A Rich Man and a Camel

 

Greed…jealousy…anger.

 

These are probably some of life’s most powerful and darkest emotions. They invite evil into our hearts and poison our souls. Sure, one might argue they are merely human feelings but have any other ‘feelings’ caused the ruin of so many lives.

 

As human beings we are weak and frail both physically and spiritually. We get sick; we contract illnesses, diseases, and develop tumors that destroy us from the inside out. But these sinful emotions, like the physical diseases I treat, can eat at us spiritually, also from the inside out and if left unfettered can kill us too. The object of our desire doesn’t have to be just money either. It could be the need for importance or the need to be in control, which may start out as innocent human emotions but taken to their passionate extreme can morph into idolatry and demonic obsession. How can these be simply ‘human feelings’?

 

The irony is that we have so much to be thankful for…our health, our ability to walk upright on two legs and reach out and grasp what we need, but we are not always satisfied with that…we want more.

 

Which brings me to Joseph Spera. He was a patient whom I came to care for right about the same time as Michael Santini. While Michael was an outgoing and talkative guy, Joseph was quiet and introverted, and very sadly had been bedridden for many months because of an unexplained paralysis in both of his arms and legs.

 

Prior to being admitted to Mease Hospital, Joseph had severe weakness in both of his legs and could not walk, but the strength in his arms was strong enough that he could hold himself up on the parallel bars at physical therapy.

 

On the previous Friday, inexplicably, he developed the sudden onset of complete paralysis of his right (dominant) arm. After I examined him and reviewed his x-rays and MRI scan of his cervical spine, I told him I wasn’t sure if I could help him, in fact I told him, “I seriously doubt it”. There were however, some bone spurs in his neck putting pressure on the nerves going to his right arm and so it was possible, I thought, that removing them might help Joseph gain some strength back. As I looked into his eyes which were desperately trying to grasp any glimmer of hope, I once again was moved with pity.   

 

Unlike most of our desires, all Joseph wanted was to get the use of his right arm back. He didn’t even care if he ever got to walk again. Sure, that would be great but if he could just use his right hand again that would be good enough! How many of us could say that. We seem to be more concerned about money, power, excitement and pleasure. All Joseph wanted was to be able to feed himself again.

 

So, after much thought, weighing the possible risks and benefits, I decided to take Joseph to surgery in the hopes that it would help. After all he did have some arm pain which likely would be lessened by removing the bone spurs. From a technical standpoint, the surgery was a success, although immediately after surgery Joseph’s right arm was still paralyzed and it remained so at the time of his discharge four days later. But he was encouraged because he was accepted for inpatient physical therapy at a rehabilitation hospital that for some unknown reason, had previously denied him admission.

 

Unlike Michael who was boisterous and loud, each day I saw Joseph on my afternoon rounds, he was quiet and hopeful. When I visited with Joseph on the day of his discharge, he said to me, “I am ready to get on with it” (his therapy), and he hoped with a lot of hard work he would regain his strength. I wished him well, grasped his hand and told him I would pray for him. He thanked me and I turned and walked out the door.

 

Joseph’s condition was a poignant reminder to me that we truly have so much to be grateful for, most of which we often take for granted. Our life, our family, our God-given talents. Any of which could be taken from us without any warning. So often we put our selfish desires between us and the ones that matter the most. We become obsessed with having whatever our body desires, food, alcohol, sex and my personal favorite, always wanting to be right! And in becoming slaves to our human ‘needs’ we make it impossible to be close to our God who gave everything to us in the first place.

 

Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans: ‘More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope’ (Romans 5:3-4).

 

I read a story once about a man who was a coffee connoisseur. He had to have the best coffee beans, the best coffee grinder and coffee maker to achieve the perfect cup of coffee. While wanting a good cup of coffee is no sin he used the story as a metaphor of all the things we become preoccupied with, that taken together can reach such a critical mass that in the end serves only to erect a wall between us and our Creator. Luke 18:25.

  

Comments

[Ashley]

Great post. I really like the quote from Saint Paul. love you

[Rosa Corcoran]

So meaningful and true! Love you~~Ro

[kim]

once in a while it's good to have a 'reset button' to reel us back! as always, a moving piece.

[Hal Colbassani, MD]

Kim, right you are. The world around us can preoccupy us so much that we can forget who and what is most important, namely God and family. Thanks for your support. HP

[stent]

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