Stories of faith & medicine

“Many of us have had experiences with the sweet power of prayer. One of mine was shared with a stake patriarch from southern Utah. I first met him in my medical office more than 40 years ago, during the early pioneering days of surgery of the heart. This saintly soul suffered much because of a failing heart. He pleaded for help, thinking that his condition resulted from a damaged but repairable valve in his heart.

Extensive evaluation revealed that he had two faulty valves. While one could be helped surgically, the other could not. Thus, an operation was not advised. He received this news with deep disappointment.

Subsequent visits ended with the same advice. Finally, in desperation, he spoke to me with considerable emotion: “Dr. Nelson, I have prayed for help and have been directed to you. The Lord will not reveal to me how to repair that second valve, but He can reveal it to you. Your mind is so prepared. If you will operate upon me, the Lord will make it known to you what to do. Please perform the operation that I need, and pray for the help that you need.”

His great faith had a profound effect upon me. How could I turn him away again? Following a fervent prayer together, I agreed to try. In preparing for that fateful day, I prayed over and over again, but still did not know what to do for his leaking tricuspid valve. Even as the operation commenced, my assistant asked, “What are you going to do for that?”

I said, “I do not know.”

We began the operation. After relieving the obstruction of the first valve, we exposed the second valve. We found it to be intact but so badly dilated that it could no longer function as it should. While examining this valve, a message was distinctly impressed upon my mind: Reduce the circumference of the ring. I announced that message to my assistant. “The valve tissue will be sufficient if we can effectively reduce the ring toward its normal size.”

But how? We could not apply a belt as one would use to tighten the waist of oversized trousers. We could not squeeze with a strap as one would cinch a saddle on a horse. Then a picture came vividly to my mind, showing how stitches could be placed—to make a pleat here and a tuck there—to accomplish the desired objective. I still remember that mental image—complete with dotted lines where sutures should be placed. The repair was completed as diagrammed in my mind. We tested the valve and found the leak to be reduced remarkably. My assistant said, “It’s a miracle.”

I responded, “It’s an answer to prayer.”

The patient’s recovery was rapid and his relief gratifying. Not only was he helped in a marvelous way, but surgical help for other people with similar problems had become a possibility. I take no credit. Praise goes to this faithful patriarch and to God, who answered our prayers. This faithful man lived for many more years and has since gone to his eternal glory.”

It seems to me that there is no better way to prepare to meet God than to ensure that we have done all within our power to serve our fellow man (Mosiah 2:17).

If I were to stand before them—my family, my friends, and my neighbors—could I look into their eyes and honestly say that I had done my very best to serve their best interests?

Practicing diagnostic radiology has given me a unique perspective on service. Much of a radiologist’s work happens hidden from the patient’s view. Within the scope of our expertise, we strive to shed as much light as possible on the patient’s condition. In doing so, we empower the physician caring for that patient to make better decisions and provide more effective treatment. Doing this quasi-anonymous work well earns the confidence of our clinical colleagues and brings peaceful satisfaction in our professional lives.

I wonder how much more spiritually invigorated and peaceful my life would be if I approached the good of those within my personal sphere of influence with the same intentionality and care that I bring to my work. What if, in my ordinary, day-to-day interactions, I saw myself as assisting the greatest Physician in blessing His children?

If I could live that way, then perhaps when I finally meet Him my confidence would “wax strong” in his presence (D&C 121:45) and I could “see him as he is” (Moroni 7:48) knowing that I had tried to serve His children well.

“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

“I would like to share with you today is that of the dependability, yes, even the incontrovertibility, of divine law. You have read and no doubt quoted that statement in the 130th section of the Doctrine and Covenants which says, ‘When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated’ (D&C 130:21). This is a very simple statement, as profound as it is true.

When I started medical school, we were taught that one must not touch the heart, for if one did, it would stop beating. Yet the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that ‘all kingdoms have a law given’ (D&C 88:36). Therefore I knew that even the blessing of the heartbeat was predicated upon law and reasoned that, if those laws could be understood and controlled, then perhaps they could be utilized for the blessing of the sick. To me this meant that, if we would work, study, and ask the proper questions in our scientific experiments, we could learn the laws which govern the blessing of the heartbeat. Now, some thirty years later, having learned some of those laws, we know that we can turn the heartbeat on and off at will to perform delicate repairs on damaged valves or vessels and then let the heart beat again—provided we obey the laws upon which that blessing has been predicated.

Divine law is incontrovertible! I see people who wish, who hope, who pray for health. But as a surgeon I can tell you that all of the wishes, the hopes, and the prayers of people can be overridden by lack of compliance to law. If a law cannot be obeyed, those blessings cannot come….But obedience to law gives freedom, mastery, and dependability.”

“In my past profession, I was a cardiologist specializing in heart failure and transplantation, with many patients who were critically ill. My wife jokingly says that it was a bad prognostic sign to become one of my patients. All teasing aside, I saw many people die, and I developed a kind of emotional distance when things went poorly. That way, feelings of sadness and disappointment were tempered. In 1986 a young man named Chad developed heart failure and received a heart transplant. He did very well for a decade and a half. Chad did all he could to stay healthy and live as normal a life as possible. He served a mission, worked, and was a devoted son to his parents. The last few years of his life, though, were challenging, and he was in and out of the hospital frequently.

