On Wednesday of the February medical team week we went to el banana. During the morning a little girl and her mother came to meet with Dr. David. He was told the Sadia had been born deaf and she did not speak but that recently she had been having a lot of pain in her ears. Dr. David noted that both ear canals were blocked with debris. He and the staff worked to free the debris to help ease the pain. He was unable to clear the issue without hurting her so he sent her home with drops and was told to return in the morning. To complicate the story even further even if we could clear the debris our hearing station would be unable to test Sadia because the leader had become very ill and was forced back to the United States for treatment. She and her mother were anxiously awaiting the med team when we arrived on Thursday (the last day of clinic.) I brought her back and tried to evacuate the debris with limited success. Again, I felt as though I may be doing more harm then good and decided to sit with her on a bench and apply the drops and simply hold her in my lap and rock her while I was giving the drops time to work. Her mother stood behind me and was telling a team translator more of the story. She stated that while she was pregnant with Sadia she had been severely beaten and with tears streaming from her eyes she admitted that she felt this incredible guilt because she felt that she was the cause of Sadia not being able to hear, speak, attend school, have friends, or simply be “normal.” For 10 years she carried this huge blanket of guilt.
After this conversation, while I was sitting on a bench rocking this beautiful child on my lap the team members gathered and we began to pray not only for Sadia but also for her mother. At the end of the prayer I tried one last time to clear the debris so that Sadia could have less pain. Amazingly, all of the debris came loose immediately and the pain on Sadia’s face disappeared!!! I decided to see if it made any difference with her hearing. With her mother in front of her and the team members gathered around I stood behind Sadia and in a moderate tone said “ola” She said…. “ola.” That was the first word Sadia ever heard or spoke.
She had the most priceless smile on her face and tears of joy replaced the tears of pain. Her mother stood sobbing and began immediately praising GOD. She knew that what had transpired that day was a miracle from GOD. Not only the miracle of health and healing for her child but also the miracle of a mother who let go of all of the guilt she had been carrying with her for ten years. Praise GOD! The healer of ALL THINGS.
