The day is over, you are driving home. You tune
In your radio. You hear a
Little blurb about a little village in India
Where some villagers have died.
Suddenly, strangely, of a flu that has never been
Seen before. It's not
Influenza, but three or four fellows are dead,
And it's kind of interesting,
And they're sending some doctors over there to
Investigate it.
You don't think much about it, but on Sunday,
Coming home from church, you
Hear another radio spot. Only they say it's not
Three villagers, it's 30,000
Villagers in the back hills of this particular
Area of India, and it's on TV
That night. CNN runs a little blurb; people are
Heading there from the CDC
In Atlanta because this disease strain has never
Been seen before.
By Monday morning when you get up, it's the lead
Story. For it's not just
India; it's Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and
Before you know it, you're
Hearing this story everywhere and they have
Coined it now as "The mystery
Flu".
The President has made some comment that he and
Everyone are praying and
Hoping that all will go well over there. But
Everyone is wondering, "How are
We going to contain it?" That's when the
President of France makes an
Announcement that shocks Europe. He is closing
Their borders. No flights
From India, Pakistan, or any of the countries
Where this thing has been
Seen. And that's why that night you are watching
A little bit of CNN before
Going to bed. Your jaw hits your chest when a
Weeping woman is translated
From a French news program into English: "There's
A young man lying in a
Hospital in Paris dying of the mystery flu." It
Has come to Europe.
Panic strikes. As best they can tell, once you
Get it, you have it for a
Week and you don't know it. Then you have four
Days of unbelievable
Symptoms. And then you die.
Britain closes its borders, but it's too late.
South Hampton, Liverpool,
North Hampton, and it's Tuesday morning when the
President of the United
States makes the following announcement: "Due to
A national security risk,
All flights to and from Europe and Asia have been
Canceled. If your loved
Ones are overseas, I'm sorry. They cannot come
Back until we find a cure for
This thing."
Within four days our nation has been plunged into
An unbelievable fear.
People are selling little masks for your face.
People are talking about what
If it comes to this country, and preachers on
Tuesday are saying, "It's the
Scourge of God."
It's Wednesday night and you are at a church
Prayer meeting when somebody
Runs in from the parking lot and says, "Turn on a
Radio, turn on a radio."
And while the church listens to a little
Transistor radio with a microphone
Stuck up to it, the announcement is made. "Two
Women are lying in a Long
Island hospital dying from the mystery flu."
Within days it seems, this thing just sweeps
Across the country. People are
Working around the clock trying to find an
Antidote. Nothing is working.
California. Oregon. Arizona. Florida.
Massachusetts. It's as though it's
Just sweeping in from the borders. And then, all
Of a sudden the news comes
Out. The code has been broken! A cure can be
Found. A vaccine can be made.
It's going to take the blood of somebody who
Hasn't been infected, and so,
Sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all
Those channels of
Emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do
One simple thing:
"Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood
Type taken. That's all we
Ask of you. And when you hear the sirens go off
In your neighborhood, please
Make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the
Hospitals."
Sure enough, when you and your family get down
There late on that Friday
Night, there is a long line, and they've got
Nurses and doctors coming out
And pricking fingers and taking blood and putting
Labels on it. Your wife
And kids are out there, and they take your blood
Type and they say, "Wait
Here in the parking lot and if we call your name,
You can be dismissed and
Go home." You stand around scared with your
Neighbors, wondering what in the
World is going on, and that this is the end of
The world.
Suddenly a young man comes running out of the
Hospital screaming. He's
Yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He
Yells it again! And your son
Tugs on your jacket and says, "Daddy, that's me."
Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy.
"Wait a minute, hold it!"
And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His
Blood is pure. We want to
Make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think
He has got the right type."
Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors
And nurses, crying and
Hugging one another - some are even laughing.
It's the first time you have
Seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor
Walks up to you and says,
"Thank you, sir. Your son's blood type is
Perfect. It's clean, it is pure,
And we can make the vaccine."
As the word begins to spread all across that
Parking lot full of folks,
People are screaming and praying and laughing and
Crying. But then the
Gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside
And says, "May we see you
For a moment? We didn't realize that the donor
Would be a minor and we
Need... we need you to sign a consent form."
You begin to sign and then you see that the
Number of pints of blood to be
Taken is empty. "H-h-h-how many pints?" And that
Is when the old doctor's
Smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would
Be a small child. We
Weren't prepared. We need it all." "But - but..."
You stammer, not fully
Able to comprehend the cost. The old doctor
Urgently interjects "You don't
Understand. We are talking about the world here.
Please sign. We - we need
It all - we need it all!"
"But can't you give him a transfusion?" "If we
Had clean blood we would. Can
You sign? Would you sign?" In numb silence you
Do. Then they say, "Would you
Like to have a moment with him before we begin?"
Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that room
Where he sits on a table
Saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Can you
Take his hands and say,
"Son, your Mommy and I love you, and we would
Never ever let anything happen
To you that didn't just have to be. Do you
Understand that?"
And when that old doctor comes back in and says,
"I'm sorry, we've - we've
Got to get started. People are dying."
Can you leave? Can you walk out while he is
Saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? Why -
Why are you leaving me?" And then next week, when
They have the ceremony to
Honor your son, and some folks sleep through it,
And some folks don't even
Come because they go to the lake, and some folks
Come with a pretentious
Smile and just pretend to care. Would you want to
Jump up and say,
Isn't that what God says? "MY SON DIED. DON'T YOU
KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?"
Honor Him for His blood gives new life.
"Father, seeing it from your eyes breaks our
Hearts. Maybe now we can begin
to comprehend the great love you have for us.
Amen."
