81: How Community Makes a Difference with Frank and Christy Appello, Part 1.

What happens when life takes an unexpected turn and your world is suddenly filled with uncertainty? In Part 1 or this 2 episode interview, Frank and Christy Appello open up about Frank's life-altering heart attack and journey of recovery. Together, Frank and Christy reflect on how love for and from their community has been both a source of strength and a testament to the power of belonging. They discuss the profound connections forged through simple yet powerful gestures, illustrating how community and faith can uplift and sustain us through life's toughest trials. Listen in for a moving narrative of how collective compassion can make all the difference.

NOTES & RESOURCES:

• Contact Frank at frank@meethope.org

Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.live! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.

Enjoy what you heard? Be sure to rate us on Apple Podcasts and click the subscribe button so you don't miss new episodes every Monday!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have conversations about faith and hope. Hope is one church made of people living out their faith through two expressions in person and online. We believe a hybrid faith experience can lead to a growing influence in our community and our world for the sake of others.

Speaker 2: 0:22

Welcome to Hope our world for the sake of others. Welcome to Hope. Well, hello and welcome back to the Meet Hope podcast. My name is Andrew Barber, I am the Worship Arts Director here at Hope, and I am joined today by two very wonderful and special guests, frank and Christy Apello. Hey guys, how's it going? Good? How are you? I'm good, thanks for having us.

Speaker 2: 0:47

Of course. So Frank and Christy both work with me in the worship arts department here at church. Frank is the tech director here, so all the technical side of things he does an amazing job at. He keeps me in line, all sorts of stuff like that. And then Christy, ironically, a worship arts admin, also keeps me in line, all sorts of stuff like that. And then christy, ironically, worship arts admin, also keeps me in line in very different ways. But, yeah, we wanted to have you guys in uh today to talk about community. Over the past month at hope uh, we have been in a sermon series all about community and I think you two are such a beautiful um, they have a beautiful story about the community. But also, since the moment I've met you guys just encapsulates the beauty of being a part of community and, uh, loving on people in great ways. Uh, a lot of you know uh, and we'll let Frank take over right now. Um, back in November, frank, you had a heart attack.

Speaker 4: 1:44

Yeah, so back on November 1st I had a stent put in because I was having like I was exercising and feeling what I thought was gas pain, but it was really heart pain.

Speaker 4: 1:58

So I had gone into the hospital the day before on Halloween. They did some of the tests and they said, oh, you just need catheterization and then we'll put a stent in and it'll be no problem. So I said, okay. So November 1st I had a stent put in and the next day I was home, felt amazing, did my exercise like cardio, walk and whatnot. And then on the 7th of November I was home by myself and I worked out, which was not unusual for me and by the time I finished I sat down to like cool down and I started getting chest pains. So with that I was like this shouldn't be happening. And I heard a voice in my head because I work out in my basement. So I heard a voice in my head because I work out in my basement. So I heard a voice in my head that was like get upstairs and sometimes you think it's you, but as I look back on the whole thing that went down, I feel like it was definitely not me leading that feel like it was definitely not me leading that.

Speaker 4: 3:09

So my couch to stairs or my couch to to upstairs is not very far. But by the time I got from the couch to the stairs I had to sit down because I was out of breath. My chest hurt, um, I was in terrible pain. Uh. So I sat down a minute and again the voice get upstairs. So I stumble up the stairs through the kitchen and I fall in my dining room. Um, and then I was definitely out for a short time I don't know if that's 30 seconds, two minutes, um, and again I, I feel, get up, get to the living room. So I crawled to the living room and now I'm lying on my back and my dog's looking at my face because he thinks I'm like here to play Meanwhile. There's something wrong. And then finally I hear that open the door, so you can call 911. So I did. I got to the door, I opened it, I called 911. I told them you know, I think I'm having a heart attack. Please send EMS. And they go, okay. And at that point I texted Christy and my daughter, charlotte and Abby I love you Because I really wasn't sure what was going to happen beyond this, and after that I curled up into the fetal position and I prayed Jesus, help me, jesus, help me, jesus, help me, until I see feet on the floor and then it was a police officer asking me.

Speaker 4: 4:28

You know what's wrong? I'm like I think I'm having a heart attack. Ems comes in, starts to get me on the stretcher and at that point Christy and my youngest daughter, abby, come into the house and I'm like what's going on? I'm like I think I'm having a heart attack, so they take me out in the stretcher.

