Genre
Audience
Author’s Worldview
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Reviewed by
Theresa Frodin
Heavenly Rescues and Answered Prayers – True Stories of Faith and Miracles from a First Responder
Andrea Jo Rodgers holds a clinical doctorate in physical therapy and has served as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and as a rescue volunteer for over 35 years. She has responded to thousands of calls, and believes that God orchestrates all events in her work to be more than coincidences. Her stories are easy to read and are uplifting. (She even has a humorous story about rescuing a squirrel from an eagle.)
Rodgers writes with a Christian worldview; she brings faith, prayer, and gratitude to God into her rescues, and she invites her readers to open their minds and hearts to the quiet presence of God.
Rodgers works up to the rescues by including pre-stories to introduce the people involved, and the circumstances leading up to their 911 calls. She adds humor where appropriate and concludes the rescues with follow-ups to let the reader know how the person fared a few days, and in some cases, years after their scare. She comes off as a friend, someone you know or would like to know. She educates the reader by explaining the equipment that the EMTs are using.
I was impressed at the beginning of the book where she credits her whole team: twenty volunteers, eight police officers and six paramedics. The team rescues about 1,000 people a year; each team member possibly responding to 250-350 calls. Rodgers mentions that one of her on-call times is in the middle of the night – in winter! While her stories are in-and-of-themselves inspiring, I think her team spirit, dedication and love of helping people are even more so. If I am ever in need of first aid, I hope that I am helped by persons of similar caliber.
It is worth noting that anyone looking for official miracles (as the title insinuates) might be disappointed. Rodgers calls her events miraculous, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring and incredible. And her stories are incredible. (My favorite involves a car and train crash.) Rather, the “miracles” are typically due to a ‘right place and right time’ situation; it seems to me that she is using the term colloquially.
I recommend this book to those who are interested in volunteerism, medical stories, and health scares that turn into happy endings. It’s a book that is great to have on hand when one needs a reminder that there are good people out there, and that God’s hand is in everything.
