Duke Transplant Friends

The U.S. Army’s motto is, “It’s not a job - it’s an adventure”. Here at Duke Hospital, the nursing motto could be “It’s not a job - it’s a ministry”. Nurses throughout history have been called “Angels of Mercy” for the love they give their patients. Jesus (Yeshua) laid down an example to follow in the “Golden Rule”, Matthew 7:12, “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you…” Paul sums up the work of this service ministry in Romans 13:9 “…Love your neighbor as yourself.” Everyday here on 7800 I am a witness to those who were called to this ministry. 1 Corinthians 7:17 states “Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him and live it in the condition he was in when G-d called him.…” Not all who work here profess to know Jesus (Yeshua) as their Lord and Savior, but everyone here has been called for His service. Looking at my past, I am the most unlikely candidate to serve in His ministry, but Jesus (Yeshua) does not look at the outside but what is in the inside. I became a nurse following the death of my mother; prior to that, I wanted to be an engineer, but G-d had different plans for me.

My personal testimony is of a 46-year-old man who did not come to salvation until he was twenty years old. I was serving with the 82^nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was there that I met my future wife at a Donna Fargo Concert and it was through her prayers and leading that I came to know my Savior. Since 1980, I have been a witness to His miraculous guidance and protection.

I have had two experiences that are testimonies in themselves that Jesus (Yeshua) is G-d, and walks with me. I was installing an automatic grocery store door at a construction site when the contractor asked me to lock up the site prior to my leaving. After installing glass in the front doors, I asked my partner to take the van to the side of the building and I walked through the store to the power box. I looked to the back door and noticed two doors; I fixed my eyes on the door then proceeded to cut power to the building. I was immediately enveloped by complete darkness as I proceeded to walk towards the back door. When I got to the door that led to the van, I push the door open and stepped through. Instead of exiting the building, I began to fall; I quickly spun around and fell four feet onto my back in a pile of Styrofoam. After I came to my senses, I climbed out, discovered the right door and went home. The next morning my partner and I were the first ones on the job site, and I went back to were I had fallen the night before. When I opened the door and looked in expecting to see the Styrofoam that broke my fall the night before, the sight of roughed in plumbing pipes sticking up from the floor flabbergasted me. I fell to my knees and wept knowing that I should not be alive but by the grace of G-d I was.

Later on in my work as a door mechanic, I was driving in the mountains of Virginia during a snowstorm. I was in a hurry to get back home to be with my wife in Durham but I was driving slowly because the road was cut into the side of the mountain - on the right, the mountain went up, and on my left, the mountain dropped off. A car in front of me spun out in the powder snow causing me to loose sight of the road. Afraid to slam on the brakes, I just continued forward pumping my brakes and praying. My fears of falling off the mountain started to become reality when I drove onto snow covered grass. As I was preparing to die, a rest area sign appeared directly in front of my van. I hit the sign, shredded my back tire and came to a stop. A very helpful trucker assisted me in changing the tire. No sign alerted me to a rest area up ahead; to this day, that rest area just appeared. I know G-d exists for I have experienced his love and protection, and to repay the debt to my Messiah I will go wherever He calls and do whatever He asks. I have been here at Duke Hospital for six years, and each day I see the love of G-d demonstrated. A patient once commented that I helped him with my witness, but I explained to him that it was his witness, in his hospital bed, that helped me and many of the others who entered his room.

Mark 16:15 states, “As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation.” G-d has not called everyone to the jungles of some far away land; He has called you and me to be a witness, to proclaim the Good News to our neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers who enter our hospital room. Each patient here at Duke handles the adversity of sickness differently, but I have noticed that those individuals and families who are believers of Jesus (Yeshua) tolerate their experience here better. They recover faster, and when it is time for them to be called home to heaven, they die with a joy and peace that is indescribable. I was a witness to two different patients who died of the same disease. One patient acknowledged Jesus (Yeshua) to everyone she met. This patient was a strong witness, and as she died, the room was bright and airy. The patient died with a smile on her face. The other patient never allowed G-d to enter her room and I never saw or heard her or her family witness His love. When that patient passed, she passed in agony; the room was dark, and her face was distorted in pain.

Contrary to the popular belief of today’s world, there is only one way to the Father, and that is through Jesus (Yeshua). Since I have been here, I have also seen G-d’s love in action through the doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, housekeepers, dieticians and other support staff. All of these individuals have given their hearts to this patient population. This past year so many of our transplant family have gone onto be with the Lord, and I have watched as the staff cried along side the families.

Here at Duke, you are not just a number, but you are part of our family and I enjoy becoming part of yours, too. Love is a very big part of the service that is offered by the staff of 7800; they truly care about the patient, and they are not here only for a paycheck. Jesus (Yeshua) set the example - can we, should we do less? The old axiom, WWJD, What Would Jesus Do, really does apply here. Although the staff does not all believe the same, in the end the results are the same - LOVE. Nursing is a service ministry, and taking care of this population is a Blessing.