Speaker 4: 4:54

I remember waking up at Marlton Voorhees I'm sorry, marlton Virtua and anybody who works there. I apologize for what I said because I really feel bad about it now, but I remember waking up at one point and going why isn't anyone helping me? And they told me we're waiting for the team to get here. I'm sure I went okay, thanks, and that was it. That's all I remember, until I wake up paralyzed, which I know now was at Our Lady of Lourdes. Yeah.

Speaker 4: 5:23

After an insertion of something called an impella, and I couldn't open my eyes. I wasn't breathing for myself, I couldn't move my fingers. I didn't know what was going on, and it was the only time that I was really a little freaked out about anything. I'm like, why can't I move? And then I heard what I only assumed was an angel at that point, um, it'll be okay, honey, you'll be all right. Yeah.

Speaker 4: 5:53

And four days later I find that, once I wake up from uh being intubated and immobilized because because of the impella surgery, um was one of the nurses, just a sweetheart of this little 70 something year old uh nurse and she, uh, I eventually met her and I didn't know what she looked like, but as soon as she walked in and was like hi, frank, I went, oh, you're the angel. And then she came over and gave me a hug and that was. That was great. So what had happened was the stent that they had placed on November 1st through a clot, which is not normal. There's very, very I think there's a better chance of like winning the lottery than the stent throwing the clot. But you know it's, it is what it clot, but you know it is what it is.

Speaker 4: 6:47

And you know, I can only say it is by the grace of God that I am here, from the moment I woke up to as I sit here with you now is the only reason. I am alive. Yeah.

Speaker 4: 7:05

And then I know I feel better because of the amazing community of hope and where I teach in Washington township, whether it was my school or the music department, um, or the marching band family that we have, um, and all those prayers. There are people that I haven't spoken to pretty much since college that found out and were praying and every day I would feel a little bit better and that's, like I said, a testament to God's grace, but also the power of prayer.

Speaker 2: 7:44

Amen, and someone that was along with you guys for a lot of this journey. It was amazing and humbling to see not just Hope's community but some of the communities that you just mentioned, people that you were connected to currently and past, all of it that just came and surrounded you guys as a family and I was wondering, christy, if you can talk a little bit about that and that, talking about your life stopped too and Frank's in the hospital, but you still kind of had to press on and I know that so much happened. But can you tell me from your perspective of those stages of events and how and who kind of came around you in those moments? Because it was beautiful.

Speaker 3: 8:28

Yeah, so a couple of things about the story that Frank didn't go into. So he had texted each of us I love you when all this happened because it was beautiful. Yeah, so a couple of things about the story that Frank didn't go into. So he had texted each of us I love you when all this happened. But he also got Abby and I on the phone in the car and he said to us I'm having a heart attack. I don't know if I'm going to make it.

Speaker 3: 8:42

Get home as fast as you can. So we went into the. He doesn't shaking his head. He doesn't even remember that, but so we got home not really knowing what to expect other than that he could be dead when we got home. Um, so he got taken to the hospital and I went there and you came along, andrew, and we have a great friend named beth who reached out and just sat with me all night long and he was in that first room forever for hours and we kept saying when is it going to be done?

Speaker 3: 9:11

when are they going to give us information?

Speaker 3: 9:13

Um, and then we come to find out eventually what was like four hours later that he had coded on the table and that they had to revive him and that he was now getting sent to Our Lady of Lords because he needed this impella that was hopefully going to keep his heart working. And it was a lot all at once to take in and there were so many people who, in so many ways, just reached out a little bit here and there to help. And that made me feel so much better because I the first thing that happens is you're like oh my gosh, what if something happens to him? What am I going to do? But then it just became all about I know I'm going to be taken care of. I can just think about him and think about the girls. I know I'm going to be taken care of. I can just think about him and think about the girls. You know, the first full day in the hospital the nurses were like you better bring them, because this could be it and they need to be here.

Speaker 2: 10:01

And you had multiple offers of people to drive them over.

Speaker 3: 10:04

Yes, multiple multiple and we you know, we had all the close family came because we were pretty much told that this could be the end of it. And you know what? It was four days before he woke up and I walked in one morning and his eyes were open and it was the best day of the whole thing, probably to get to see him awake.

Speaker 2: 10:21

And that that time, thinking back to it, for me just being there to support you guys I can never not get emotional because it felt like Hope's community I can speak specifically to that just sort of stopped and it just felt like everything, nothing mattered, but just Frank. And so that happened on a Tuesday night, Thursday night we were supposed to have a rehearsal and I just felt so like I couldn't do it and I just said, hey, I sent a message out to everybody on the worship team. I sent a message out to a larger group of people, just not on the worship team, and said if you want to come and just spend some time in prayer and and and praise and worship with uh, to kind of lift up frank um, please do that. And we met for about an hour and there was like over 50 people there that met in the worship space just praying spur of the moment, yeah, and praying?

