Playing the Odds
Although I am supposed to be on vacation I am still at home and available. So last night, when I heard that 85 year old Hellen had been taken to the hospital with chest pain and a doctor's recommedation for triple by-pass surgery, I had to make a decision. As a "Pastor on vacation" should I just put Hellen out of my mind until next Monday or make the one-hour round-trip drive to the hospital? For me it was a no-brainer. Hellen is not just a member of my congregation but a friend who I greatly respect and admire. Not making a visit to Hellen in the hospital would be like not visiting my own mother!
So today, after dropping daughter #1 off at the Honolulu airport for a flight to California I headed off to the hospital to see Helen. Her son and two friends from church had just left. She lay on her bed in CCU looking very bored. She knew I was coming and was glad to see me. Among other things she told me that the heart surgeon had told her that, because of her age, she would only have a 10-15% chance of surviving the surgery successfully. These were very slim odds so she was debating whether or not to have the surgery or hope that medication would somehow keep the three main arteries to her heart open (all three were 90-95% closed).
She said that she was inclined to have the surgery and take her chances. The pain, shortness of breath and general discomfort and malaise she had been experiencing were not things she wanted to suffer through for the rest of whatever life remained for her.
From experience I had some misgivings about the accuracy of the "survival" odds she had quoted but I was, nonetheless, impressed with her willingness to stake all of her chips on such a risky roll of the dice. She was cool and composed throughout our conversation, injecting humor amidst the life-stories and bon mots she is so good at offering. I imagined her sitting at a poker table in Las Vegas, calculating the odds of winning with a pair of Queens and betting the house, partly out of boredom and partly out of tiring of the game. She would be a tough one to read. Someone I would want on my side if I were playing any sort of bluffing game!
When her general physician came in the room for a consultation I asked Hellen to tell him the survival odds she had been quoted. As I knew he would, the doctor explained that she had got it backwards. The 10-15% figures were for the estimated failure rate. The success rate would be 85-90%. After the doctor left Hellen turned to me and said, "Thank you. I'm glad you asked him that question!"
That good news further strengthened her inclination to go ahead with the surgery. After a short prayer I left the room as the heart surgeon entered to discuss whether or not she had decided on the surgery. I left the room before I heard her answer. If "yes" the surgery could come as early as tomorrow.
Once again I will have to face the decision of whether I will be on vacation or take the time to visit the hospital. As before it will not be a difficult choice. As I said to her during my visit this afternoon, "Hellen, I am not here as your pastor (even though I am your pastor). I am here as your friend."
Pastors can and should take vacations. But friendship isn't allowed to take time off. Even for good behavior.
So today, after dropping daughter #1 off at the Honolulu airport for a flight to California I headed off to the hospital to see Helen. Her son and two friends from church had just left. She lay on her bed in CCU looking very bored. She knew I was coming and was glad to see me. Among other things she told me that the heart surgeon had told her that, because of her age, she would only have a 10-15% chance of surviving the surgery successfully. These were very slim odds so she was debating whether or not to have the surgery or hope that medication would somehow keep the three main arteries to her heart open (all three were 90-95% closed).
She said that she was inclined to have the surgery and take her chances. The pain, shortness of breath and general discomfort and malaise she had been experiencing were not things she wanted to suffer through for the rest of whatever life remained for her.
From experience I had some misgivings about the accuracy of the "survival" odds she had quoted but I was, nonetheless, impressed with her willingness to stake all of her chips on such a risky roll of the dice. She was cool and composed throughout our conversation, injecting humor amidst the life-stories and bon mots she is so good at offering. I imagined her sitting at a poker table in Las Vegas, calculating the odds of winning with a pair of Queens and betting the house, partly out of boredom and partly out of tiring of the game. She would be a tough one to read. Someone I would want on my side if I were playing any sort of bluffing game!
When her general physician came in the room for a consultation I asked Hellen to tell him the survival odds she had been quoted. As I knew he would, the doctor explained that she had got it backwards. The 10-15% figures were for the estimated failure rate. The success rate would be 85-90%. After the doctor left Hellen turned to me and said, "Thank you. I'm glad you asked him that question!"
That good news further strengthened her inclination to go ahead with the surgery. After a short prayer I left the room as the heart surgeon entered to discuss whether or not she had decided on the surgery. I left the room before I heard her answer. If "yes" the surgery could come as early as tomorrow.
Once again I will have to face the decision of whether I will be on vacation or take the time to visit the hospital. As before it will not be a difficult choice. As I said to her during my visit this afternoon, "Hellen, I am not here as your pastor (even though I am your pastor). I am here as your friend."
Pastors can and should take vacations. But friendship isn't allowed to take time off. Even for good behavior.
posted by Bird of Paradise at 9:09 PM
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