STUART ROBINSON
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I said in an e-mail to Kevin Foster, Senior Minister at New Life, on Good Friday, 2011, that I was thrilled by the Easter message of the angel at the tomb where Jesus had been laid “He is not here; He has risen” and remarked that I had been struck by the statement of Jesus “Because I live, you will live also”. I believe that it is only because Jesus lives that I am physically alive today - and I wish to place on record my thanks to Him for all that He has done. I am noting here key facts about what happened to me in connection with a serious illness in 2011. On Sunday, 13th February, I was at the morning service and felt unwell. The problem was associated with a small cut in my finger. I saw doctors on the Sunday, on the Monday, until on the Tuesday I was admitted to Pinderfields Hospital via the Accident and Emergency Department. It took a few days to diagnose necrotising fasciitis, caused by a flesh-eating bacterium. This bacterium quickly eats away at the flesh and, left untreated, results in early death. Within a day or two of admission to hospital, I was in intensive care on life-support systems in an induced coma. I apparently experienced many ups-and-downs during my time in intensive care. Allison, my daughter-in-law, kept a diary of what was happening to me and there was clearly crisis after crisis, as evidenced by the following extracts: 16th February, suspect DVT, breathing difficulties, arm swollen 4”, catheterised, to HDU, 17th surgery, infection found, ICU, critically ill, ventilator, more surgery, infection spreading to chest, still on ventilator, unstable, can’t operate further at moment, septic shock, kidneys not working, 19th still can’t breathe, wrapped in heated bubble wrap, urine output not good, 20th operation (4 hours), very high BP and heart rate, great distress, fighting breathing tube, but can’t remove, needed rest because of strain on heart and brain, medicines to bring BP down, concerned about lungs filling with fluid, very distressed, lot of pain, not responding/thrashing about, BP up, more morphine, hallucinating, blood transfusion, operation, off ventilator, back on ventilator, blood transfusion, wound bleeding, still on ventilator, back on kidney machine, cellulitis in wound, operation, pneumonia, may do tracheotomy, now 28th. The surgeon asked to meet my wife and son, Marie and Jonathan, at 8.00 a.m. one morning, prior to one of seven operations, and told her that if the infection went much further then they could do no more. I have a wound, from which diseased muscle tissue and lymph glands were cut, which runs from my wrist to my chest. And since I have been discharged, one of the consultant medical staff who was present in the intensive care unit has told me that no-one expected me to come out alive. I was in hospital for 5.5 weeks: three weeks in intensive care and then in a single room in the plastic surgery ward. You have probably heard it said that, in the Christian life, we have to do what only we can do and then trust God to do what only He can do. I think that it is important for me to say that the doctors, nurses and other staff at Pinderfields did what only they can do: the treatment I received was exceptional and we’re grateful for that. But without God doing what only He can do, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be here today. So we thank God for a miracle of healing. Over the period that I was very ill in hospital, I am told that, literally, thousands of people in different parts of the world were praying for me. I know that lots of people prayed for me individually, I was prayed for in services and, indeed, a special prayer meeting was held to pray for me. I am most grateful for all the prayer than was offered on my behalf. And I am grateful to God that He answered in the positive. I started this note by referring to the Bible verse “Because I live, you will live also” and saying that it is only because He lives that I am physically alive today. However, it is important to recognise that this verse has a far wider and much more significant meaning than that. It means that men and women who trust in Jesus, who believe that He lives, will not only have the best of lives here on earth but enjoy eternal life in heaven. Friends know that I was a fairly fit person. I went to the gym and ran. But days after been fit and well I was close to death. And, in various ways, similar situations can confront any of us. Psalm 144 tells us that our lives are like a breath, our days like a fleeting shadow: we are very fragile beings. I would encourage anyone reading this who is not a Christian to ask Jesus to come into their heart and life so that you can enjoy the promise Jesus gave that, because He lives, you also will live – for time and for eternity. Stuart Robinson |