** The human body is a wonderful machine anytime especially when it is working right. But there are times, typically when we get to be seniors that the body needs a little help to function properly. Take for example the beating of that ordinarily impossibly efficient heart, tirelessly working full time thanks to its built-in from-birth electrical system. But what happens when an irregularity occurs? What then? This is my version of an incident.
My friend has a defibrillator with a built in device that will emit an audible beep when the battery is running low, a warning to seek a replacement. The beep is not something that one wants to hear and when it does go off, an emergency exists. Medical attention is urgent.
Lazing away the time talking with his wife and a friend with medical training, suddenly a beep was heard. No one seemed to know immediately exactly its location and since it was not persistent, it was ignored until a few minutes later, another beep and this time it got everyone’s attention since the sound brought to mind a warning message from the implanted medical device.
The friend immediately concluded that the implanted device was trying to get their attention, and she immediately made contact with the appropriate medical professional who when contacted insisted that the person affected should seek medical attention without delay.
Of course the “victim” would need transportation and it was quickly arranged.
His wife hurriedly got things together for the trip and knowing she would need to make contact with family members, placed the cellular telephone in her bag,
But before they could depart, the beep went off again, adding angst to the already worried party. But the beep did not seemingly come from the afflicted party. The noise seemed to come from another source. Where?
Minutes passed and no location answer was forthcoming and so the transportation was waiting when the beep went off again, but this time the sound was pinpointed. It came from the bag being carried by the worried wife. What could it possibly be?
Investigating the contents of the bag, the answer became obvious. The beep was not from the implant, but it was a sound from the cellular telephone warning that the battery need recharging.
This turned out to be the near heart stopping false alarm!
***While our pastor was on vacation, we were fortunate enough to schedule for our morning worship service the appearance of a local quartet, members of Mount Calvary Baptist Church just down the road from our congregation at Kentyre Presbyterian Church (USA). The four adults, 2 men and 2 women, are well known and in addition to their singing, they provide appropriate commentary with their musical selections. Kentyre has a small congregation and its music while adequate is leaps away from the performance provided by our guests. Their electronic provided music accompaniment is enhanced by the powerfully amplified equipment providing a concert hall sound.
Most of the performance consisted of what might be called contemporary church music. The close harmony of the selections was impressive and inspiring. How fortunate are we to have such professional musical talent in our community.
*
Bill Lee
PO Box 128
Hamer, SC 29547