One evening, he was brought to the hospital’s emergency department in full cardiac arrest. My associates and I worked for a long time to restore his circulation. Finally, it became clear that Chad could not be revived. We stopped our futile efforts, and I declared him dead. Although sad and disappointed, I maintained a professional attitude. I thought to myself, ‘Chad has had good care. He has had many more years of life than he otherwise would have had.’ That emotional distance soon shattered as his parents came into the emergency room bay and saw their deceased son lying on a stretcher. In that moment, I saw Chad through his mother’s and father’s eyes. I saw the great hopes and expectations they had had for him, the desire they had had that he would live just a little bit longer and a little bit better. With this realization, I began to weep. In an ironic reversal of roles and in an act of kindness I will never forget, Chad’s parents comforted me.

I now realize that in the Church, to effectively serve others we must see them through a parent’s eyes, through Heavenly Father’s eyes. Only then can we begin to comprehend the true worth of a soul. Only then can we sense the love that Heavenly Father has for all of His children. Only then can we sense the Savior’s caring concern for them. We cannot completely fulfill our covenant obligation to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort unless we see them through God’s eyes. This expanded perspective will open our hearts to the disappointments, fears, and heartaches of others. But Heavenly Father will aid and comfort us, just as Chad’s parents comforted me years ago. We need to have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that know and feel if we are to accomplish the rescue.”

Thoughtful reflection on our life’s course will remind us how much the Lord’s guiding hand influences the decisions we make, the paths we take, and can increase our commitment to serving His children. The Lord knows who we need to be, before we know what we have the potential to become. He often reminds us that He is in control. This has been confirmed to me multiple times as I have witnessed His tender mercies over and over again, but a recent manifestation transformed the way I choose to practice medicine.

This experience began over twenty-five years ago, while I was serving a two-year church mission to Southern Germany. Prior to my mission, I had considered becoming a doctor and had completed one year of college with that goal in mind. In the first area of my mission, Heidi, the wife of the congregation’s leader was diagnosed and treated for an advanced head and neck cancer involving her vocal cords. This was devastating for her family and the church members because she did so much to help and serve them. Unitedly as a congregation, we fasted and prayer for her. Additionally, my companion and I made every effort to serve their family, fill in with her responsibilities with the scouts, and visit her in the hospital. We shared scriptures and sang her songs, and despite her suffering with the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, she always wanted to make sure we were taken care of. It was hard not to be moved by the spirit, compassion, and the love she displayed even in the midst of a life-threatening trial.

Gratefully, through evidence-based medical care, faith, fasting, and prayer, she was cured of her disease. As I contemplated how dramatically her life had been flipped upside down by her cancer diagnosis and treatment and her positive resolve to overcome, I had my first inclination that it would be rewarding to take care of cancer patients and support them in trying times. Her story motivated me not just to be a doctor, but to become an oncologist. When I returned from my mission, I went home with a purpose which pushed me into cancer research and medical shadowing activities and propelled me through medical school and eventually into radiation oncology. All along the way, whenever trials and setbacks tried to sway me from my course, the Lord always provided miraculous heaven-sent help just when I needed it to keep me going along the oncology path.

When I graduated from residency, I wanted to pursue an academic career but didn’t know what to focus on. As a result, my first year as an attending physician was intentionally broad, I worked at the Milwaukee VA hospital and also in a community satellite clinic, which provided me many opportunities to treat many different types of cancer, but I rapidly grew to love treating head and neck cancers and started developing expertise in managing this challenging and complex disease site. After one year of practice, my partner who had been treating head and neck cancer at our University Hospital left the practice, and I was offered the now-vacant head and neck position. I was more than excited to accept it. Since that time, I have been immersed in treating head and neck cancers, striving to improve their outcomes, and providing help and support when the treatments were difficult. In this process, I have treated hundreds of patients, engaged in research trials, developed national treatment guidelines, and taught medical students, residents, and even practicing physicians across the globe the intricate nature of head and neck radiation therapy.

I take all of these as witnesses of God’s power, grace, mercy, capacity to bless and magnify our efforts, and of His guiding hand in my life. This can also be viewed in relation to Heidi’s story which came full circle, and in the completing of the loop I found greater meaning, purpose and consecration for my medical practice.

For Christmas, my wife and I took our kids to Germany. As part of our trip, I wanted to go back to my first area and visit Heidi and her family. Through some miracles I was able to contact her, and we scheduled a visit. When my family arrived at Heidi’s home, I found the same consecrated disciples I had known decades prior; Heidi and her husband, Klaus, were so warm, welcoming, and Christ-like. As we spoke with them, it was apparent to me that Heidi was still plagued by several residual side effects from her cancer and its treatment despite being cured over two decades ago. The most notable was her whispery voice and severe difficulty swallowing food. Despite these issues, she was positive and cheerful, which touched my family greatly.

As we spoke, I knew that I had to tell her how she and her cancer had impacted my life, career, and even my testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ. I told her of my commitment to treating head and neck cancers, the progress made in radiation oncology since the time of her treatment, and of the many people I have been able to help. As we spoke, the Spirit confirmed to all of us that serving in her area at the time of her cancer treatment put me on the path God had planned for me to do, and that her cancer and her years of suffering were not without greater purpose. Her cancer changed the trajectory of my life and being able to share that with her face-to-face was a source of great comfort, peace, and joy for all of us. This sublime experience brought with it a greater realization that I was in the position God intended for me and distilled in my soul a greater sense of responsibility and stewardship to my work in cancer care.

As physicians, we need to take time to ponder and prayerfully review all the ways the Lord has guided and directed our lives from the seemly simple to the completely miraculous. As we do, we will receive confirmation from the Spirit regarding how the Lord has guided our lives and what we individually need to do to keep moving forward. Realizing this great truth, that we are where God needs us to be will change how we perceive ourselves and our role as physicians. It will also help us find greater meaning, purpose, and resilience in our practice of medicine and will enhance our desire to minister to our patients as the Savior would.