Speaker 2: 11:11

there was no, and it was just everybody there. I saw walk up to you guys because you and your girls came they did yeah, and just it was. It was such a beautiful moment of like what do you need? Or sometimes not even saying anything and just like giving. It was so not about anything other than just hey, how can we wrap our arms around the appellos? And that was.

Speaker 3: 11:37

It's funny you use those words, wrap your arms around. So many people in that time period would be like I just need to hug you, I just need to hug you and I was like that's totally great, I will take the hug anytime so and I think one we always talk about or you always think about, if this would happen in a situation, if somebody I know would happen in the situation, like what would you do?

Speaker 2: 12:00

or like how do you know love on somebody? But I I was. I would love to just hear some like really specific examples about like how people loved on you guys and we.

Speaker 3: 12:12

We were going through some things with our laundry room. So we had somebody came and took our laundry, did our laundry and returned it to us. Somebody came the same person actually and decorated our front bushes for Christmas because it was almost Christmas time and she wanted to make sure that our girls still had some sort of normalcy going on because it was Christmas time. Everybody thinks in these situations they need food, they need money, but that's not all that people gave to us. They just gave us support and if you don't know what to do for somebody, reach out to them and just say I'm thinking about you.

Speaker 3: 12:48

You know, we, when we were at first at the hospital, somebody called our lady of Lords and had them send us a little letter that got delivered by the mail carrier in person just to say hey, we're thinking about you, and they live in another country, but they had heard about what's going on. So just the littlest gesture meant so much. I still don't know if I've thanked everybody who did something for us or said something to us or prayed for us. So thank you. If I did not, thank you in person, I do thank you.

Speaker 3: 13:15

But we were just so supported in a million ways by a million different groups of people that we didn't ever expect. Frank said you know some people I hadn't talked to since college. I was contacted by people he went to high school with and before that to say what can I do? People, people in other states, in somebody else, from another country said you don't know me frank might not even remember me, but what can I do to help you? Please let me know. It was just crazy.

Speaker 2: 13:41

I think the amount of stuff that was just like, done like because, because I think sometimes, like it's, I agree, just ask. But sometimes in those moments I remember you not even knowing what to do, and there was some like formal or dance, that maybe Abby was going to yes.

Speaker 2: 13:56

And then multiple people from her school and friends were just like someone came and did her makeup. So I'm like all of that stuff like that is something that's so simple. Yeah, that is that it seemed like was such an enjoyable thing for those people, but it made the world of a difference to you. I enjoyable thing for those people, but it made the world of a difference to you. I remember you like breaking out in the tears, yeah.

Speaker 3: 14:14

It was her color guard directors who love on her like moms, and they just came and loved on her like a mom Cause I didn't even know if I would be home to see her go, so they were there for her. We had people show up at our house. We had five guys come over and take care of our lawn and all the things that I didn't know how to do. We also needed to clear out an entire section of our house for some work to be done, and 13 people from hope showed up one morning and spent a few hours at our house, moving everything to the garage or to the curb wherever it needed to go, which was amazing to not have to worry about. We got blankets, we got meals and, beyond meals, we got doorash gift cards. If you never know what to do for somebody, a DoorDash gift card in this day and age is fantastic because they were so helpful in just those last minute meals that we needed or, if I wasn't home, the girls needed to get.

Speaker 3: 15:06

And then we had a really cool thing happen with Cole's music thing happen with Cole's Music. Frank, if you don't know, is a saxophone player and his former college teacher did not know if he was going to be able to play again and he kind of reached out to me and said I kind of worked something interesting out and Cole's Music had in their shop a digital saxophone that doesn't require any air pressure, it can be easily blown into and, long story short, they donated it to our family so that Frank would have that to practice and play on just as he was recovering, which was just another one of those amazing acts of kindness and I love to. I was taken care of by the ladies here at work. They sent me something just for me because they knew that through all this, that you know, I was suffering through a lot of things that were going on, and that was really, really special to me.

Speaker 2: 16:01

So once you were awake, Frank, or you were aware again because it was like you said, well, there was four days of you don't really remember Right what were some of the things that you saw, or that was like a testimony of the community that you were surrounded by, Like what are the things that happened?

Speaker 4: 16:19

People just showed up. People that I didn't know sent. I have a friend of mine who I work with at school and her sister is some sort of administrator at Lourdes.

