Entertaining Angels Unaware

It was early October 2011, Alex would have been turning 21 on the 15th. He was heavy on my heart and mind. 

I had a dream that Coby and I were lying in a bed. I was awake and looking at my surroundings. Coby was asleep. I noticed I.V. poles around us. I saw a bed to the left of us, it was raised up quite a bit higher than ours. I could tell it was a hospital bed. I did not notice what kind of bed we were lying on, I only noticed the one next to us. I could see someone lying in it. I reached over Coby and mashed down on the pillow, it was Alex. 

He turned toward me, smiled, and said, “Hi mom!”

I gasped, “When did you get here?”

“A little after 12, am I in trouble?” He asked with a slight grin on his face.

“NO!” I smiled. “I am just really glad to see you.”

“I’m glad to see you too, mom!” 

“I have missed you so much.” I sighed.

I reached up even higher and stepped on Coby a little so that I could hug Alex. I hugged on him and placed my cheek softly to his, and then I pressed in tightly, burying my face into his pillow. I could feel his sweet face. I held tight not wanting to let go, but I awoke.

I immediately shared my dream with Coby and expressed my concern about the I.V. poles and the hospital bed. It bothered me. I loved the rest of the dream. I loved that I got to see and hold my Alex, but I didn’t understand the hospital bed or the I.V. poles.

“Alex never reached a hospital. He was gone immediately.” I reminded Coby.

“Maybe it’s because we were at Sophie’s brother’s birthday party last night.” Coby offered.

“Maybe?” I replied, still pondering the dream.

“Yeah, maybe I was thinking about the last time I saw Sophie, she was in the hospital,” I conceded.

“All of that probably made its way into your dream,” Coby added.

That made sense to me. I was still feeling a little unsettled about it, but what Coby said eased my mind. I decided to simply focus on the good part of the dream and the love I was able to share with my son.

Somewhere around the latter part of October, I was suffering from an old ailment. I had struggled with this particular issue for many years, but it was becoming a real problem. Coby was leaving town and asked me to please go to the doctor and find out what could be done. After running some test the doctor said that surgery was necessary. No more putting it off.

We scheduled surgery for November 14th. That would give me time to recover, somewhat, before Thanksgiving.

After all the arrangements were made for the surgery, I remembered the dream. I told Coby that I felt I understood the dream now. I felt as though Alex knew I was going to have surgery and he was letting me know that he would be watching over me. Coby agreed.

The day of the surgery I was fairly calm. I was ready to put this problem behind me. I was escorted into the pre-op where I met my anesthesiologist. He explained everything to me and then informed me that my doctor was running behind schedule. My surgery was scheduled for 11:30 AM. 

At 12:20 PM my doctor flew through the pre-op doors and said, "Let's do this!" 

My anesthesiologist laid a tray holding a syringe on top of my stomach and began wheeling me toward the hallway. I was a bit unsettled that he hadn't administered my sedative yet. I have had C-sections with both my boys and never saw the operating room. I was always given a sedative before leaving pre-op, but this time I did not receive anything.

As we started down the hall, Coby walked out of the waiting room and kissed me goodbye. A nurse walked up and began pushing my bed into the elevator. 

In my mind, I was thinking, “Hey, what about that shot?"

The doors of the elevator opened and the nurse rushed me over to the operating room. The double doors opened automatically and Immediately I could feel a rush of cold air. I had never been wheeled into the operating room while conscious before, so seeing two humongous lights overhead and a stainless table sitting in the middle of a stark and cold room was quite honestly, freaking me out!. My fist clinched so tight I could feel my fingernails sink into my palms. I was stiffening up and I could feel my heart race. I was going into panic mode.

Out of my peripheral, I noticed two nurses to my right standing over a stainless sink. I could hear the unnerving noise of scalpels scraping against the sink. I forced myself to look away. The lady who wheeled me in left and a man stood at my feet.

“We are going to move you onto the table so we need you to be perfectly still. Lay as straight as you can for us.” He instructed.

I did as he asked; he pulled up on the sheet beneath me and someone above my head pulled the sheet upward from beneath my shoulders. I was moved from my bed to the cold stainless table. Once I was on the table, the person who stood above my head, whom I had not yet seen, leaned over me and introduced himself.

“Hi! My name is Alex. I will be assisting your Doctor in surgery today.” 

“What? Did he just say his name was Alex? Maybe I have had my sedative and I just don't remember? Did I really hear him correctly?" 

I glanced toward my stomach, the syringe was still there.

He walked around and stood bent over to the left of me, pulling out an arm splint from under the table. 

“I am going to lay your arm here. Just relax.”

As he leaned over to move my arm he picked up the shot that is lying on my stomach, I noticed he was wearing a name tag. I grabbed it pulling him toward me. I was in disbelief, I had to know if I heard his name correctly. Sure enough, there it was, written in caps, ALEX. 

I immediately relaxed and looked into his big brown eyes. He was wearing a surgical mask and cap so all that was exposed were his eyes and a small amount of black hair exceeding the brim of his cap.

He pushed the contents of the syringe into my I.V., I released his name tag and said, “I like your name!”

Before he could reply the oxygen mask came over the top of my head and I was out.

While in the hospital I was hoping for a visit from the doctors assistant, but he did not come by. 

When I returned to get my staples removed my doctors head nurse handled the removal. I asked her if Dr. Peche was going to see me, she said no, not unless I needed to ask him questions. I told her I just needed to speak with him for 5 short minutes. Nothing was wrong I just wanted to share something with him. 

He came in and I quickly shared my dream and my encounter with his surgical assistant, Alex. He was astounded. He literally sat speechless for several minutes. I asked if he knew his assistant personally. He said there were actually two Alex's who assist him. When I described the one who assisted him on that day he immediately responded in fondness, "Oh! That Alex. He is wonderful. Everyone loves him!" 

His reaction did not surprise me. I remember thinking, "Of course he is! Of course they do!" 

I asked Dr. Peche to please share this information with his assistant. It was important that he know how God had used him that day. He agreed and said he would share. My sweet doctor retired before my next visit so I do not know how this story ended. I can only pray that Alex received word of “his part” in this most heavenly encounter. 

Most of us go through life wondering what our purpose is. We might even wonder if God will use us. I want Alex to know how God used him that day, not as Dr. Peche’s assistant, but as Gods assistant.  I believe it would be both meaningful and impactful for him.

Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.