Tonight, I spent a little time sorting books from my full dining room closet that I had converted to bookshelves. I lifted Dorland's Medical Dictionary, 25th Edition with its thin gilded edge pages from its high resting place since 2003. I had bought the book decades ago but moved it here with me, although having less use for it. I held the book in hand, pondered the many post-it notes marking places I had stopped to read and research.
Why did I have such a tome? -- Hundreds of hours spent in the hallowed halls of medicine from home,local docs to Boston hospitals from the earliest ages of my five children when it was learned that four of them have an incurable neurological disorder. I studied, I researched, I took notes furiously, hanging on every medical term thrown at me. Thus Dorland's.... not all docs translate their language well for laypersons. (Today we are blessed with WEB MD)
As I removed all the post-it notes, marking those pages where I rested to read, I noted a tassel of aqua hanging off the back binding area. I pull on it and held a lovely rainbow book mark in my hand.
Across the rainbow in gold letters, I read: "I believe in God because of rainbows." OK.... then I turned the card over.
There I read through tears: "To Mom -- on the occasion of my final visit to Shriner's after nineteen years. (name) 10/31/84."
Yes, today is a milestone of twenty-five years for this child who grew into womanhood under the umbrella provided by Shriner's doctors and their hospital.
I recall once again, that day when she turned eight, a party at the hospital to proceed planned surgery to fuse her ankles, to take pressure off the diseased tibia.....the doctor concluded, shaking his head, "We can't explain it but good bone marrow is replacing the diseased. We won't be operating and but for wanting to provide you the dental care tomorrow, we'd discharge her tonight."
(Diseased tibia, if broken was a guaranteed amputation as there is no healing diseased bone).
He explained that they had walked her miles in the hospital, x-rayed beyond the point that was required but they had to know what they were seeing when such a short time ago, only diseased bone was shown on x-ray.
I looked at him and asked quietly, "Doctor, do you believe in the power of prayer?" As his tears welled, he dabbed his eyes and walked from me while his nurse did the rescue saying, "At Shriner's we believe in many things including prayer." The doctor returned to discuss further and looking deeply into my eyes just shook his head in wonderment.
I never doubted the sacred soil upon which I was standing that night.
In a forthcoming book, I will share more of this child's/woman's miracle but she rejoiced at that age, at long last, to be able to wear "boys sneakers" like the other girls were doing in 1971. The essence of the miracle for her was to become like everyone else in her social group.
In a short time, the brace on her leg was permanently removed. However, upon returning to school on Monday, she found the beautifully wrapped gift box in the center of her desk contained the symbol of her hope, a gift from her teacher and classmates - a new pair of boys sneakers.
Shriner's tracked her to the age of twenty-one, not a dime charged to her parents or our medical insurance.
Shriner's the world over have supported their own hospitals and every patient, regardless of finances, received totally free care. A couple months ago that has been changed and to keep the hospitals going, they will begin to charge insurance companies.
I encourage all to support their work, knowing first hand, the tremendous outpouring these hospitals provide to children globally.
October 31, 1984 ..... a Halloween not to be forgotten, indeed!
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