“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV.
Last December, my son, Joash, had prolong fever for two weeks. It all started with redness on his eyes. On 13 December, Joyce, my wife, and I brought him to IMM. He enjoyed himself at the place where the children could play with water. There were some gadgets with strays of water falling down to the ground and some with strays of water shooting out from them. It was drizzling on that day. The next day, my wife brought him to see a doctor because of severe redness on both of his eyes. The doctor said that he had viral infection. The following day, he had high fever, flu and cough. From 15 to 20 December, his body temperature ranged from 38.1 to 39.6 C. On 21 December, we brought him to a clinic at Thomson Medical Centre (TMC). The doctor said that he had bacteria infection. He was given inhaler because he had quite bad congestion of the air passage in his lung. On 28 December, we brought him a second time to the same clinic because the fever still did not subside. At this time, we were alarmed when the doctor suspected that he might have a disease called “Kawasaki”. This was because he had redness of his eyes and lips and also he had prolong fever for two weeks. Immediately, she requested that he went for several blood tests. All these while, we were in prayers for my son and our CG members and some friends were also praying for him. I was encouraged by a text message from a friend that read “God looks after Joash.”
All blood test results were within normal range except for his platelets which were on the high side. On 29 December, his whole body broke out with rashes. On 30 December, he went for a heart scan at Mt. Alvenia. Thank God that the result of the heart scan was normal, that is, without any heart arteries enlargement, and his heart beat patterns were also fine. The only thing that was of concern was the amount of fluid surrounding his heart, which was slightly above normal. When we brought him back to see the doctor at the clinic at TMC, she was certain that he had the disease called “Kawasaki” and wanted to admit him to hospital immediately. Thank God that the nurse asked us which hospital we would like to admit him as it was costly to admit him to TMC. In my heart, I asked God to guide us in our decision making. We were asked to choose between KK hospital and TMC. Though we had decided to admit him to KK hospital, I was still hesitating whether this was the right choice. It was because I knew that we would have a long waiting time if he would admit to KK hospital. I almost wanted to choose the easy and convenient way, that is, to admit him to TMC. The precious lesson which I have learnt from this is that the convenient way may not be the best way and may not be God’s way. The other lesson is that I need to learn to wait. The wonderful thing was that the doctor at TMC knew a good doctor at KK. Our God was in control of the whole situation. Everything was arranged, even the ward and the bed unit at KK hospital.
When he was admitted to KK hospital, there was this unspeakable peace within me, this unexplainable assurance that my God will take care of the whole situation and that He was in full control of it. There was this certainty in my heart that God would take care of my son and He did. Praise the Lord! Amen.
At the KK hospital, the doctor came to examine my son. He did not think that my son had “Kawasaki”; neither did he think that he had dengue or measles. He asked us whether my son went for camping, hiking or any outdoor activities because he suspected that my son was bitten by an insect called “tick”. When I heard that, I was glad that he did not conclude that it was “Kawasaki”. In fact, I did not sense that it was “Kawasaki” also. The doctor suggested that a type of antibiotics to be prescribed to him and if the rashes and fever were gone, then the whole matter would be clear. This type of antibiotics was to treat those bitten by “tick”.
Indeed, God had answered many of our prayers. I prayed that my son would be discharged on 1 Jan 2011. On 31 December, my son told my wife that he wanted to be discharged on the next day. On the same day, the doctor told us that if he had no fever for the next 24 hours, he would be discharged on the next day. We thanked God for answering that prayer and he was discharged on 1 Jan 2011 because he did not have fever. The rashes were gone too. He was on antibiotics for seven days. Thank God for healing my son completely.
During the medical review on 13 Jan 2011, the doctor told us that if we had brought our son to see him on the first week when he just started to have fever but no rashes, he would not have thought that he was bitten by a “tick”. Thank God that everything is under His tender care and His control!
Knowing that God is in control of the whole situation enables us to present our requests confidently to Him and He will provide His peace which passes all understanding!
