by an Alliance physician serving in a creative-access country
Several weeks ago, 16-year-old Omar* came to our surgery clinic with his parents. One of my residents and I reviewed the boy’s medical history and examined him. We learned that another surgeon had already done a biopsy of an enlarged lymph node on Omar’s neck that revealed advanced thyroid cancer.
I told the boy’s parents that his thyroid, along with all of the involved lymph nodes in his neck, must be surgically removed. I knew this would be a difficult operation, so I sent an e-mail describing Omar’s condition to our longtime friend, Dr. Rogers*, a head and neck surgeon at a New York hospital.
Interesting Possibility
After asking for clarification, he wrote back, “An interesting possibility has arisen in that I am able to free up my schedule October 10–15 to help with Omar’s surgery and any other cases where I could be useful.”
I was thrilled with his response and accepted his offer immediately! Dr. Rogers arrived in our country on the 10th and that evening examined Omar. He explained to the anxious parents about the operation he would need to perform and its risks.
After Dr. Rogers finished, the parents told him their story. Prior to coming to our clinic, they had gone to their church and shared with their priest the news that their son had advanced thyroid cancer.
It is customary in the Orthodox Church to write urgent prayer requests on pieces of paper and place them on the altar for prayer. During Communion, the priests pray for all of the requests, believing that when they do the Lord sends an angel to take the requests to heaven.
After listening to their story, Dr. Rogers shared how the day before he received my e-mail, he and his wife had prayed together and asked the Lord to show them how they might better serve Him. That night Dr. Rogers dreamed that he had traveled to the country where my wife and I serve.
The Lord Heard Our Prayer!
The next morning when he opened his computer, he found my e-mail. The couple prayed together and agreed that he should come to help Omar. When the boy’s mother heard this, she wept and said, “The Lord heard our prayer and answered!”
Two days later, Dr. Rogers and our team performed a six-hour operation on Omar, removing his thyroid gland and more than 20 cancerous lymph nodes. The cancer had already begun to invade one of the nerves to his vocal chords, but Dr. Rogers was able to excise the tumor and reconnect the cut ends of the nerve.
Post-operatively, Omar is doing well. This is a reminder to us that God hears the prayers of the helpless (Psalm 10:17, NLT).
Omar, his parents, our residents, and our hospital family saw our Heavenly Father coordinate a miracle of faith and grace to give this teenager an excellent chance for complete healing of this cancer.
*Names changed