Patient in Suffering

My nephew, Jon, who looks about 12, but turns 20 in a few days, underwent his 34th surgery today.  He was born with cerebral palsy and 32 of these surgeries were attempts to regulate seizures by installing, adjusting and resizing a shunt in his brain.  The child has, in his short life, endured more pain and physical hardship than most of us will encounter in a lifetime.

Today, in an attempt to relieve current pain and maintain his ability to walk, doctors cut his femur just below his hip, rotated the joint inward while nestling it more deeply into the socket, then cut his tibia and fibula just above the ankle, rotating the rest of the leg outward, securing the new positions with rods, plates and screws; finally, they did a heel cord release, which involved cutting and lengthening the Achilles tendon.

One of the truly amazing things, is that with everything Jon has been through and continues to go through, this child never complains.  When he is in pain or is anxious he turns quiet, but he readily submits to whatever is placed in his path, facing it with courage, while maintaining his sense of humor.  He is a shining example of patient endurance in suffering.  I moan and groan about inconveniences more than Jon does about his real trials.   

Jon's parents are no slouches either.  My sister, Vicki, and her husband, Quentin, have been required to make significant sacrifices for Jon through the years and they have been called upon to make very diffcult decisions on his behalf; decisions whose outcome isn't always crystal clear, but which may - or may not - improve his daily life. 

I know these experiences have taken their toll at times, on them personally and on their family, but God has been gracious to strengthen their faith and to sanctify them.   During my visit tonight, I was nervous and tearful, while they remained calm and strong.  They have their moments - it is, afterall, no small thing to watch your child undergo such trauma - but they have learned to trust and rest, and they heartily maintain that God is good.

I would appreciate it, if those of you who are so inclined, would pray for Jon's recovery...that God will be merciful, that the therapy will be effective and will produce the desired result, that Jon, Vicki and Quentin will continue to be blessed with strength and patience.  Recovery will be long and difficult and by far the most painful one Jon has been through.  Thanks for taking the time to read his story.