62 Shanksteps
God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way or time that we would like. Fortunately He knows so much more than we ever could. As Americans we like (and often expect) instant gratification. This is true whether it be when asking a question, going to the ATM, or dieting to lose weight. We also want instant answer to our prayers.
I want to tell you a story about a young man named Baldagui. He came to the hospital around the same time as Ngossa (you may remember the young woman healed of meningitis that was “caused by” sorcery.) While Ngossa was struggling for her life, Baldagui was in the next room, also with meningitis. When he initially developed symptoms of meningitis, his family took him to a local clinic where he stayed for 3 days with IV antibiotics. Unfortunately for him, that treatment was not sufficient and
he slipped into a deep coma. His family brought him home to die, but an uncle insisted that he be brought to our hospital. His whole family was so sure that he would die, that they all left, leaving an old grandma to take care of him. He remained in the coma for about a week. When he finally opened his eyes he couldn’t speak, was very confused, and very agitated. As the days went on, he was able to answer very simple questions, but still had no idea where he was. Soon we realized that he was
paralyzed from his neck down, as well as half of his face. Oh how we prayed for him. Every day at the hospital worship we prayed. Every morning I also prayed with the nurses for him. Every day we prayed with him at the bedside. He was improving, but VERY slowly. After almost 2 weeks of IV antibiotics, I repeated a lumbar puncture to see if his meningitis had cleared. We still found evidence of the infection in his spinal fluid. At this point, his family had completely given up. They couldn’t
afford any more medications (already their bill was enormous) and they didn’t believe that it would make a difference. The whole family came to the hospital to bring him home to die. I, however, wasn’t ready to give up on this young man, so I took over complete financial responsibility for him. We changed antibiotics and continued treatment for another week. Still, his improvements seemed miniscule, if at all. After completing this second course of medications, I pleaded with God to take over
his care. All along I had be praying that God would miraculously heal him (instantaneously, of course). It wasn’t until I had nothing else to offer him that I left his healing completely in God’s hands. That’s when I started to see improvements. First, his facial paralysis began to diminish. Then his speech started to return to “normal”. Soon, he regained use of his arms. At this point I was ecstatic that he didn’t seem to have any difficulty in thinking, speaking, and reading. I was sad
however that he seemed to be a complete paraplegic, with no use or sensation of his legs below the waist. It is VERY difficult to be paralyzed in Africa. There is no help or provisions. His family was still absent, not willing to help at all in his care. He was not even able to urinate or defecate without assistance. I was very worried about what would happen to this young man. We continued every day to pray with him, and encouraged him to pray for himself. At first he was very reluctant, thinking
that it wouldn’t do any good. But over time, he started praying as well. Three weeks ago, he regained control of his bowel and bladder. Last week I realized that he had some sensation in his legs, all the way to his toes. This week he surprised me with the ability to move his legs a little. God is healing him little by little, in HIS time.
Yesterday I realized why I’m here. We have some nursing students doing a rotation with us. When we stopped to discuss Baldagui’s case, I asked the patient, himself, to tell his story. He told how he had been taken to the health center but didn’t get better. He admitted that his family had taken him home to die. He told how his uncle had convinced the family to bring him into the hospital. He admitted to not having any memory of almost the entire first month here. What he said next brought
tears to my eyes. He said that he had been severely ill, but the doctor and nurse prayed for him every day. And God heard their (our) prayers and healed him. He is now reading the Bible every day and has given his life to the Lord. He has also promised to tell others about what he has experienced. He said that when you learn something amazing, you have to share the news with others. Praise the Lord for his healing, physically and spiritually. I don’t know if he will ever regain full use of
his legs. Please pray for his continued healing, both physically and spiritually. God’s timing is perfect!