JIM HENDRICKS: For one couple, a chance to celebrate holiday together a reason to be thankful

When it gets to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, it’s naturally a time when emotions can get high.

We all get busy this time of year, preparing for family and friends to come over, looking for gifts, reflecting on the year and what has — and, more often, hasn’t — gotten done.

It’s a time when thoughts of loved ones — both here and those who have already gone — tug at us in a way that is much more intense than, say, the middle of summer. And there are no shortages of stories and movies that are designed to pluck those strings, some simply for effect, but others — those with a higher purpose — to remind us of that is really important in a world that usually counts success and failure in terms of money, cars and property.

And every so often, one of those stories about what’s important is true. It’s even more special when that story has not a contrived one, but a very real happy ending.

And that was the case for a couple from Gastonia, N.C. — James and Rebecca Revels.

James Revels is a long-haul truck driver. Last weekend, his job brought him to Albany. Rebecca Revels sent me an email Tuesday about what happened. I don’t think her words can be improved upon, so here is how she related the events:

“On Friday, November 21st, my husband, who is a long-haul truck driver, made a delivery at a business in Albany. (A day that one of my worst nightmares became a reality.) When he attempted to leave the truck to retrieve his bill, he collapsed. Thanks to the quick actions of the people there, our family will have a happy Thanksgiving.

“I called my husband that day and received no answer. Usually that means he’s busy or driving, so I let it go. For some reason on that day, I called again. An EMT answered the phone, telling me that they had my husband in the back of the truck and were preparing to transport him to the hospital. At my stunned question of “why?” I was told that he had a “severe breathing incident,” but he was doing much better.

“This EMT, whose name I do not recall, then gave me the number and name of the hospital before ending the call. I waited what I thought to be a respectable time before calling the hospital. When I asked about my husband, I was frustrated at the fact they had to follow the privacy law and could tell me nothing. I had to go there. Unfortunately, I am in North Carolina.

“Then a social network miracle took place. I discovered that an online friend lived in Albany and would ask her pastor if he would go to the hospital and check on my husband. He not only did this, he relayed the information back through my friend to me, letting me know he was doing better but still in the emergency room. It was the next day before I was able to speak with him even briefly. He had been moved to ICU, the cell phone reception was terrible, but he discovered a way to hold his head where we could communicate.

“My husband spent from Friday to Tuesday in the hospital there. He was taken care of by nothing less than incredibly special people.

“For those who did not hesitate and recognizing the need, called 911 for my husband, doing what they could while they waited, I say a heartfelt, thank you. For the Paramedics, even though I don’t know your names, I say, thank you. To everyone at the hospital from the ER staff, the ICU team and the nurses who took care of him through it all, thank you. For my friends and their pastor — thank you.

“While his was an unexpected stay in your town, a stay that will definitely be unforgettable, you made it one that he will at least be able to remember and talk about. For our family, you have given us a very special and a very real Thanksgiving.”

As you probably are, I wondered how Mr. Revels was doing. Mrs. Revels and I played phone tag Wednesday, so when I got back to the office Friday I returned her call. She was at work, but Mr. Revels answered the phone.

He said he was doing “pretty well, considering.”

I told him he sounded good on the phone.

“Your town was good to me,” he said.

Indeed, it’s a story that could have been a tragic one if some Good Samaritans hadn’t gotten involved. But folks in Albany again proved that they are caring, and the community has reason to feel a measure of pride for that. Most importantly, a life was saved and a husband and wife who could have been separated forever were able to celebrate Thanksgiving together with, I suspect, a level of gratitude and relief that few others can truly comprehend.

It’s a story with a happy ending that we just don’t see often enough, one that I’m thankful the Revels chose to share.

Email Jim Hendricks at [email protected].