A 911 Father’s Day

By Kathi Pelton

Father’s Day 2026 began with the joy of having our thirteen year old grandson accompanying us to church. He is visiting us at our home in Oregon over the next three weeks. His family lives in Cincinnati, Ohio so what joy it was to have him with us for Father’s Day.

After church we stopped and got a quick bite to eat before heading home where our adult children would be joining us for a Father’s Day celebration.

As evening approached we realized that we needed some things from the grocery store for our BBQ dinner. My youngest daughter, Amy and I decide to head to the store while all the boys played catch together.

As my daughter and I were checking out of the store her phone rang and it was her husband. Then I heard her say, “Did you call 911?” Followed by, “We will be there in a minute.”

As she hung up her voice began to shake as she told me, “Dad collapsed and they think he’s having a stroke— he’s not breathing.”

We literally raced out of the store, found her car and drove home (probably faster than we should have). When we arrived home a fire truck and ambulance was already in front of our house and eight EMTs/paramedics were encircling my husband. My youngest son is an EMT as well so he was also in the circle.

Our son-in-law, Luke, immediately wrapped his arms around his wife and I. I could see that he was visibly shaken. I also could see that my husband was now breathing on his own but was completely incoherent and combative. A paramedic came over to talk to me and let me know that my husband was coming out of a grand mal seizure (tonic-clonic seizure). He said that it will take some time for him to be coherent and that they don’t want to touch him or transport him until his body is less combative.

After what felt like a long period of time, his body was relaxing more and the emergency workers were able to transfer him onto the gurney and put him into the ambulance. I asked my son (the EMT) to go in the ambulance with him because that seemed to be the best option.

After the ambulance left I found out that Jeff had been playing catch with our sons and grandson when he said that he felt nauseous. He sat on the grass and our youngest son, Jonathan, who is the EMT, went over to check on his Dad. He told him he wanted to check his pulse and though it was a bit elevated he noticed that his dad’s skin was cold and clammy. He then saw his dad’s head jerk a bit and wondered if he was having some heat exhaustion so he got up to get him water. Before Jonathan got to our front door he turned around to see Jeff fall backwards and begin seizing. Jonathan ran to his dad and turned him onto his side. As the seizure progressed his tongue was blocking his airway and Jeff began to turn blue. By that point Jonathan was on the phone with 911 dispatch giving our address and asking them to hurry because his dad wasn’t breathing.

By some sort of miracle the ambulance was right by our house when the call came in so they arrived (along with a fire engine) almost immediately. My daughter, Amy and I arrived just after the emergency workers arrived. The worst part of the seizure was passing so he was able to breathe again but he was still writhing uncontrollably.

Our two sons and grandson witnessed the entire thing while one of our daughter-in-laws kept our almost two year old granddaughter away from seeing what was taking place. All of them had to go through that terrible experience of thinking that their dad was dying right before their eyes and they couldn’t do anything about it.

I will fast forward to today— Jeff’s CT scan came back “unremarkable” which is medical language for no apparent negative findings. Today he has a four hour EEG and will be followed by an MRI as they continue to try to determine the cause of the seizure.

Our kids have been absolutely amazing and have stayed present to support us and one another.

Though it was not the kind of Father’s Day that we would have hoped for, I can honestly say that I watched how the good fathering that my husband has done with our sons shined brightly that day and how our Heavenly Father’s love and protection was ever present every moment of that day. It was one that we will never forget and always be filled with gratitude for because we did not lose the man we were there to celebrate.

God is still writing our story and though we don’t know what is ahead we know who goes ahead of us. Experiencing the absolutely defining love and strength of our family in a time of crisis has been an extraordinary gift to watch unfold. They are a testimony of what the love of a father instills into the fabric of children’s character and into the fabric of our family. And the love of our Heavenly Father has once again been revealed through every detail.

If you haven’t experienced the love of a father— our Heavenly Father is with you to pour out his perfect love into your heart. His love is perfect, it is healing, it is constant and it is your 911 call for help day and night.

Thank you Father for loving us with a perfect love. Thank you for giving your Son to pay the price for our sin and to reveal you to us. Thank you Father for being ever present in times of peace and moments of crisis. Thank you that your love shapes us into people that bring honor, peace and hope into a world that so desperately needs you.