Dr. Kirk Milhoan is a pediatric cardiologist who recently was featured in a documentary called Three Hearts. He arrived at Kudip this morning after traveling all night on airplanes for the last two nights, flying in from the Middle East, and by the afternoon was already doing pediatric echocardiograms on children who have heart defects. The last patient he saw this afternoon is pictured in this photograph. She is five years old and has tricuspid atresia, which is an inoperable heart defect with a life expectancy of around 30 years.
At the moment that this photograph was taken, Dr. Kirk was explaining to the family that the heart defect is inoperable and that their little girl has a life expectancy of 30 years. He then gently went on to explain that God also used the life of a man named Jesus to change the world, and he lived to be just a little over thirty years old. The gentle and loving way that he counseled these parents about their precious little girl was the finest I have ever witnessed by a physician. The caliber of physicians who come to Kudjip and the full time physicians who work here are an amazingly talented group of dedicated individuals.
That brings tears to my eyes. What a heartbreaking but sweet story. It is amazing how God uses those who are willing to go.
ReplyDeleteThe tears are streaming down my face. This hits so close to home, as just a short time ago, our sweet baby boy Kaden was born with a congenital heart defect. I remember the devastation that we felt hearing that without open heart surgery, our son would not live. And I remember my sweet OB, comming early on a Sunday morning to the hospital, to pray with us and reassure us (on his day off) that in the midst of our sadness, HE was still there. I can not begin to comprehend the sadness that little girls parents must have felt as they were given the grim news about thier child. While today she lives with a heart that is broken, one day she will be made whole. Thank the Lord for the promises that he gives to us, and that in the midst of our sorrow he can bring such joy.
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