I might have mentioned previously that although we live next door to the Mission Office, we are on the 3rd floor and the Mission Office is on the 4th floor. We have an elevator that works on and off in our building and the elevator to the Mission Office building is broken. Each day we trek up and down stairs, hoping as we get to the Mission Office that we don't pass out from lack of oxygen.
As we leave our apartment each morning, we need to decide do we take the elevator or the stairs. This morning, we were carrying 4 new pillows and some other supplies to outfit the apartment where sister missionaries will be living in another week (we have never had sister missionaries in India, so this is a pretty big deal having them in our mission). I start walking down the steps, not even thinking about the elevator. The steps are made of granite, are somewhat narrow, have a curve lip at the front and always have a super-fine layer of dirt on them (it seems they are never clean), so we always walk very carefully and generally hold the banister, but today, we had all this "stuff" we were taking next door.
I'm in the lead with Angela close behind. We get about 6 steps from the bottom and Angela slips and can't catch herself before she hits very hard on her tailbone and hits her arm badly. While sitting there resting and checking to see if there is any major damage, she says she feels like she is going to pass out. I tell her to put her head down between her legs. The next I know is that she has passed out. I think this is the first time either she or I have passed out. It was quite scary. Fortunately, I was in front of her and was able to prevent her from rolling down the remaining steps. It's true what they say about "dead weight" when someone passes out, and also fortunately she was sitting down when she did. She was out about 20-30 seconds and then came out of it.
We sat there for another 5 or 10 minutes and I finally convinced her that she wasn't going to the office and needed to go back to the apartment and lie down. I helped her up and we went down the last few steps and I pressed the button to get the elevator to take us back up. As I'm holding her up, she tells me she is again feeling faint, and before I know it, she passes out again. Again, fortunately, I had 4 pillows that I had thrown on the bottom of the steps and was able to gently lay her down on them. Having no experience with fainting, it was a little unnerving to see her passed out with her eyes open with a blank stare. She was out about another 30-40 seconds and then she came too. She laid on the floor for about 10 minutes before I was able to get her up, in the elevator and back into the apartment and into bed.
We immediately called the young missionary elders who live close to us and they came over and help me give her a Priesthood blessing that she would make a quick recovery. She stayed in bed most of the morning, but by 1 pm, she was actually able to get up and walk a little. While she still has pain where she hit the ground, we would both call her quick recovery miraculous. Her arm has for the most part quit hurting and she is able to walk without pain. My challenge now is to convince her that she still needs to take time to recover completely before worrying about her "work" at the mission office. We are indeed grateful for the Lord blessing her and know that it was through the Priesthood that she has recovered so quickly.
And next time, we're taking the elevator...
As we leave our apartment each morning, we need to decide do we take the elevator or the stairs. This morning, we were carrying 4 new pillows and some other supplies to outfit the apartment where sister missionaries will be living in another week (we have never had sister missionaries in India, so this is a pretty big deal having them in our mission). I start walking down the steps, not even thinking about the elevator. The steps are made of granite, are somewhat narrow, have a curve lip at the front and always have a super-fine layer of dirt on them (it seems they are never clean), so we always walk very carefully and generally hold the banister, but today, we had all this "stuff" we were taking next door.
I'm in the lead with Angela close behind. We get about 6 steps from the bottom and Angela slips and can't catch herself before she hits very hard on her tailbone and hits her arm badly. While sitting there resting and checking to see if there is any major damage, she says she feels like she is going to pass out. I tell her to put her head down between her legs. The next I know is that she has passed out. I think this is the first time either she or I have passed out. It was quite scary. Fortunately, I was in front of her and was able to prevent her from rolling down the remaining steps. It's true what they say about "dead weight" when someone passes out, and also fortunately she was sitting down when she did. She was out about 20-30 seconds and then came out of it.
We sat there for another 5 or 10 minutes and I finally convinced her that she wasn't going to the office and needed to go back to the apartment and lie down. I helped her up and we went down the last few steps and I pressed the button to get the elevator to take us back up. As I'm holding her up, she tells me she is again feeling faint, and before I know it, she passes out again. Again, fortunately, I had 4 pillows that I had thrown on the bottom of the steps and was able to gently lay her down on them. Having no experience with fainting, it was a little unnerving to see her passed out with her eyes open with a blank stare. She was out about another 30-40 seconds and then she came too. She laid on the floor for about 10 minutes before I was able to get her up, in the elevator and back into the apartment and into bed.
We immediately called the young missionary elders who live close to us and they came over and help me give her a Priesthood blessing that she would make a quick recovery. She stayed in bed most of the morning, but by 1 pm, she was actually able to get up and walk a little. While she still has pain where she hit the ground, we would both call her quick recovery miraculous. Her arm has for the most part quit hurting and she is able to walk without pain. My challenge now is to convince her that she still needs to take time to recover completely before worrying about her "work" at the mission office. We are indeed grateful for the Lord blessing her and know that it was through the Priesthood that she has recovered so quickly.
And next time, we're taking the elevator...
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