To know Abner is to love Abner! If you do not immediately fall in love with Abner than something must be wrong with you! Abner is a very sweet, loving boy in the third grade. He is full of life!
On Monday morning, I received a message from Abner’s teacher, Katherine. It simply stated that he had a large vein on his head that was causing pain. I am not a medical person. I have zero desire to be a medical person. However, I can handle looking at a vein so I asked Katherine to bring him to me. It was not a vein. It was a type of cyst under his hair. Katherine had noticed the cyst had grown significantly, it was painful to touch the area, and it was itching him. Did I look at the cyst closely? Nope! I saw all that I needed to see. I shined the flashlight while others looked at it. I stopped them from touching it because we don’t touch anything that can pop. Nope–not our territory. (If you are long time Friendship people then you know Buddy Jones. When I was a child, my dad treated Buddy with a type of cyst. I remember it vividly. It has scarred me for life. I can’t even think about it. You do not want to know the details.)
We knew Abner needed to go to the doctor so we called the parents to inform them. On Tuesday morning, Katherine sent me another message about the pain and itching that Abner was experiencing. Katherine called the parents and strongly encouraged them to take Abner immediately to the doctor. The doctor referred them to the hospital for Wednesday morning as the cyst needed to be surgically removed. Please note that the hospitals operate very differently than in the states.
Abner arrived at the hospital very early Wednesday morning. The doctors and the surgeon were walking out of the door since their shift was over. The mother explained the situation. Abner’s cuteness won them over. They agreed to allow Abner to be their final patient. (The only other option was to schedule an appointment, but it would be for the end of May.) Abner had one doctor hold his hand while the other 4 doctors tended to him. He received all of the attention.
Great teachers pay attention to the emotional and physical details of the students. Katherine went above and beyond and paid very close attention to Abner’s cause of discomfort.
What was the result of the cyst? They sent the cyst to the lab for testing. They should have results in 15 days. If I do not provide an update on Abner’s status, please know that everything turned out great! I will provide an update only if the results are not great.
Abner is one of several who have visited the doctor lately. Our teachers have noticed children having chest pains, problems with vision, and digestion problems. All of these problems have been addressed because the teachers have been pro-active in providing the children with medical care!
If you give to Grace Ministries or SLAM, you are part of providing for the medical care for the children! If you sponsor a teacher, you are making a great investment!
Abner was thrilled to receive a “Get Well” basket and letters from his classmate. Katherine and Shadya let him know just how special he is whenever they visited him!
Shining Light Abroad Ministries 