We had a wonderful fall season, traveling east to New York, harvesting the garden’s bounty, and meeting a great-grandson for the first time. Yep, our fall was going pretty smoothly until the other night.

In a dead sleep at about 1:00 am I was awakened by the words “John, help”, followed by the distinctive sound of full body weight falling lifeless to the ground. Rushing to the bathroom I turned on the light to see Suzanne laying on the floor. In that instant, my mind ran straight to our friend who had suffered the same cancer as Suzanne and who, with no apparent symptoms, died suddenly.

At that moment, my “Dr. John” (what my kids called me) instincts set in as I wanted to be sure that first and foremost, she was still alive. I couldn’t find a pulse in her neck as that structure is all different now. Grabbing for a wrist, I grabbed the one that was used to rebuild her throat, so it was of no use. Just as I reached for her other wrist, she started to move slightly and a little mumble came from her lips, so life was still there.

Next was to be sure she didn’t hurt anything in the fall. As she regained more consciousness, she was able to share that nothing seemed hurt, although, a sore spot on the back of her head was later discovered.

So now the dilemma, to call 911 or not. In such a time-sensitive moment, how do you decide? What is the underlying reason for her collapse? Is it life-threatening? Those couple of minutes as she awoke we’re telling. She was able to sit up, able to recall what happened, able to assess her own state of well-being, so up and back to bed she went.

Without going into any more detail about our next day, which included, additional issues, a doctor’s appointment, and blood tests, we still don’t have a definitive reason for this event. Suspicions are related to her sodium & electrolyte levels which have been on the low side ever since her treatments began. Surviving on liquid meal replacements and protein shakes is not a perfect substitute for any normal diet. As she develops ways to incorporate regular food into her eating schedule, we will be looking closely at all the microelements she may be missing.

With all the color and splendor we saw traveling in the past few weeks, this was not the fall we ever anticipated and pray we ever see again.

For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity

Proverbs 24:16