Could I do it? Could I love James enough to truly connect and support him through surgery, but not too much so I couldn't bare to see the pain? Surgery again was not my choice but God's choice for me and He was with us.
I did not want to spend any more time than was needed in the operating room, so I decided to go to the surgery ward to wait with James until they came to get him. He was in a ward with four other men. It became a little awkward when they began to sponge bathe everyone. I excused myself to the porch right outside James's window. Once he had been cleaned up he moved the curtain so he could see me. He then opened the window so I could hand him my iPhone and he could play games. When he would get stuck he would pass it back out to me. We continued to watch each other play through the window for over an hour, before I came back in the room.
Eventually they came to get James for his surgery. At first when I mentioned I was going to go to surgery with James I was told I couldn't. The nurse explained I was part of the mission team with Dr. Glenn. I felt like a bit of a fraud but was thankful to have Glenn on my team. My mom instincts were feeling pretty strong and I was determined I would be with this young man when he had surgery. I had promised James and his grandmother I would do this. The nurse took me down to the operating theater where I put on my scrubs and found James on a stretcher in the hallway outside the operating room. I was able to hold his hand as he got his spinal and talk with him throughout his surgery. I watched for him so he would not have to watch. When he asked to see what they were doing I told him what was happening and assured him he did not want to see. The electric drill was broken so they had to use a hand drill. 14-year-old boys have really hard bones. They put in a plate and six screws which should help his leg heal correctly.
It was an honor and a privilege for me to journey with James. After lunch Sheryl and I found James asleep in his room, so she gave me a tour of the new PT wing of the hospital, and the maternity ward.
When we returned to his room he was awake and in excruciating pain. After my third try someone came in to give him some pain medication. Just before dinner Carolyn, Dr. Glenn and myself went back to check on him. You can't imagine how thankful I was to have Glenn looking in on my new friend.
I had so resisted my first day in surgery but God had a plan for me and I was richly blessed. Last night I downloaded and played Temple Ron on my phone and thought of James. I was blessed to serve Him in Africa.
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