In my last blog I wrote about the situation two of my friends found themselves in and the desperate choice they made only to be criticized by someone who was in a position to help them but remained silent until afterwards. Now I want to write about how granting information helped change someone's life in a positive way.
My youngest sister was born with a birth injury which caused a physical handicap. She nearly died at birth because the cord was around her neck, cutting off her breathing. Incredibly, no one in the delivery room knew what to do until a quick thinking doctor cut the cord and saved her life. But the moments she had gone without oxygen took a toll.
As my sister grew it became apparent that she was not like other children. But every time my parents brought up their concerns, they were brushed away by the doctors. Now, my parents are educated people, middle class, so they knew that there had to be some answers out there other than what the doctors were telling them. But they didn't know where to turn.
So began the trek from doctor to doctor, from hospital to hospital. This took a great toll of time and resources. My parents are not wealthy people. Money has always been tight. But they persevered.
Even though it was obvious my sister had a physical handicap, incredibly none of the doctors would commit to saying what they thought she might have. But without a diagnosis, she couldn't get the help she needed. It was a classic catch-22.
Finally, at one of the hospitals, a nurse took pity on my parents and said, "I have seen this before, and I think it is _____. It's not a typical case. Here is the name of a doctor that specializes in this."
So my sister was able to get her diagnosis, and with her diagnosis the help she needed. She is now a Ph.D. and a professor at a state university. But she is always aware that things could have turned out very differently. She says that she considers herself lucky to have been born in a community that had a top-notch school for the handicapped. She knows she is one of the fortunate.
But what about the children with special needs who are born to impoverished parents, who have neither the education nor the resources to battle the system? How many out there will never reach their full potential or even their partial potential, because of a lack of knowledge? How many are doomed because those that have the information that could change their lives for the better don't think it important enough to pass that information on? If it hadn't been for that nurse saying to my parents, "I think I know what this might be and there is someone who might be able to help you," where would my sister be now? She didn't have to volunteer that information; in fact, she was risking her job to do so. But she did, and it made all the difference.
It really irritates me to hear, as I so often do at church, that with God all things are possible, provided that you have enough faith. When I bring up instances of people I know who are in desperate need, the answer is that they need faith. If they truly trusted the Lord they would not be in this situation. Well, that is hogwash. Several thousand years an anonymous person wrote a book in rebuttal of that attitude. Somehow it made it into the Bible. It's called the book of Job, and it is about as subversive as they come. But you don't often hear sermons preached on Job. It's one of those embarrassments that has to be tolerated because after all, it is the Bible, but it can be safely ignored in favor of the good stuff, the parts that say if you do the right thing and live the right way, God will reward you and take care of all your needs. It's only the heathen and the atheists who end up on the street, who end up at food pantries, who have incurable illnesses. And as long as one has that attitude, no wonder there is no room for compassion. Withholding information becomes easy. Because it's up to God to provide.
My youngest sister was born with a birth injury which caused a physical handicap. She nearly died at birth because the cord was around her neck, cutting off her breathing. Incredibly, no one in the delivery room knew what to do until a quick thinking doctor cut the cord and saved her life. But the moments she had gone without oxygen took a toll.
As my sister grew it became apparent that she was not like other children. But every time my parents brought up their concerns, they were brushed away by the doctors. Now, my parents are educated people, middle class, so they knew that there had to be some answers out there other than what the doctors were telling them. But they didn't know where to turn.
So began the trek from doctor to doctor, from hospital to hospital. This took a great toll of time and resources. My parents are not wealthy people. Money has always been tight. But they persevered.
Even though it was obvious my sister had a physical handicap, incredibly none of the doctors would commit to saying what they thought she might have. But without a diagnosis, she couldn't get the help she needed. It was a classic catch-22.
Finally, at one of the hospitals, a nurse took pity on my parents and said, "I have seen this before, and I think it is _____. It's not a typical case. Here is the name of a doctor that specializes in this."
So my sister was able to get her diagnosis, and with her diagnosis the help she needed. She is now a Ph.D. and a professor at a state university. But she is always aware that things could have turned out very differently. She says that she considers herself lucky to have been born in a community that had a top-notch school for the handicapped. She knows she is one of the fortunate.
But what about the children with special needs who are born to impoverished parents, who have neither the education nor the resources to battle the system? How many out there will never reach their full potential or even their partial potential, because of a lack of knowledge? How many are doomed because those that have the information that could change their lives for the better don't think it important enough to pass that information on? If it hadn't been for that nurse saying to my parents, "I think I know what this might be and there is someone who might be able to help you," where would my sister be now? She didn't have to volunteer that information; in fact, she was risking her job to do so. But she did, and it made all the difference.
It really irritates me to hear, as I so often do at church, that with God all things are possible, provided that you have enough faith. When I bring up instances of people I know who are in desperate need, the answer is that they need faith. If they truly trusted the Lord they would not be in this situation. Well, that is hogwash. Several thousand years an anonymous person wrote a book in rebuttal of that attitude. Somehow it made it into the Bible. It's called the book of Job, and it is about as subversive as they come. But you don't often hear sermons preached on Job. It's one of those embarrassments that has to be tolerated because after all, it is the Bible, but it can be safely ignored in favor of the good stuff, the parts that say if you do the right thing and live the right way, God will reward you and take care of all your needs. It's only the heathen and the atheists who end up on the street, who end up at food pantries, who have incurable illnesses. And as long as one has that attitude, no wonder there is no room for compassion. Withholding information becomes easy. Because it's up to God to provide.
