Alhaji
With a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever. Ps. 136:12, NIV.
One encounters many wonderful stories at a mission hospital, but those in which hope and function are restored to a child are perhaps the most heartwarming. Alhaji, a little 9-year-old boy from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, is one of God’s miracles.
One day when Alhaji was playing outside, he saw that the room in which he lived with his mother and little sister was on fire. He ran in to save some of their possessions, but unfortunately a burning curtain fell down on him. Although he was able to get out of the room, he was in terrible condition. The left side of his head, arm, and trunk had severe third-degree burns, and his ear had been completely burned off.
His mother took him to the government hospital in Freetown, where he stayed for 11 months. There most of the wounds healed, but his arm grew to his body. It looked as if he had no arm—only his hand was sticking out. The doctor told him that the only thing he could do was to cut off the hand so that it wouldn’t look so ugly. The boy and his mother were terrified and refused.
They had heard about Masanga Leprosy Hospital and decided to come for advice. Alhaji was lucky to meet Dr. R. Kazen, who performed the first surgery, cutting the skin and separating the arm from his body. Then the tedious, time-consuming process of skin grafting and exercises started to restore its function. Later a visiting hand surgeon, Dr. Robert Horner, performed an operation that made his left hand more functional.
Alhaji’s mother and little sister stayed with him all through his ordeal and encouraged him greatly. After a whole year at Masanga he was able to use his arm again. Although not perfect, he felt like a human being again, instead of a deformed monster.
When I see Alhaji with his arm stretched out and functional, I think of how good God is to stretch out His arms, through dedicated health workers, to people who otherwise would have no hope.
We can all be recipients of God’s “surgery”! God has promised to cut away our sin and restore us to an abundant life, if we will submit to the unavoidable pain. Oh, how grateful we should be for His outstretched arms to us.
One encounters many wonderful stories at a mission hospital, but those in which hope and function are restored to a child are perhaps the most heartwarming. Alhaji, a little 9-year-old boy from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, is one of God’s miracles.
One day when Alhaji was playing outside, he saw that the room in which he lived with his mother and little sister was on fire. He ran in to save some of their possessions, but unfortunately a burning curtain fell down on him. Although he was able to get out of the room, he was in terrible condition. The left side of his head, arm, and trunk had severe third-degree burns, and his ear had been completely burned off.
His mother took him to the government hospital in Freetown, where he stayed for 11 months. There most of the wounds healed, but his arm grew to his body. It looked as if he had no arm—only his hand was sticking out. The doctor told him that the only thing he could do was to cut off the hand so that it wouldn’t look so ugly. The boy and his mother were terrified and refused.
They had heard about Masanga Leprosy Hospital and decided to come for advice. Alhaji was lucky to meet Dr. R. Kazen, who performed the first surgery, cutting the skin and separating the arm from his body. Then the tedious, time-consuming process of skin grafting and exercises started to restore its function. Later a visiting hand surgeon, Dr. Robert Horner, performed an operation that made his left hand more functional.
Alhaji’s mother and little sister stayed with him all through his ordeal and encouraged him greatly. After a whole year at Masanga he was able to use his arm again. Although not perfect, he felt like a human being again, instead of a deformed monster.
When I see Alhaji with his arm stretched out and functional, I think of how good God is to stretch out His arms, through dedicated health workers, to people who otherwise would have no hope.
We can all be recipients of God’s “surgery”! God has promised to cut away our sin and restore us to an abundant life, if we will submit to the unavoidable pain. Oh, how grateful we should be for His outstretched arms to us.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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