By Jean Tourville
ORIENTAL – It was on a Friday morning when it happened. I was making breakfast when a sudden feverish chill hit me so severely that my legs became weak. I knew I couldn’t hold myself up for long. What I could not know if that moment was my life and that of my husband’s was about to change.
We had moved to the town of Oriental just over a year ago with the dream of learning how to sail. We wanted to sail the world, but first we had to at least make it to Ocracoke. Upon our arrival we were immediately struck with the town’s overwhelming charm and the friendliness of its residents. We joined a local church and were instantly welcomed with enthusiasm. Right away people had suggestions on how to get involved in sailing, who to speak with and so on.
We started to crew on a boat for the Wednesday night races and were given a wealth of knowledge from our Captain, Joe. He took us under his wing and the lessons we learned have been invaluable to us. He taught us sailing techniques, diesel engine repair, wiring navigation of the waterways and much more. His wife, Paola, a natural at entertaining, introduced us to many of the residents here who we now call friends.
Our neighbors Allen and Lee brought all of the Southern charm one reads about in books. Allen always greeted us with such kindness, along with an apple or some fresh produce that we were grateful for. I often made something new and would bring a bit by for them to try. His wife Lee always kept an eye out on the house if we were out of town and never returned an ‘empty’ casserole dish (as she said was tradition).
Another goal was to learn HAM radio and many of the town residents pointed us right to Bill, our resident HAM (amateur radio) expert and teacher. He spent so much of his time teaching us how to become radio operators, we were able to pass our license exams because of his tutelage. His classes were fascinating and he opened up a whole community of radio operators to us where there is no shortage of kind, genuine people.
We felt that we were really a part of something here, a wonderful community whose kindness is contagious. A community that rewards any effort you put in to it three-fold and inspires you to do better. I write this so you can understand how welcomed we had already felt by everyone and how special we felt this area already was.
It was on a Friday as I became weaker and weaker we started to realize this may be serious. My husband Brian and I recently found out I was pregnant and because of my age we knew it was high risk for the baby. We wanted to wait till my second trimester before we told our friends.
Within hours I was so weak I could not make it a few steps without collapsing. My husband insisted on the hospital. I knew I couldn’t make it to the car so he called an ambulance. Within minutes two first responders came, followed by the ambulance. I lost consciousness before they could get me strapped into the chair. I came to long enough to see I was laying on a stretcher in the back of the ambulance. The paramedics were desperately trying to get an IV in me but my blood pressure and pulse was so low, they were having trouble finding the veins. I saw the door swing open and my husband standing there. I was in and out of consciousness the rest of the time. I remember saying prayers as I looked at the light above me. I remember feeling a sense of peace. I felt like I was dying but I thought of my husband and I didn’t want to go.
The responders worked hard trying to keep me from fading. Their faces and words were very kind yet I could sense it was not going well. I felt the speed of the ambulance and remember my vitals were not reading. They even turned off the sirens for a moment to use a stethoscope because the machines were not picking them up.
We came to the hospital in New Bern where the head paramedic stood by my side until the ER staff could understand how serious the situation was. He made sure they attended to me right away and I have no doubt he was one of the people who saved my life.
They did an ultrasound on me to reveal that I had an ectopic pregnancy that had burst and I was bleeding internally. They had to perform an immediate surgery but first I needed a blood transfusion because of how much blood I had lost. The Doctor, to whom I am forever grateful, was just minutes down the road.
They had to cut off my clothes as I writhed in pain. The anesthesiologist quickly put me under and I spent the next two and a half hours in surgery. I later found out that they told the Doctor there was not enough staff to perform the surgery and she said “they better find them.” …this was the second time my life was saved!
I awoke from surgery groggy but alive. After my stay in the hospital, we headed back home, where we were shown such overwhelming kindness that it is hard to even know how to properly put into words. Neighbors, old friends, new friends and people from our church kept a steady amount of good cheer and casseroles. Our friend Paola, for example, maintained a steady supply of meals and company that I am forever grateful for.
Our neighbor Lee brought over a beautiful prayer shawl; she had started this prayer shawl ministry where volunteers create beautiful knit pieces for those in troubled times. It sits on my lap now offering me great comfort. All the prayers, all the well wishes have so greatly helped us. The very moment I would start to feel sorrowful there would be a knock on the door or a card in the mailbox.
This loss is hard for my husband and I but we have found out that this community – of and around Oriental – is so very special, that in a moment of utter darkness, your neighbors, friends and those you are just getting to know can become such beautiful beacons of light. So, for this, I want to say, thank you, a thousand times thank you for being an inspiring example of what community is and for being a small town with a tremendous heart.
Jean Tourville
