This week has been a tough one, I have always been healthy, never spent a day in hospital except to have my tonsils out as a child. The only other time i have been in critical condition was when I had malaria in Uganda and then it recurred for around a year afterwards. This week I had surgery.
14 years ago I was in India where we travelled from central India, Pune to the far North in a four month trip. We were working with young people as we usual do, many nationalities all eager to help in the third world. The trip was a good one that was both busy and challenging but as is always true for India quite demanding. This was my first trip to India. The only thing that colonels compares in terms of culture-shock is perhaps Madagascar. Madagascar was India plus 10, this was really from the pages of National Geographic!
Anyway, we were on a bus travelling across India. Some of our trip was in sleeper cars on a train, but once we reached the Himalayas we transferred to buses and had to change multiple times as we traversed the mountainous roads. Often the buses would lurch to a stop and our only cue that this was as far as we would go was to watch everybody disembark. We followed of course. We would need to change bus at this point and continue on another.
So, this was when I found myself on Top of the bus…
We had to transfer all of our backpacks from one bus to the other. So, the buses were parked next to each other and I began throwing the bags from one bus to the other, a friend would catch on the other side of the chasm between the vehicles. We were a team of about 20 people, so there was a lot of luggage to move.
At some point, I felt sharp pain in my stomach, a small rip in the muscle. I distinctly remember the moment it happened. It seems it is typical for men to Ignore medical issues for as long as possible and true to form that is what I did. Sometimes, I would feel pain but it would pass relatively quickly. Over the years the pain increased and it turned out I had a hernia. This seems to be quite common in my family, my dad has had two, my older brother has also shared in the predicament.
Well, a week ago I finally got operated on. I am back in Northern Ireland now, so the surgery was on the NHS. This week has been painful, but I have a lot more peace of mind knowing that my muscles will heal now. It was very disconcerting being in Nigeria, India and Thailand for the last few years knowing that it was always a weakness that could send me to the A&E. There are some countries that are more suitable than others for emergency medical care, but I am often in quite remote areas with less than ideal amenities. I also have long days on the field and under tiredness and stress I would be in pain towards the end of especially trying days.
Thankfully, I have now sorted out a long-standing issue that will no longer be nagging me at the back of my mind. The surgery went well, I took a spinal anaesthetic that paralysed me from the chest down and so was awake for the entirety of the surgery. I was able to speak to the nurse about my work with YWAM while I was having surgery, she wants to volunteer on one of our medical ships. My family has loved and supported me and the staff at the hospital were professional and caring.
This is what life is about at the end of the day, we are meant to serve each other and bring comfort and relief from pain through our lives. I saw this more than ever this week as I observed the hospital ward. It’s when we pour our lives out for others that we see lasting change and in pouring ourselves out we become more selfless and as we reach out we find that we can experience a new level of fulfilment and purpose to every hour. Also, when we feel mostly useless, we can realise that we are loved in spite of what we do rather than because of what we do!
He who loses his life will gain it! The best way to lose your life is to find your gifts out to use for others. How can you pour your life out for others today?