in the evening when I received a text message from my youngest brother that I need to call back. Something has happened and I had this weird feeling that it was an awful one.
"Dad was stabbed and he is now at the hospital!", mom uttered with a trembling voice.
I was at work at that time. I sat still in front of my laptop for about a quarter of an hour figuring out what to do and how is dad doing right now. Until a beep from my phone was heard. It was a text message from my younger brother suggesting that I could wait until my work schedule ends and not need to go there at once for they have already arrived at the hospital and no further advice is being heard from the doctors yet.
Calmness and serenity suddenly took over me that when I arrived at the hospital at around 3:30 in the morning, I've had a "satisfying" taho (made from soy beans) breakfast with my mom, my younger brother, and my cousin, while sitting at the sidewalk in front of the hospital (the hospital doesn't have any waiting area, well.. the whole parking lot is the waiting area).
Three weeks have already passed. As I recall everything that had happened, I can't cease to praise God's Name! Let me recount those details for you, bridging the gap between 5th of January and 26th of January, 2010.
From the day of the incident until today, I could say that everything that had occurred are all miracles.
•It was only after twenty minutes from the time dad was stabbed, that he was escorted down from the second floor to the streets to find a cab to take him to the nearest hospital. The reason was that the stabber was just right in front of the building, as one witness informed dad, perhaps expecting that he would come out soon for that was the only way in and out of the building. It was only when the Barangay Tanod had arrived that dad was safely taken out of the edifice.
•No cab was present at that time, but fortunately, one of the bystanders has a tricycle. This was used to take dad to the hospital. Despite of the speed (not quite fast enough compared with a cab) that took quite long before they've arrived, dad said that he didn't feel nervous or agitated at those times. Even after seeing his left elbow pouring out a lot of blood because of a cut, he hadn't felt any uneasiness. It was only when his body was rested onto a bed on the operating room that he said he felt he would faint.
•AB+ was his blood (a rare one), but at that time there was this last bag of AB+ available for him, and even the doctors were amazed because every medicine that's needed were all there (for some of those medicines were fast to deplete in terms of supplies).
•It was two stab wounds - six cuts on the intestines, but it was just five days later that he had taken his first successful bowel movement (as my medical friends would say, once bowel movement was successful, it means the intestines are working fine)
•It was six days after the incident that he was permitted by the doctor to go home.
•Currently, he now takes his daily walk with my mom for his exercise.
"Weave in faith and God will find the thread." ~Author Unknown
I have proven God's amazing and awesome ways once again.
Indeed, He works in majestic ways, that in the end all I could do is to stand in awe of Him!
Those things wouldn't have been possible without the support and prayers of my relatives, friends, church family, and workmates. Indeed,
When man works, man works;
When man prays, God works.
© 2010 Erickson Ibana
