A Letter from a Missionary
The following is a letter from a missionary friend, Ged, in Curdistan. George is his Father in law.
God is amazing. You may have already been hearing or reading reports regarding George Markey’s condition. I have not been able to write anything until now, so here is my attempt at more of an overall picture of what has occurred up until today.
We are very grateful for your prayers and financial help throughout this time. Thank you so much. On Friday, the 26th, George woke up and began experiencing severe stomach cramping and vomiting. It was originally thought that he was simply having conditions associated with the flu.
However, as the cramping and vomiting continued, without subsiding in degree of pain, another doctor was consulted. The doctor spent much time asking questions and finally said that George should be taken to the hospital. He gave us the telephone number of one of the best surgeons in the country and told us where the hospital was located. At this point George was vomiting a very dark blue or black color.
Upon calling the hospital this surgeon answered the phone himself. He admitted George right away, diagnosing appendicitis. As we waited for George to be released from surgery, 2 hours turned into 3, which seemed long for an appendectomy. Paul and Melanie could see through an outside window that many doctors were gathered together and were looking at something very intently in the operating room. Someone was even filming the procedure.
We knew then that perhaps things were more serious than we had thought. After about 4 hours, a nurse appeared and called Paul Billings out of the room. She explained that George’s condition was very serious, that his problem was with his pancreas and not his appendix. She gave Paul a long list of medicines that were needed immediately in order to begin treating George.
Later, the surgeon also appeared, called us into his office, and gave us more of an understanding of pancreatic necrosis, the severity of the disease, and the chances of George coming through it. He said that throughout the world, 80-90 percent of people with this condition die.
As we would come to find out later, this surgeon specializes in the treatment of this condition. He has even patented his own method of treatment. In 1990, he traveled to Houston, Texas in order to present his findings and show his method of treatment. With his method he has been able to save 13 percent of his patients.
We naturally began asking why this has happened. The answers to that question are much more vague than the diagnosis. The surgeon says that the vast majority of the cases that he treats are among young people whose pancreas is affected by alcohol consumption. With George, that is obviously not the case.
The surgeon then speculated that eating massive amounts of fatty foods could perhaps trigger something similar. George has had a moderate diet. Finally, as far as we could understand, it is thought that there was a gall stone that clogged a duct in the pancreas which resulted in the “death of the pancreas.” His pancreas is black and the doctor reiterated just how serious and difficult a disease this is.
As we asked about medicines and where to find them, the surgeon showed us a bag of antibiotics that he had just received that day from Kazakhstan. They are made in Great Britain and are some of the strongest and most effective antibiotics. We immediately authorized the use of them. Since that time, we have been able to find other needed medicines that we were told were not in the country.
On Saturday I drove to at least 6 different pharmacies in search of different medicines that are needed. One medicine keeps George’s pancreas from producing “juice” bile(?) so that other internal organs are not damaged or destroyed.
According to the surgeon, the most critical time is between 10-14 days after the initial operation when the pancreas begins to produce bile and or portions of it begin disintegrating. I stayed in the hospital that night. We were given a private room early on, which was encouraging. Many patients were simply lying on beds or couches in the hallway.
Most everything that is needed for George has to be brought in; from the sheets on his bed to the intravenous fluids that he receives, virtually nothing is supplied by the hospital. If it is supplied, it really is only because we are foreigners and they are giving us their best service possible. I saw one Kyrgyz girl wait in the hallway for hours before someone came up and hooked her up to a much needed IV. George spent the night in intensive care — I was not able to see him.
Throughout the night, different lists of medicine were given that needed to be hurriedly purchased. I was able to drive the anesthesiologist home and talk to him more about the operation.
Our conversation turned toward spiritual things. He said that he had read reports of controlled experiments in the west where one group of patients were prayed for by large amounts of people and another group was not. He said that the group that was prayed for had a much higher rate of recovery that those who were not prayed for.
On Saturday morning at about 11:00, George was transferred to a private room where we have been able to be with him constantly. His condition is stable, but critical. He has four IVs giving him doses of many kinds of medicines and drainage tubes coming out of three incisions in his abdomen and other places. He sleeps much of the time, is heavily sedated, rarely opens his eyes, but can talk and vaguely understands that things are more serious than we thought.
As I hold the phone to his ear, he has even spoken with a couple of people who have called from America. Saturday night was difficult for George and of course very uncomfortable. I was able to turn him from side to side a little and to give him water to drink. He is not allowed to eat anything for 7 days.
There is no monitoring equipment here, but doctors come in regularly to check his blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. After hearing about George, Pamela immediately began searching for the next available flight out of Kiev where she had been assisting in the birth of George and Sharon’s baby, Samuel. Finally she arrived in Bishkek Sunday morning.She spent much of Sunday in the hospital with George getting to know this surgeon and the doctors who are assisting him.
We were blessed to hear that someone had donated tickets, “buddy passes,” for almost all of the Markey kids who are slated to arrive in Bishkek on Tuesday the 30th. We think George Jr. is also coming from Kiev. We are all encouraged by the many people who have called or written. We know the wonders that God works through prayer. We have a loving and merciful God whom we trust with our lives and the lives of those we love.
Our greatest desire is that He would be glorified in us and through us. We pray for healing for George, that God would give him a brand new pancreas. At the same time we trust in the Lord to act in the way that will bring Him the most glory. “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For you are my praise. Indeed they say to me, ‘Where is the Word of the Lord? Let it come now!’
As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows after You,” (Jer. 17: 14-16a) God has already been at work and been glorified in this. From the head surgeon being in the hospital and answering the phone (we did not have to wait hours for him to come to the hospital), to being able to find much needed medicines that we were told were not in the country. We have had many opportunities to speak with hospital staff, doctors, and this surgeon about our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. During the Sunday church service, Paul preached on Romans 8:28.
I was told that the body spontaneously began to pray for George and for the family. It was a very sweet time of worship, prayer, and fellowship. The young body is growing through this.
We appreciate all phone calls and emails. Some people have asked about helping out financially with the costs associated with the hospital, medicines, etc.
If the Lord is leading you to help in this need you can contact Jeff Clark in Indiana at 765-362-0961, or email him at jeffrey-clark@sbcglobal.net. Ged GGour@aol.com P.S.
Please lift up Pam in prayer especially at this time. We were told that both her mother Marjorie Pemberton and her brother Bobby Pemberton are undergoing operations in hospitals in the US at the same time that all of this is happening with George.
