Families for Heaven

When Tragedy Strikes, Part 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Alanzo & June Smith

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Series Code: FFH

Program Code: FFH00005B


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.


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Revised 2014-12-17