Fulani miracle

I often forget the impact of medical injuries or problems on the family unit as a whole. I have had very few personal experiences with this in my own family. But being a medical professional sometimes brings the curse (I find it to be currently) of loss of compassion or hope. Which then leads to not fully believing God to be Healer or Great Physician or miracles.

I liken it to an infantry battle plan.

The recon of the target area has been done… The education has been instilled in the healthcare professional team.

The target or objective is locked on & a plan is devised of how to obtain it… the sick or injured patient arrives at the hospital & the medical team enacts a plan to treat immediate needs & long term needs.

The plan is activated!

Sometimes the plan goes accordingly, other times it does not. And this is where we must patiently wait on the Lord to act… during the process.

Healing happens sometimes immediately but often it is a process. The impact on all involved is amazing!

The medical team at ECWA Hospital in Egbe Nigeria has been managing an 18-year-old Fulani man. I say man because he has his own family & works to provide for them & the rest of his tribe. He arrived in the Emergency Department as a trauma on Friday night- Machete to the head during an altercation. Unsure of the timing of the event, how much blood was lost, the method of transport, cleansing of the injury, cleanliness of the machete or the man’s head.

These questions and more raced through our minds.

Not knowing the extent of the brain injury due to lack of medical equipment, being in the bush, and going go surgery 3 times to evacuate clots, control bleeding, & decrease intracranial pressure- I watch this young man fighting for his life. Each day seeming to improve, He is alive by God’s grace & will.

So I watch the family, not fully understanding the extent of the injury or the impact long term it will have on the young man & the entire tribe- I am silent… asking God for a miracle. A miracle in the physical but also within each heart affected by this young man. Look at the heart impact it is doing on me. 

So, back to my original statement… I forget the impact on the entire family when a life changing accident has occurred.

For this young Fulani man… he is the livelihood of his tribe. He might even be next in line as tribal king. He is a hunter, provider, farmer, craftsman, young, strong, healthy, father, son, brother, husband, leader, & so much more for one small tribe in the massive world.

How far is too far? How much is too much for his treatment? Are we just racking up a medical bill for the family when he may not even make it through the night? There is no rehab, so how will he help his tribe any longer if he cannot function to full capacity? He will be more harm than help to a nomadic tribe.

After all these thoughts go through my mind & some verbalized, I am met with silence.

“Who are you to say when hope should stop? Who are you to say when life should end? Who are you to say all is lost? Who are you that doubts who I say I am & doubts what I can do?”

With a repentant heart I approach Him and He reminds me to ask Him for things. “Ask Me for miracles, to expect them, to do them because of My power in you.” So He places on my heart today, to share my struggle & His heart- the process of a miracle He is doing through one Fulani man that will impact more than we will ever know.