Speaker 4: 16:34

And she walked in and she said, goes, you don't know me, but my sister is Gina and she wanted me to come and check to see how you are and let you know. If you need anything, I'm here for you. And it was like Chris. He said, like even these small things that you don't expect, or one of our congregants who's a doctor at Lourdes showed up and then I've just found out last week that he sent his partner to go check on me, like the first day, and those were all these things that you're like what do you mean? And it was so wonderfully overwhelming, the kindness, and I mean we still get pretty emotional about it.

Speaker 4: 17:26

I just do what I do, no matter where I am or what I am, because I'm doing my best to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for the sake of others, and that's not just my tagline. I do my best to live that out, but there's never any expectation beyond that. I'm here to help you and I never think, well, somebody help me if I need help, like you. Don't think of it that way. You just go and you do, and that's the way I feel we should be, yeah, um, but then for others to reciprocate that in an overwhelming way, it's so. It's just the kingdom of god here on earth. Um, and it's at least that's how it's been described to me by a friend of mine, who may or may not be a pastor here.

Speaker 3: 18:21

Yeah, and it's true Like the overwhelming part of this whole thing was actually not the heart attack. Those first four days were scary and I did cry a bunch because I didn't know what was going to happen. But once you woke up I always felt like other than the one day when you really couldn't breathe all day long, which was a scary, scary day, I always felt like he's going to be fine and your faith. During this whole thing of like, no matter what happens, I'm good, he's like. It would suck for you, if you know it goes the way that I don't make it through this, but either way, I'm good, and just knowing you felt that way was so comforting to me.

Speaker 3: 18:58

But I was on my knees, overwhelmed by the generosity of people and just little things that they would do for us. But there the girls could tell you one time I literally was on my knees in the kitchen, crying because I just couldn't believe all the things people were doing for us and I, and them too, they were overwhelmed by seeing that and I think that they often don't think of you know, they don't think of how their parents are seen by other people and like to see that they were just like. I can't even believe this is happening, you know. So I think it made them feel comforted too.

Speaker 2: 19:28

And I think, like the unbelievable trust that Frank had, Because there were those moments of like you didn't know if you were going to make it or not and that like I just kind of you were always more worried about.

Speaker 2: 19:40

Like you were like I know where I'm going and you know, but making sure that there were people taking care of the people that you loved. I I thought that that is such a that you were just really wanted to make sure that the community was surrounding your family, and and again it just consistently, consistently. I mean, there were people I know our friend, Chris Black, you know would bring food for the nurses.

Speaker 2: 20:04

And you know, he's a nurse himself and he knows that, like that, you know that makes a difference. So there was just it wasn't just people loving on you, it was loving on the entire situation. Yeah, and being, you know, the hands and feet of of christ. Um, there's another component of, uh, this community thing that I think is really important to talk about, which is christy. You did such an amazing job of opening up to people. Um, it started out we have a like an internal messaging client at our church that we use for staff and our worship team called Slack, and you would just do these like Slack updates. It started out being me just to say, hey, this is what's happening, but you kind of were getting to the point where you were able to take that over, and then you also started doing it on Facebook, and that was such a cool thing. But I wanted to ask you how did you get to a place, a where you're able to do that?

Speaker 3: 21:04

but to the response to that, so at first I didn't know if I should do it because Frank was still asleep and I felt like I almost had to ask his permission. But I thought he would be a little hesitant. But I felt at the time that I needed to do it because we had people in our family who were far away, who my mother-in-law's not on Facebook, so I knew that she was not. I couldn't like share the post with her, to have her share it. So I knew I needed to share it, have her share it. So I knew I needed to share it and I felt eventually it just really helped me because there was so much medical and technical information that I wanted to keep track of that. It helped me to write it all down and I thought why not just share it? But the people still come up to me now saying how much they were only on Facebook during that time to see the updates and they just had to know what was happening with him.

Speaker 3: 21:56

People, I don't use Messenger. All you people who reached out to me on Messenger. Dozens and dozens of people would just send me these Facebook Messenger messages. People, I haven't heard from him forever and just I'm following Frank's story. You know what can we be praying for? And people I would never have expected to say. What can we be praying for? We're praying for him and for us all the time. It was amazing.

Speaker 2: 22:20

Well, guys, thank you so much for sharing with us. This is such an in-depth topic. We would love to have you guys come back next week and share. So if everyone that's listening at home just stay tuned, come back next week so you can hear more about Frank and Christy's amazing story more about Frank and Christy's amazing story.

Speaker 1: 22:41

Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we continue our conversations about faith and hope. If you don't already, please join us for worship on Sundays or on demand. You can learn more at meethopeorg or find us on socials at meethopechurch.