Tales of the Unexpected

Arthur is out of hospital and does not have a trachy!

This is something I simply wouldn't have believed possible as I wrote my last blog post. As planned, the  breathing tube was taken out on Monday 5th November and, as expected, he started wheezing again. The trachy was immediately scheduled for Thursday 8th November, and the medical staff told us their priority was just keeping him going without a tube until the trachy took place. And then... he just started getting better.

What do I think about miracles? I'm not sure. I think I've mentioned before that I've often felt awkward about the idea that healing happens for some people and not others, or happens more for people who are being prayed for. But, to me, Arthur's whole journey throughout hospital and out the other end has been a miracle. All the decisions that have been made, the treatment he has received, the treatment that has been withheld. It's been a complex tangle of strands which have somehow led to Arthur coming out of hospital on Monday with a fully operating shunt which has healed so quickly, no trachy, and a wheeze which is a tenth of what it was and improving every day. Arthur's feeding and catheter regime, which Paul and I have been concerned about since his birth, have also been reviewed since he went in, and we're now on a much less demanding regime (catheters every 2-and-a-half, rather than 1-and-a-half hours) which is wonderful.

It has been so, so unexpected. In the time he has been in hospital we have seen glimpses of God in other places too. We've found he has been added to prayer lists at churches and theological colleges far and wide, by people we do not know. Friends old and new have been praying. People have been generous in helping us out. We received some anonymous money through the door which paid for a tank of much needed fuel, and another donation from my childhood church. I've messages mounted up in my Facebook inbox which have brought tears to my eyes (and I really must reply to...) Times like these bring out the very best in people, and we are so fortunate to be in the place we are with the friends we have. I've mentioned previously what a profound influence our time in hospital has had on both Paul and I, and that will stay with us our whole lives.

It has been so, so unexpected.

From one unexpected thing to another. Arthur's illness has brought about a rather interesting quandary: is the curacy which we have been exploring, and provisionally accepted (but not yet signed on the dotted line) going to be practical for us? If a similar situation happened this time next year, and we were in Devon, what would happen? Well, I'd have made that phone call that Saturday morning, the ambulance would have taken us to either Derriford or the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital, and as soon as it emerged that he needed to be in a Paediatric Critical Care unit, with Neurosurgeons on hand, he would have been transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital, over 2 hours from our proposed Curacy.

I mentioned this to one of my tutors a couple of weeks ago, as well as the fact that our families are nearer to Bristol, and she said "well, why not explore other options?" Within 3 days I had been released by the Exeter Diocese and transferred to Bath and Wells. Exeter kindly agreed to keep the seaside Curacy I wrote about open, should there be nothing suitable in Bath and Wells. It all felt so good. And then Bath and Wells sent me a Parish Profile for a Curacy.

Geographically, it was great. But it wasn't the ministry I was expecting - it was an Urban Prioriy Area, and an area has a reputation for having high crime and multiple deprivation. It looked exciting, missionally, but not a good place to live. I asked Bath and Wells if they had anything else, but they said I had to go and look at this one first. So we went yesterday, just to show willing, just to jump through a hoop that might get us to the right curacy.

And, unexpectedly, it was perfect. A lovely incumbent, a warm congregation, a community who really didn't seem to be entirely what their reputation stated, exciting things happening missionally, some very nice countryside nearby. Paul and I agreed that this was the first curacy we have looked at (and, of course, it is the third place we have visited) where we have felt a very genuine and profound sense of calling.

Completely unexpectedly.