Encountering Our Wild God by Kim Meeder

Author:Kim Meeder
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living;REL012000;REL012040
ISBN: 9781493414604
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

Pursuing the “More” of Jesus’ Love

The moment I saw Aly, my heart dropped. The vibrant, strong, charismatic rancher I once knew was gone.

The woman approaching me was so physically broken that the straightforward act of walking was no longer possible. What remained of her ambulatory ability was only possible with the substantial support of her husband’s arm on one side, and a service dog’s strong back on the other.

Amid Aly’s struggle to walk into the main yard of the ranch, she looked up to see me watching her. Her immediate response was genuine. True to her indomitable nature, she flashed a bright smile. Despite her effort to choose joy, something dark was lurking behind her warm countenance. Although her face brightened into a familiar expression, the raw pain behind her eyes was unmistakable, like a lost electric current arcing between us. Beyond the depth of words, her anguish seared into my soul.

Compassion filled my heart, and apparently my countenance as well. One look at my face was all it took for the anchorage of her stoic bravery to be ripped from its moorings. In a hail of quiet words, her tale of woe added to the growing scorch mark within my spirit.

Aly explained that earlier she had fallen backward and broken her wrist. The pain of that injury was so intense that she didn’t realize until later that she had also severely injured her lower back. She sought medical help multiple times, only to be misdiagnosed an equal number of times. Left to languish in agony, her only recourse for the pain in her lower back and left leg were powerful pain-suppressing drugs.

Finally, the pain was so excruciating that she was, again, rushed to receive medical care. While Aly lay flat on her stomach, the attending physician noticed something that all the others had missed—a large bulge protruding through the muscle of her lower left back.

The phantom protrusion was the outcome of an injury that produced lumbosacral plexopathy. This rare condition affected interwoven nerve bundles that deadened areas of her leg. The result was extreme pulsating pain through her lower back and down her leg. Over time, the nerves had been damaged to such a degree that her left leg was withering from lack of innervation, circulation and use.

Held in the vise grip of paralyzing pain, Aly had been confined to a bed or wheelchair for six months. Surgery relieved some of her pain, which enabled her to start physical therapy and learn to use crutches. Even still, her left leg was no longer usable. The ensuing atrophy was catastrophic. Her leg had lost two inches of its former length and over four inches of total circumference. Her condition was so dire that a portion of the medical community intimated the possible need for an amputation.

Surgery, intense physical therapy and a service dog had gotten her back on her feet—or foot. At this point, she had been sent home. All forward momentum had ceased, and medically there was little else that could be done.

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