Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

***

After I got the call that Mike was at Albany Med and I needed to get down there right away, I quickly left work. My office mate at the time, and good friend, Sarah, was in court so I wasn’t able to tell her what happened and why I was leaving.

When I got to the hospital, it was late afternoon on a Friday. I called Mike’s sons and his brother from the hospital. I stayed with Mike until they kicked me out at 9 pm. I drove home exhausted but reached out to Sarah to let her know what happened. By this time, I had texted her only a few details.

She was trying to comfort me on the phone but what can anyone say when something like this happens? Everything was scary and unknown at this point.

Sarah mentioned one of her friends, Christine, worked at Albany Med. She thought it was in the neuro unit, which was where Mike was, but she wasn’t really sure. She just wanted me to look out for a nurse named Christine who could possibly offer some support while I was there.

That next morning was a Saturday. I called around 6am to ask his status during the night. He was being monitored every hour while the bleed was still active. I was able to talk to someone who told me he did well overnight, that nothing was significantly changed, which was good news.

When I walked into the neuro ICU, I was feeling anxious and scared. I went to his side and he was sleeping. He looked good and I kissed his forehead and told him I loved him and I was here now. I sat by his side and looked around the unit. A nurse made eye contact with me and said, “I’ll be right there.” Somehow, I just knew this was Christine that Sarah had told me about. I didn’t see a name tag and I had no basis of knowledge. I just had a feeling .

***

When Mike and I first met, we quickly discovered we had a ton of stuff in common. We also talked about our dating experiences. It was fun, actually, hearing all of his crazy encounters. I had similar tales to tell. We laughed and joked about how awful it is to be online dating. And even though we had just met, I just knew that this would be the last first date I’d ever go on. I just had a feeling.

I confided in him that I was about to get off the dating site but then saw his message and decided to see where it went. He told me the same thing; that he was about to get off the site as well but saw my profile pop up and thought “Oh, she’s cute, let me say hi.”

We discovered that we both had lived in Rexford for 20-plus years, right down the street from each other; a mile and a quarter to be exact.

We both frequented the same Stewart’s Shops. We had fun chatting about how likely it is that we passed each other, maybe even smiled and said hello while holding the door for one another.

I asked about his arm tattoos and who his tattoo artist was. He said the majority of his tattoos came from a guy named Dave Tatum, who is the same guy who gave me two of my first tattoos. Mike grew up with his brother, Frank.

But our biggest bond is our love of movies, and not just horror movies. We both grew up watching movies of all kinds into adulthood. From science fiction to action/adventure to romantic comedies and, of course, all of the ’80s teen movies.

I’m a huge John Cusack fan, so I love Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing, The Journey of Natty Gann.

We chatted about John Cusack movies for a while and Mike confessed his favorite movie is Serendipity, which came out much later in our adult years. In fact, when we met, he told me he would set the soundtrack on his phone and play it at night because it helped him fall asleep easier.

Adorable, right?

If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, it follows two people played by John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. They meet and he immediately is taken with her and calls it love at first sight. But not her. She doesn’t believe in that. She believes in destiny.

So she purposely disappears but not before telling him if they are meant to be together, they will find each other again somehow, some way.

The movie spans a 10-year period of their lives as they move around and date other people and then, of course, how they randomly find each other again.

***

Christine was Mike’s nurse the first two full days of his hospital stay, Saturday and Sunday. She was absolutely amazing, and extremely comforting. She answered all of my questions and explained what was happening, got me in touch with the doctors and kept me informed with every scan, every visit that happened without my presence and everything that Mike went through during the overnight hours.

As hard as the whole experience was, that personal connection with Christine made everything much less clinical and much less scary. Watching her interactions with Mike was truly a joy. She was so gentle and kind to him. She and Mike had a great rapport. She “got” his humor (which I was so thankful was still there) and managed to get some good chuckles out of him with her witty comments.

I cannot put into words what she meant to us during those difficult first days. Mike does not remember any of his Albany Med stay but he wants to meet her someday. I’ve told him all about her and he tears up every time.

I reached out to her on Facebook after Mike was transferred to Sunnyview and she accepted my friend request. I’ve kept her updated with his progress and she is so appreciative to know he’s doing well.

When I put out a request on Facebook in July for anyone who knows a therapist who works privately and goes to peoples’ homes, Christine pointed us in the direction of Jaycee Barry, the amazing occupational therapist who has been working with Mike since the beginning of August and has gotten him walking and, oh, by the way, now, doing stairs.

Yes, you read that correctly… Mike’s doing stairs!!

We were able to go to his cabin in Lake Placid this weekend and he climbed his stairs up into his cabin. Mike’s stepson, Kenny, went up to the cabin on very short notice and installed railings for him. (Thank you, Kenny!!)

Mike was able to walk around his cabin, sleep in his bed, use his bathroom, use his kitchen, watch his TV while sitting on his couch. It was exactly what he’s been dreaming of doing since April 11th.

Today, we went to one of the covered bridges that he loves in the Town of Jay and he walked the whole bridge, out and then back. My son, Roman, came with us for the weekend. He enjoyed his first visit to the cabin and was a huge help to us.

We all drove up to the summit of Whiteface, took the tunnel and then elevator to the top. It was a cloudy day so we didn’t have a great view but it gave Mike what he needed; the visualization of being on that summit some day after hiking it.

***

If you think of random occurrences that happen in life, it can be hard to find the right words to adequately describe them. Some people would say they are chance encounters or just unexpected opportunities that become lucky breaks.

I believe everything happens for a reason and is a part of God’s plan. Still, there are events in life that have no logical explanation. We are somehow guided towards them in unexpected ways.

***

Meeting Jaycee has been life-changing for Mike and I. To show our gratitude, we went to the launch party for her business, Balanced Living, last week.

We almost didn’t make it. I had some car issues earlier that day and wasn’t in the greatest of moods. But Mike insisted we had to go and support her, and I agreed.

We got there for the last hour of the party and she was happy to see us. She came right over to the car and helped Mike out. There were a number of vendors there and we were able to meet members of Jaycee’s family as well.

Her mom is a real estate agent and was holding a raffle, so she asked if I wanted to enter for a chance to win $50. I said, “Sure.” She said I just needed to answer some questions.

She asked if I owned a home and I said yes. She asked if I was looking to sell in the near future and I said, “I’m actually selling my house right now.”

She asked what the address was and after I told her, she said, “Why does that sound familiar? What’s your asking price?” I told her that as well.

She said, “My son’s looking for a house and that’s in his range.” She called her son, Peter, over (Jaycee’s brother) and his new wife, Sierra, and asked what open house they were going to the next day.

They said my address. I was stunned. I said, “That’s my house.” We all just stood there in disbelief and commented how crazy it was.

They mentioned that they were excited to look at my house and I gave them some inside information and told them they were welcome to ask me any questions. They asked if they could see it that evening and I agreed.

Just like the feeling I had when I met Mike and when I saw the nurse at the hospital who ended up being Christine, I felt an immediate connection to them and could visualize them in my house.

***

Jaycee’s brother and his wife put in an offer on my house on Friday.

I accepted their offer.

You may call this a mere coincidence, a small world encounter or just a crazy fluke.

But if you ask me, it’s serendipity.