Persevere (St. Paul); Never Give Up (Churchill)

Cheri's blog last week ended with her hope to endure her Dr.'s appointment for the next morning. Much has happened since.

Before that, in recent months, I had become "conscious" of something about her that before was just background noise. When puttering around the house doing chores with typical multi-tasking aplomb, she is always humming a tune. I learned pretty much to ignore it. The song is usually one from something we had sung in the past, an anthem from Sunday or some new hymn we learned at the seminary. At times, she gets stuck on one and it annoys even her. But then, we all get tunes stuck in our heads from time to time. A week ago today, I noticed that the songs were gone.

By the end of last Sunday, we decided, along with our family and closest friends, to send her home. I did not give thought then to the reality that she was in no condition to ride an hour in the car, much less about 20 hours on airplanes. But we were in a very difficult place, seeing few options. The hope for a turn-around was waning.

Monday morning, she summoned what remaining energy left to ride 45 minutes to her Dr. In Durban. He took one look and said he is sending her to the hospital. This is not really the best place for someone with latex allergies and few defenses left. He wanted to have her admitted by a dermatologist. An appointment was obtained promptly. Within a few minutes we were in the waiting room of a large dermatology practice reconciling ourselves to the idea of hospitalization. Her skin was inflamed - the color of a pomegranite. Wrapped in sweaters, she looked like a street person. The office staff kept looking at her, puzzled. Soon we were shown to an examining room.

There we were met by an associate in the practice, Dr. Hoosen, a lovely young Indian woman. Gentle and calming, she put us more at ease. Her working diagnosis was severe eczema. She prescribed several medicines - prescription, OTC and those made at the office. To rule out cancer, she took a piece of skin for a biopsy. She did not think it was what we thought it was, the Stephens-Johnson syndrome. We were a little encouraged.

Next morning, Cheri said, "I feel better already." The itching had diminished. She slept better. Things looked promising.

At 8am Tuesday morning, I answered the phone. It was the Dr.'s office. "When can you be here? Dr. Naidoo is coming in from his sabbatical to see you." First thought - is this terrible or promising? I woke Cheri up and we were in Durban about 90 minutes later.

Enter Dr. Rajan Naidoo, sophisticated, elegant dresser and charming. The biopsy showed that she has psoriasis, a common skin ailment that, for most people, appears in their thirties and forties. It is mostly genetic and can be managed. Dr. Naidoo was unlike any other physician either of us had encountered. He was encouraging, worked with us as a team, made us feel part of the plan, affirmed us at every step. Cheri and I thought about the same thing - all the prayers coming from so many different directions. Dr. Naidoo said that prayer is what brought him in that day.

Within the next day or two, the songs returned. They will never be annoying again.

Praise God.

LIGHT

by Cheri Roland

"… and the Word was the light of men." The magnificent first paragraph of John has been circulating in my head over the past three months. I have indeed been in a very dark place, but the concept of light has been a constant under current. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it; "light a candle and curse the darkness"; "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine!" At one point I even wondered why I was being bombarded with all these references to light.

Monday has to be my worst day yet. But during one of the pastoral visits with two of our amazing women students, Dumisile mentioned the concept of light. She suggested that I visualize Jesus as a light inside my soul. That image really spoke to me; I latched onto the light of Jesus casting out the darkness in my body. I have even given Him more mobility ,like Eva from WALL-E, one of the more current movies we have seen. It just seems appropriate that Jesus, my Healer, be able to zoom around inside my body. So this image has become my focus, and He is not only sustaining me, He is healing me.

This systemic allergic reaction has played havoc with my liver and skin. I must soak in the tub laced with olive oil at least twice a day. I have dedicated my baths to very specific visualization. I ask Jesus to travel with me throughout my body, kicking out the bad guys and strengthening the good. I figure since He made me, He knows best how to heal me.

My immediate goal is to be able to face up to my doctor's appointment in Durban on Monday. I've only been as far as the back yard in the past week, using this time to be still and know that He is in control. Liver ailments all require rest, and we have been so blessed by our staff's admonitions to "stay home", as well as the fortuitous break in the schedule.

So, the next time you find yourself in a dark place, try the image of Jesus, the Light of the World, as your personal Healer. He's quite clever at zooming and zapping.

TRUST Pt. 2

By Cheri Roland

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you all for your outpouring of support and love. I wish I had the energy to respond individually. That is definitely a goal. As for now, my most important request is for your constant prayers. The more folks that are rattling the gates of Heaven, the better. I will be working on a more detailed "report", so stay tuned.

