If he knew I refer to him as “Good Neighbor Dave,” he would snort and shake his head. Yet he’s always there to help with a smile and willing hands.

We’re the same age, Dave and I, and beginning to acquire those aches, pains, and assorted symptoms that force us to visit our docs more than we would like. Many “over-the-fence” (but in our case, imaginary fence) conversations circle around these medical adventures he, his wife, my husband and I would love to do without.

A sudden, unexplained spike in Dave’s blood pressure sent him to the emergency room and then to a follow-up appointment with his doctor. Well, the only medico available to see him that day was his MD’s Physician’s Assistant. She was the only one of three PAs in the office he had not met. And she was very, very pregnant. Before leaving, Dave commented on her condition and asked if he could pray for her.

Now this was a leap for Good Neighbor. Not the praying part, but, as he later said, he was uncomfortable praying for a women he never met. He may have been smarting from an experience at his workplace years ago.

At that time, he was a manager in a large corporation. When they praised his department’s compliance with a new policy, Dave commented “the gals” in the unit deserved the most credit since they supported the change in a big way. Later, he was shocked to find a mark against his perfect employee record because he had referred to the ladies as “gals” and not “women.” Puleeeze!

So why would he feel comfortable praying aloud for a pregnant woman he didn’t know, and in her presence as well? He wasn’t, but as he said later, it was the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Words asking for a safe delivery and healthy baby just came out of his mouth.

After the prayer, the PA burst into tears. Flustered, he apologized for anything he may have said that upset her. She then told him that upon delivery, her baby was to have surgery for a brain tumor. That floored Dave.

Yesterday, when he came over to help me prop a large painting onto the top of my bookcase (I have a fear of heights and cannot go up more than one rung of a ladder) he said, “Sit down. I have something to tell you.”

When he recently returned to his doc’s office, Dave said to the other PA, “I know with HIPPA rules and all, you can’t tell me much, but how is ________? Did she have her baby?”

The PA turned the computer screen toward him and showed him a notation which read, “If Mr._______asks about me, you have my permission to tell him everything.” Certainly a strange note, but not stranger than what she told him next.

When the PA was about to deliver by planned C Section, the neuro-surgeon in the delivery room requested a final ultrasound of the baby’s head as final confirmation of all the previous tests that clearly had outlined a tumor.

But this ultrasound showed no tumor at all. Assuming it was in error, since all previous ultrasounds confirmed its presence, he ordered another ultrasound. Still no tumor appeared, and the PA gave birth to a healthy baby who is now four months old and flourishing.

Good Neighbor Dave has an explanation for that.