guest post by Cody Burns

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As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

         –   Luke 10:38-42

Have you ever been so engrossed in a task that you were not aware of what was happening around you? Maybe you stubbed your toe because you were looking at something else while you walked across the room. Maybe you were so engrossed in a conversation that you drove right past your exit. Maybe you were trying to help a child with one of their endless needs, and forgot about that pan on the stove until the smoke alarm refreshed your memory. There are endless examples. Many have happened to me. One big one was not too long ago.

              I was in my yard, measuring the wall of my shed for a project. I made my first mark, then began to measure down the wall so I could mark where I planned to put the next bracket. With my focus on the wall and tape measure, I lifted my foot to take another step. I wacked my pinky toe on a misplaced piece of scrap metal or some other sharp object in the yard. Or so I thought, until I looked down and saw the snake in the grass.

              It was a young copperhead, only about fourteen inches long. Small as he was, the venom packed a punch, and he had struck me twice in quick succession. The sharp pain of the punctures combined with the burning pain of the venom felt like I had kicked a giant wasp nest with an embedded razor blade. I hobbled to the shed, grabbed a shovel, and went back to find my attacker. I wasn’t sure if I had to prove it was a copperhead to the hospital, so before I decapitated him, I pulled out my phone and took a picture. Then I sat down on the ground and called my wife to come out and help me. Beka called 911 and soon the fire department arrived, followed by the ambulance. While they looked at my foot and got vitals signs and information, Beka went inside to grab some things for the hospital. Since we had just returned home from a three day hospital stay with our son a few hours before, our hospital bags were already packed.

              As they loaded me into the ambulance I asked Beka to throw the snake in the freezer so I could skin him afterwards. She was kind enough to oblige me. While the ambulance drove me to the hospital, Beka reached out to her sister, who came to stay with the kids so she could come sit with me at the hospital.

              The ride to the hospital felt much longer than the actual 40 minutes that elapsed. The pain in my foot and leg was excruciating, and I became sweaty and nauseous. The paramedic was able to give me some meds that helped a lot, but it was still less than comfortable. When we arrived at the ER, they wheeled me into the building, to a room that was waiting for me. It was the fastest I have ever gotten past the waiting room, for which I was very thankful. The doctor came and looked at my foot while a nurse got me hooked up to all the monitors. Then I waited.

              I had always thought hospitals would give antivenom right away if you were bitten by a venomous snake, but that is not the case. In general, they wait until the swelling passes the next joint. When I arrived, the swelling had gone from my pinky toe, up my foot to my ankle. They said if it passed the ankle up into my leg, that would confirm I needed the antivenom. So I waited, and the doctor went to see other patients in the over-crowded ER. Beka arrived, and sat with me, so I had good company. The next time the doctor came to check on me, the swelling was up into my shin and starting up my leg, so she ordered the CroFab. The pain had increased a lot again, so they also gave me a third round of medications for the pain. Then, because the swelling was moving faster than expected, she requested that I be transferred to the ICU for closer monitoring.

              With antivenom being slowly pumped into my arm, my bed was wheeled out of my room, where we hit an immediate roadblock. There were two patient-laden beds along the side of the hallway, making it impossible to get out the door and make the right-hand turn. They pulled my bed back out of the way, and then had to move the other two patients to make room to get past. The other patients were gracious, and we wished each other well as I was wheeled away towards the elevators.

              Once we arrived in the ICU, the nurses helped me move to a new bed and get as comfortable as possible. Then began a long night, marked by a nurse coming in every two hours to trace the progress of the swelling with a black marker. Between those visits and the pain, I did not get much sleep, but Beka was there the whole time to keep me company and help when I needed anything. By morning, my leg boasted some new marker art, but the 6 vials of CroFab had done their work. While the swelling was still progressing slowly, it had slowed enough that I did not need additional doses. That meant the next step was observation. They had to observe me for 24 hours from the time of my arrival before releasing me, which meant I had to wait until at least 5:00 PM. Without the regular checks and with nothing to do but observe, the nurses had little reason to come visit me, so the day had fewer interruptions than a typical hospital stay. I found that as long as my foot was elevated, the pain level was pretty low. However, as soon as I put it down, my leg screamed with pain, and I was desperate to get it elevated again. Once it was elevated for about thirty seconds, the pain would slowly subside. It was tolerable overall, but I dreaded anytime I had to move to go to the bathroom or for any other reason.

              That afternoon, they told me someone would be coming to check on me to decide if I was ready to go home or if I needed to stay another night. Eventually, a nurse practitioner arrived. She took a look at my foot, asked some questions, and then said something very unpleasant. She said everything looked good, but before she sent me home, she wanted to see me get out of bed and make sure I could safely get around by myself. I knew what would happen as soon as I lowered my foot. But I also knew I did not want to stay another night at the hospital. They were not giving me any more medication, and I was just lying there, with my foot in the air, recovering uncomfortably; something I could do at home without the hospital bills. So I cautiously lowered my leg, climbed out of bed, and tried unsuccessfully to put weight on my left foot. My leg was on fire, but I only screamed on the inside. I changed plans and hopped around on my good foot instead. Then I quickly collapsed in the nearby recliner and put my foot up, waiting for the relief to come. My evaluator could tell I could not move easily or without pain, but we convinced her to start the discharge process on the condition that I went home with a pair of crutches.

              A while later, they brought the crutches. After we opened them, we discovered they were meant for children, not a 6’ 2” adult. Since they were now opened, we were told we could not return them, and that there were no others available anyways. So we took the crutches, and I rode a wheel chair all the way downstairs to the exit, grimacing all the way.

              Beka pulled up in the car and helped me from the wheelchair. I climbed into the back seat and elevated my foot with some pillows on the center console. My wife’s sister mercifully went to the store and picked up a more fitting set of crutches and met us at our house.

              For the next two weeks, I could not put any weight on my left foot, and any time I got up was painful. After that second week, I could put partial weight on it and use a single crutch to get around. I hobbled out into the woods and cut a branch to make a cane, which was less cumbersome than the crutch. A little past the three week mark, I could walk with no support, though it was still uncomfortable. Five weeks later, I went on a run, and could only occasionally feel that something was not quite back to normal. Now, by God’s grace, I am back on my feet. I am so thankful for all the people that were praying for me, for my wife, who helped me and took care of the tasks I could not keep up with, and for the friends and family who stepped in to care for us.

              As I have thought about this after the fact, I have recognized a few lessons I learned. One is that we need to be aware of our focus. We can be so focused on what we are doing, that we miss something important, either good or bad. For Martha in Luke 10, she was working so hard for Jesus, that she missed sitting at his feet. Some people get so consumed with their jobs that they neglect their family. Those serving in ministry can be so busy doing “God’s work” that their relationship with Him suffers, and their priorities are not actually His priorities. When we are focused on all we have going on around us, usually it is our soul that suffers. With all the distractions and a wrong focus, we can easily miss the snake in the grass. Our inner, spiritual life is not healthy, and it opens us up to failure, sin, missed opportunities, and a shallow life. Let us keep our focus in the right place. Let us tend to what matters most. Let us be aware of what is going on both around us and in our hearts.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.

–1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

–Ephesians 5:15-16

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.

–1 Corinthians 10:12

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus; the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

–Hebrews 12:1-2