Remember, trust and obey.

TRUST

by Doug Roland

We have received several inquiries from you about the absence of blogs or e-mails and wondering if something is wrong. Something is, and we have been foolishly keeping it from you. We started this blog over a year ago so you could journey with us. Please forgive us for leaving you out. When something goes wrong, it takes all your attention.

Things go wrong from time to time. And, if more than one thing goes wrong at the same time, then they feed on each other and threaten to drag you down. The idea of going to Africa to do God's work sounds exciting, exotic, challenging and risky. It is all those things. Very little that matters over the long term is done without risk. One must expect it. You can do little more than realize that something is coming sooner or later. When it does, there is no place to hide. In our case, it was a combination of an old health nemesis and emotional/trust issues arising out of our work.

For those who don't know, Cheri was among some of the first health care workers to suffer a severe allergy to latex and have it called that. And she is one of a smaller group that had it affect her skin so badly. Before, it was largely ignored. This was in 1994. Since then, most major hospitals have created non-latex facilities and rooms. Most dentists now stock non-latex gloves. She was referred to the best allergist in Tampa. She suggested to him that certain foods will trigger her symptoms also. He scoffed at her. Three days later, she was in full blown Stephens-Johnson Syndrome. After 10 days in the hospital, and being seen by a cadre of doctors, there was no diagnosis. She was stabilized, but her chronic itching persisted and could only be soothed by steroids, anything but a cure. For two years she went to a group of world class immunologists who did diagnose it but could not figure out a cure. As far as we know, they still haven't. I recently read on the Mayo Clinic website that "Currently, there are no standard recommendations for treating Stephens-Johnson Syndrome." Today, the link between food allergies and latex allergy is widely recognized. In a sense, she is a pioneer though she would probably trade that in for a good night's sleep.

On the day before this Easter, she was having a knife-like pain her eye from a condition first discovered six or seven years ago. It is treated with an ointment and she was out. She called her eye doctor here but he was gone for the entire week. She knew it needed treatment quickly so we went to the ER ("casualty" here ) to get the prescription. It took thirty minutes. In that time, her old invisible and airborne friend, latex, had a field day and it has seriously debilitated her. Her skin looks like someone set fire to it and it won't go out.

We have not panicked. It could have happened most anytime, anywhere. There is nothing really new about it. Beginning in 1994, she spent two years being treated by modern medicine. Eventually, she found a homeopathic doctor in Tampa. Though it took months, she ultimately obtained relief. The methods did not involve prescription medicine. She eventually weaned herself off the steroids.

Through contacts here, we were able to find two homeopathic therapists, one of which is an MD in Durban, the nearest large city. Interestingly, both had the same opinion of what was happening and took generally the same slow track, there being no fast track. The doctor is usually available by phone which is rare. The results are coming in and they are promising. With the help of a variety of homeopathic medicines she is slowly bringing her system back to normal. There are well-stocked, sophisticated health food shops in the area.

As recovery was just beginning, we entered the final hectic three weeks of the semester. The long Easter break broke the momentum at the seminary. The energy and vision was put on hold. Nothing felt right. We went through the motions. We became dissolutioned over some programs that were not launched or were launched then terminated, and there was a disappointment over the planning of another program. In hindsight, we were overly sensitive due to the health problem, thereby exacerbating our few minor complaints. Thank goodness the term has now ended.

It would be a mistake to think that we are discouraged. We are all flawed human beings. If it all seemed perfect, then we would really be concerned. We are dedicated to our work on the field education program. We are blessed by wonderful fellow staff members. Our lives are enriched daily by our seminarians who are at once frustrating, sometimes irresponsible, but always joyous and loving. They support us with their prayers. Two of them, both middle-aged women, stopped by today to pray with her, clean up the kitchen, make her soup . . . etc.

Our semester is over and our workload has diminished for the next 7-8 weeks. The conditions for recovery have improved. It's a perfect time for her to recharge and heal. Already, she'll tell you that she feels much better now than she did in 1994.

Our faith is not so shallow that we would tuck in our tales and go home. We are convinced that Cheri is getting the best help available. These methods were successful before and they will be again. So don't think for a minute that we are packing it in. One only need to read Romans 5: 3-5 to be hopeful. We have great therapists, a huge and involved community that loves and supports us just as many of you do. We have work to do and the more we do it, the more we realize that we can make a significant contribution to this country on its long road to healing.

Keep us in your prayers.

Trust and never doubt.

He never failed us yet.