CALLED to Papua New Guinea: The Faith to Grow

Her little smile lit up the room - simple, shy, and with a joyful freedom that I rarely see among my PNG patients. The tip of her slightly large tongue rested casually between her lips, as though she always had a funny thought in mind. Her parents sat quietly, reading my face for some understanding of their daughter's illness. Apart from her protruding tongue, she appeared to be a perfectly happy four year old. I opened her medical book, noting her name - Stephanie David. As usual when I welcome patients into my little clinic room, I introduced myself, shaking the parents' hands, "Welcam - mi hamamas long lookim yu", then Stephanie's, who buried her shy grin into her mother's blouse. Also a routine with kids, I then let Stephanie pick a Sesame Street sticker to put on her hand. (Many thanks to our dear friends and family for the ample sticker supply via Care Packages!)

In reviewing her parents concerns, I was immediately taken aback when they said she is in fact eight and a half year old! They said she had been a normal baby, but then they noticed she just stopped growing in her third year. Their second child, two years younger, brought to attention that Stephanie was also failing to mentally develop as she should. By the age of three, the younger daughter had surpassed Stephanie in vocabulary and social play, and within another year, surpassed her in stature. They described Stephanie as being developmentally stuck somewhere between three and four years old - sweet, simple minded, and always happy.

A closer exam of Stephanie revealed her head and tongue slightly large, the long bones of her limbs short, a waddling gait, and indeed developmentally stuck at around 3 years of age. My suspicions were confirmed when her TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) came back quite high - suggesting Stephanie suffers from Congenital Hypothyroidism.

I spent some time discussing the diagnoses with her very sweet parents, who were grateful for an answer. I explained that Congenital Hypothyroidism is not an uncommon diagnosis, occurring in 1 of 4000 live births, causing both growth retardation and developmental delay. If not diagnosed and treated early, as in Stephanie's case, the resultant intellectual disability is permanent, while growth can rebound when synthetic thyroid hormone is started. During the conversation, her parents repeatedly focused on her possibility for growth (but oddly, not her intellect), and I spent some time talking about how we would increase her hormone dose every two weeks to an appropriate level, then monitor her progress a few times annually. I didn't promise anything, but we stood Stephanie up in one corner of my room, and put a sticker on the wall, marking her height at the start of treatment.

While holding Stephanie on my lap, her head cuddled on my shoulder, I concluded the visit by reminding her parents that prayer is a powerful tool given to those with Faith, and we then prayed together for Stephanie. We gave thanks to God for having provided us a diagnosis, and asked for His divine intervention with the new medicine, that Stephanie would grow both in stature, and in the ability to know our Lord, Jesus Christ, as her own friend and Savior.

I have seen Stephanie back in clinic a couple of times to get her Synthroid dose at the right level, and I can't wait to celebrate with her parents at the next visit, placing another sticker on the wall, (I'm believing) somewhere above the first.

Jesus said:
"Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

...and He later said...
"I tell you the Truth, if you have Faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20)

Many of the diagnoses I make here in PNG are not promising - in fact, most of them assure ongoing hardship. As anyone of you reading this Blog can relate, life can be difficult in many ways. Something I say all the time here is "Yu no can worri. Worri bilong Jesus. Time yu givim Em worri bilong yu, Em i bai givim yu bigpela bel isi", which reflects two verses:

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God. And the Peace of God,

which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:3-34

"Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you.

Do not worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about itself."

Wherever you are in life, I encourage you, my readers, to give your worries to Jesus. He died for you, to carry your burdens of sin, failure, and heartache. You were never meant to walk in this World on your own, but by Faith, in His Love, to !Rejoice! in His Peace at every moment, regardless of what trial threatens to burden you.

Alive in His Grace, Ted

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A few Picture Updates:

Prayer Night at our Place!