A Real Life Angel

I was thinking about my encounter years ago with my real life angel whose name is John. I had just lost my job because of a catastrophic injury that resulted in surgery. I was taking a host of medications for pain and was depressed about the loss of my career, the imminent loss of my townhouse, and also the inability to take are of my two adored teenaged children. I spent one day in complete misery as I planned how I could end my life to escape my perceived hopelessness, when the telephone rang. I answered it and a kind male voice addressed himself as my caseworker from the insurance company and told me he would see that my long term disability check was expedited. He asked me how I was feeling and listened patiently as I cried out my heart about all my losses. Then he asked me if I would be willing to accept his help. Since I could no longer work as an RN due to my physical limitation and lack of college degree, he offered to help me get grants and loans so I could return to the college where I had previously taken courses towards a BS degree. He promised to send money for books as well. This motivated me to apply as a full-time student and lo and behold I received loans as well as the check for books. He called me every other week to check my progress and when I mentioned that the physical therapy was brutal and I wished I could just go to the YMCA and swim, he arranged for a check for this wish as well. The next 15 months were spent going to school and swimming 45 minutes three times a week faithfully so as to not let John down for the kindness he had shown. I landed a job that I could not have gotten without my degree, and was strong enough for the rigors of full-time work. I asked John what I could do for him in return and he laughed and just said, "I like chocolate chip cookies". He got the biggest basket of cookies sent to his office, for which I received a lovely thank you and good luck card. Months later I called him at the insurance company and was told that there was no one by that name employed there. When I asked to speak to a supervisor she assured me that not only was there no one there with that name, but there was never an employee in that department with that name (and she had been there for ten years). I was stunned. Though I'm not sure who John really is, I can tell you that I owe my life to him and consider him my real life angel. It really is a wonderful life!