Participants: Alanzo & June Smith
Series Code: FFH
Program Code: FFH00005B
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00:01 Welcome back to Families 4 Heaven.
00:03 We have with us as our guests Bootie Frances and Carter 00:08 Frances, and just before the break Carter was about to 00:12 share with us what happened after the crash. 00:19 Carter: on May 17, 1998 I had just come home from a 00:27 church board meeting to meet Booty at home 00:31 to go visit the sick. 00:34 Nellie and I had just got into the house and we received a call 00:41 saying that Bootie and Pauline was in an accident. 00:46 Those are Bootie sisters. 00:49 So we thought it was just a fender bender. 00:53 So we got in the car and we went out, it was just about 00:57 a mile from home. 00:59 When we got there Bootie was still trapped in the car. 01:04 The car was crushed like I would've crushed a piece of 01:09 paper in my hand. 01:11 There were four fire units there and maybe about 15 or 20 01:19 police men and they were cutting, cutting the car with a 01:24 saw, one of those metal saws. 01:28 And Bootie was tapping with her right hand on the 01:33 side of the car. 01:35 I went there to ask a policeman to just let me speak 01:38 to her because if she hears my voice 01:41 she would be comfortable. 01:42 One gentleman who was there saw me and he said, 01:46 sir do you pray? 01:50 I said, yes I am a praying man. 01:52 So he gathered those who were there, about eight 01:56 individuals came around and they started praying for us 02:00 while we were crying. 02:03 About five minutes after that they finally cut Bootie out 02:10 of the car and put her in the ambulance. 02:17 I went to the gentleman who was putting her in the 02:21 ambulance and said, I would like to get into the 02:24 ambulance with her. 02:27 He said, no sir you can't get there. 02:29 So I just left them and went and opened the front of the 02:32 ambulance and sat down in the ambulance and they did what 02:36 they had to do and when they came back they saw me 02:39 sitting in the ambulance. 02:40 They say what are you doing here sir? 02:42 I said I'm going to the hospital with my wife. 02:44 They said, just buckle up your seat belt and they took us 02:50 to the hospital. 02:52 They took her into the emergency room. 02:56 I wanted to go inside with her, but the gentleman said, 03:02 no sir, you cannot get inside here. 03:05 He said no visiting, only employees are allowed inside 03:12 here, so they took me into a waiting room. 03:17 Alanzo: so you waited? 03:19 I waited there for a little while, but within that period 03:23 of time, I don't know how, even my church family got the 03:27 news and all my family members. 03:29 But within 15 or 20 minutes I was there that whole 03:34 waiting room was filled with members from the church. 03:39 Family members, coworkers from Bootie's workplace, and the 03:45 Pastor Winston, he is known as secretary of the South 03:49 Atlantic conference who came there and prayed with us. 03:54 They prayed and finally the doctor came out who was looking 04:01 after Bootie and said to me, 04:03 Mr. Frances, your wife is very ill. 04:06 I said, can you tell me what is wrong with her? 04:09 He said first I can tell you she may lose her left arm. 04:14 It is almost severed from her so she may lose her left 04:18 arm and she has a lot of broken bones. 04:23 We don't really do a CAT scan with her yet so we don't 04:27 know how bones are broken. 04:29 She has a lot of broken bones and she is bleeding from 04:33 her brain. 04:34 Soon the hospital room was filled with people. 04:39 It was overflowed, so they took me upstairs to a bigger 04:45 waiting room and they placed us there. 04:49 While we were there, Bootie was in ICU, she was placed 04:57 in the ICU and her sister was also ICU. 05:01 Finally the doctor came out and said Mr. Frances, your 05:06 wife is in a coma. 05:08 She has damage to her brain. 05:11 Her left arm is broken and we had to put a plate in 05:17 her left hip. 05:19 We had to put a pin in her left leg and both knees are 05:24 broken and both arms are broken. 05:26 Alanzo: we are talking about When Tragedy Strikes, 05:31 The Morning after. 05:33 Carter has been sharing with us his painful experience 05:37 of the tragic mishap of his wife in an auto accident. 05:42 As you listen to her story, maybe you are identifying 05:47 with your own family issue, or maybe a personal issue. 