It was Sunday evening, this week, and I was at my parents having our weekly dinner and Sunday night movie when my cell phone rang. It was my wife.
"Honey, I have some bad news ... Fred Stubbs was in an accident this afternoon and they had to Medivac him to Tampa General Hospital." Tampa General is the hospital with the largest triage center.
Fred had been on a Sunday afternoon drive with a couple of his Christian brothers on their Harley's. The road was wet from a recent sprinkle and Fred hit standing water that took his Harley across the center line and into oncoming traffic.
I've know Fred for over 20 years and we are neighbors in River Hills in Valrico, FL. He is one of the few people I know that has a legacy while he is alive. He has led more people to the Lord than one can count. He has served the Lord since he was 12 years old.
Fred served in the Viet Nam war and has the distinction of being shot down in a helicopter, TWICE. And to beat that, he had a parachute drop in which the chute did not fully open. Fred survived all because God had a plan for him.
One of the many plans, after retiring from the military, was to be the administrative pastor of Bay Life Church in Brandon, FL and to see it grow from scores of members to today's thousands of members.
I explained to Mom and Dad that a dear friend of mine was in the emergency room and doctors are fighting to save his life. "I have to leave, I will see you next Sunday." I told them.
It was a 40 minute drive to the hospital and I prayed and cried and then I cried and prayed. Fred, also called "The Colonel," was someone you always desired to be like. He is a man's man, but full of compassion and love. He and his wife have taught marriage and family class at church forever. If you did not know Fred and Ilene you would think they were making all that lovey dovey stuff up. But they don't. They live it as they teach it. Love notes hidden where they know the other will find them. Special gifts for no special reason. Love pats in the congregation during sermons.
Fred had retired from our church last year as admin pastor, but continued to serve on the elder board. It was no surprise to me when I arrived at the hospital that many of the elders were there in the waiting room. I was also not surprised to find three other head pastors from area churchs there as well. As soon as I arrived, Ilene came running up to me to give me a hug and she thanked me for being there.
"Okay Ilene, give me an update."
"Crushed pelvis, broken arm, internal bleeding ... and they can't stop the bleeding. We need to pray that the bleeding stop" she told me.
They had gone through 40 units of blood and worse was they could not find the source of the bleeding.
It was now 10:00 PM and Fred had been in emergency for about 6 hours and nothing was improving.
It was no surprise when Fred announced at 69 years of age that he bought a Harley. Fred has never been one to slow down and certainly not get any older in his mind. Golf is a regular staple for Fred, that is when he is not at the gym working out with weights.
At about midnight the surgeon came into the waiting room. You could see the surprise on his face when he turned the corner into the waiting room only to see 40 people gathered around in prayer and fellowship. Quickly, four of Ilene's body guards ushered her to the small consulting room where doctors perform the hardest part of the operation and that is giving the prognosis to the family.
Ilene and one other close person were directed in the room and the door shut. SILENCE. It seemed forever and the air was as still as I could ever imagine. More minutes went by.
Finally the door opened and the surgeon was first to leave. Then moments later Ilene came out. For the first time there were volumes of tears.
It Was Then, That She Took a Walk in Faith
In a strong voice, a loud voice, broken in delivery by emotion, Ilene announced "The surgeon just told me that Fred is not going to make it. He says that the internal bleeding is too severe, his blood pressure is to low and his age at 70 cannot possibly hold up to it all."
Ilene continued "I aked him if he was a Christian and he said he was not. I told him 'That's okay, God can still work through your hands. You don't know Fred and you don't know the healing power of God. Now we're going to be out here praying, so you can go back in there and finish operating on Fred.'"
She then said to us, "We need to pray, right now, that they find the source of the bleeding and that it stop right now!"
The Colonel's wife had spoken. The grand order had gone out and the company of prayer soldiers understood the message and the mission.
Prayer was serious, directed and fervent.
Angel from the Church
About 1:30 AM I am standing next to Ilene by the doors that lead to the operating room. It was just the two of us praying, off to ourselves, when a nurse walks up and introduces herself to Ilene.
I did not catch her name, but I heard her to say that she was a member of our church. She heard about the accident and got dressed in her nursing uniform, as she was employed by Tampa General, and came down to the hospital. "I figured you might need some inside help" she told Ilene.
Ilene told her that the information was not coming out freely and we wre not seeing any staff to even inquire. Angel Nurse headed for the operating room.
We waited, many of us holding hands, knowing by man's reasoning there was no hope. We were told it was hopeless. But, we weren't through Walking by Faith In the Rain.
Angel Nurse returned after a few minutes. "They found what they believe is the source of the bleeding and he has stopped bleeding. At this time he is being transferred from OR to ICU. He has jumped a big hurdle tonight."
Angel Nurse led us through the back ways and short cuts to get us to ICU waiting room where one of the surgeons would soon give us an update.
The hospital congregation had grown some more by now and as we walked through the hall, a doctor by one of the nurse's desk commented "That must be one special person to have this many people here for support."
Today, Wednesday, is the fourth day of survival. Fred is clearly not out of the woods. He has to fight infection, pneumonia, repair of a crushed pelvis, repair of a broken arm that they are concerned about because of little circulation.
So we pray and Fred fights. Ilene gives us prayer orders based on intellegence handed down from OR headquarters. As with any soldier, it's one step at a time. One battle before the next and more beach head to grab.
But if anybody can do it, The Colonel can.
If you would like to keep up with this spiritual fight, there is a pretty neat "medical facebook" called CarePages. You can follow the updates and offer words of prayer, scripture and encouragement. Go to www.carepages.com. You will have to register, but it is no big deal. On the tab "Visit" enter Fred Stubbs. Then click the link WeLoveFredStubbs. You will be blessed to see the work of faith and prayer in action.
We have a big battle ahead of us and I am recruiting as many enlisted Christian soldiers as I can to volunteer. We want to keep Fred, but we also want to witness to an unbelieving medical staff. I hope to see you on on CarePages!
