If you read my most recent story, “My Angel Came With Desserts,” you might remember I said another story about the rescue would follow. How many times have I had to call 911 before? I think the first call ever was in 1989 when I had my first seizure while my husband was still living.

During the nine years when I lived in the apartment after my husband’s death, water therapy healed my body and I never had to call for an ambulance. Well, except for the time I slipped in the water in the bathroom at the club. I broke my leg and “they” had to call an ambulance.

After I moved back to Woodleaf in March 2002, all was fine until I had my first major multiple sclerosis exacerbation on July 4th. My daughter took me to the ER that time and I spent five weeks in rehab.

Since then I have lost count of the times I’ve had to call 911. Several times I’ve really just needed the Woodleaf First Responders, but the 911 operators say they have to send an ambulance. The First Responders arrived within minutes. I think I know all of those guys. One asked, “Linda, how in the world did you end up there?” For the second time, I had fallen in transferring, but this time I was wedged between the toilet and cabinet. I could not reach the phone which was hanging in the pocket on the other side of the power wheelchair. I had been lying there for over two hours when my friend, Marcia Kirtley, arrived with some dessert she had earlier promised to bring. I’ll start with this rescue story now.

These guys know I have what I consider the “Cadillac of power wheelchairs.” It would have to be moved before they could take care of me. It had taken me quite some time to learn to operate it correctly and sometimes I still get confused. They were trying to follow my instructions, but I was confusing them.

Then I remembered if they pushed a button right in front of me, they would be able to free wheel it. (I forgot I had even pushed that button myself, but was not strong enough to roll the chair so I had reset the button.) As soon as they did that, the chair was moved out into the hallway. They asked if I thought I had broken any bones and whether it would be okay to pull me out of the cramped space.

“Amen to that!” I said. By then the ambulance had arrived and they took over. My sweet Woodleaf friends hung around to see if I would be going to the hospital. (Thanks guys, I hope ya’ll know how much I appreciate all of you!)

When the girl with the ambulance crew took my blood pressure, it was 120/60. “You must not have problems with high blood pressure,” she remarked.

“No, that is about what it was when the nurse was here this morning. My mother and siblings all have had high blood pressure but, thank God, in spite of all my other health problems I don’t have that one.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” she asked. It was almost 10 p.m. and the ambulance would not bring me home. I did not want to bother anyone that late since it is hard to get me in and out of cars. I knew I had an appointment the following day with a surgeon and would be riding the disability van service (RITA).

As the other ambulance guys were packing up to leave, this gal said she and her mother both are named Linda. Now I have another Linda to add to the list of Lindas in my life. She also told me they love my stories and that I had written one about something her son did for me at the Hardware store in Cooleemee. I needed a power strip. They had two kinds and both were on sale. Unfortunately, he could not accept my bank card on anything costing less than five dollars and I had no cash. He had insisted I take it and he would pay for it. I hesitated, but I remembered the movie, “Pay it forward,” so I accepted his kindness. His mother has reason to be proud!

Well, the excitement was over so Marcia and I ate the sample deserts she brought from L. A. Murph’s Restaurant. I am forever indebted to Marcia, whom I now call “Angel.” A few days later she e-mailed the following message to me and it fits so perfect. I told her she should be a writer! Marcia’s message read as follows: (Linda, I started thinking yesterday; you know how we try to figure out the mind of God, that dessert is traditionally at the end of our meal. You and I are the same age. We have feasted on our main meal for years. We’re now down to the dessert.) I thank God every day for all the angels he continues to bring into my life!