05:51 We want you to understand that there is always hope. 05:55 Let's continue to listen to Carter as he shares with us 05:59 what happened after his wife went into ICU. 06:05 Mr. Frances: We spent all night at the hospital and now 06:08 she was in a coma. 06:11 I went home and I think that was maybe the worst experience 06:18 I have ever had. 06:19 I walked in the house and it was as if I was just alone 06:24 even though other members of my family were there. 06:28 So I started reasoning with God. 06:33 I remember that morning we had worship and among the two 06:38 things we asked God for was protection for that day. 06:42 Also to give us strength to go visit a sick person whom 06:47 we promised to visit. 06:49 Alanzo: was it shaking your faith? 06:54 Mr. Frances: I was questioning, why did this happen to my 06:59 wife even though we had just asked You for protection 07:04 and guidance? 07:06 Dr. June: so you had some anger? 07:07 Mr. Frances: I felt some anger. 07:08 Alanzo: is that, Dr. June, a normal reaction when a 07:13 individual is going through a crisis and especially a 07:18 situational crisis that anger is involved within that? 07:22 Dr. June: that is a normal part of the cycle, usually 07:26 it is just disbelief, 07:28 you can't believe this has happened. 07:30 Once you get to the knowledge that this is really what 07:34 is happening then you begin to feel emotions of anger. 07:38 Alanzo: we have spoken on an earlier show about the act 07:42 of denial, and now we are talking about anger. 07:46 So you are going through this, what happened in the end? 07:52 Bootie and I had a practice that we study, special Bible 07:57 texts and every morning we would study those text. 08:02 Among those text, two of those text came right to mind 08:07 at that hour, Proverbs 3:5-6. 08:10 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not" 08:15 "to your own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge" 08:19 "Him, and He will direct thy paths. " 08:23 Alanzo: so you found strength from that text? 08:24 I found strength in that text and I started reasoning 08:28 with God and then I said God what is going to happen? 08:31 Am I going to lose my wife? 08:35 That is the way I was talking to God. 08:37 The text Matthew 19:26 came to mind, "what is impossible with" 08:44 "men is possible with God. " 08:50 Alanzo: so you are going through your struggle and your 08:52 deep faith in God is now challenged. 08:56 So you have to go into the reservoir to find something 09:01 to hold you together. 09:03 At the same time she is lying in a hospital room. 09:06 Was she there for a week, two weeks and then out? 09:10 That was a long haul, a beginning of a long experience. 09:15 She was in a coma for six weeks, six weeks. 09:22 During those six weeks, those were long days and nights 09:26 for me and in the hospital. 09:29 I remember I never even slept in our room any night out 09:33 of those 6 to 3 months. 09:37 I would not even face the room. 09:39 I slept on the couch every night. 09:42 I woke up every morning at five o'clock with the birds 09:47 and I prayed, I began to ask for specific, specific 09:52 things in my life. 09:54 I said my wife is in the hospital and I need to see her 09:58 open her eyes, that is all I need is to see her open 10:03 her eyes. 10:04 Alanzo: so Carter you visit your wife daily and spend 10:08 hours, and she is not conscious of what is going on? 10:11 Mr. Frances: she is not conscious of what is going on. 10:14 Six weeks pass and nothing happens? 10:18 Mr. Carter: nothing happens and the fifth week, I 10:22 remember in the fifth week, Dr. Smith, Pastor Hey and 10:26 Pastor Conue Birch visited me at home. 10:31 They spent five days with me and they said, Carter we are 10:38 here to support you and we would like to go to the 10:41 hospital to anoint your wife. 10:43 I said that I welcomed the idea, but I need to make 10:46 arrangements and so I went to the hospital and made 10:49 arrangements with the doctors. 10:50 Alanzo: you got the permission and you had the anointing 10:54 with prayer. 10:57 Mr. Frances: with prayer, we prayed. 11:01 Mr. Frances: within two days the neurosurgeon called me 11:08 and said, Mr. Frances we took your wife and did a CAT 11:12 scan on her and found that she has some fluid on her 11:18 brain and it is possible that fluid might be preventing 11:23 her from waking out of a coma. 11:26 We need to go in and drain her brain and see what happens 11:32 from there. 11:33 Alanzo: did he do that? Mr. Frances: yes he did that. 11:36 Alanzo: what's the result? 11:37 Mr. Frances: in two days my wife woke up. 11:40 I went in to see her one day and my wife... 11:57 Alanzo: stay right there. |
Revised 2014-12-17