Today at Sheba Medical Center we were once more blessed by the Lord with seeing sweet Nihal from Hebron. This lovely young lady is a little bit shy, but she is truly a delight when one gets to know her. She reminds me of what 1 Peter says regarding the person with a gentle and quiet spirit. Nihal is simply precious— inside and out. It’s a delight to see her every time she comes.
Thus, I was overjoyed this afternoon upon finding her and her mother sitting with Jonathan in the imaging clinic sharing a conversation. Nihal had come to the hospital to receive a CT scan of her heart in order to get a clearer image of everything that’s going on. God willing, this will allow the doctors to discern the best course of treatment for her. Soon after finding the happy group sitting together, Nihal was called into the CT room.
Her face instantly grew more stressed and fearful as we walked with her. By the time she was sitting in a chair to receive medication through an IV, she was not happy at all. Her uncomfortable manner is completely understandable though. With the prospects of a huge medical machine, needles, and foreign languages being thrown around— anyone would likely become stressed.
Nihal sat squirming in the chair while she waited for her injection as a nurse asked medical questions to her mother. Unfortunately the language barrier between Hebrew and Arabic was not easily broken and poor Nihal sat nervous for quite a while. During that time of confused translation, a beautiful blessing from the Lord took place. As the Jewish nurse spoke to this Muslim family, an Israeli man also awaiting a CT scan, eagerly jumped up to help translate between the two. For a number of minutes he willingly served as a bridge between the language gap. As I observed such a moment, my heart was overwhelmed with joy to the Lord at seeing Abraham’s family working together for the better of human life. What a blessing we get to witness such moments!
After the questions were all answered, the nurse made a few more attempts to give Nihal the injection through an IV, but Nihal yanked away in fear. Finally a doctor came over and skillfully completed the task. Nihal was very upset, but at the end of it came through being as brave as she possibly could be. From there, Nihal was led into the CT room where doctors and nurses kindly cared for her. Soon the CT was over, the IV was out, and Nihal was much happier.
After the questions were all answered, the nurse made a few more attempts to give Nihal the injection through an IV, but Nihal yanked away in fear. Finally a doctor came over and skillfully completed the task. Nihal was very upset, but at the end of it came through being as brave as she possibly could be. From there, Nihal was led into the CT room where doctors and nurses kindly cared for her. Soon the CT was over, the IV was out, and Nihal was much happier.
After spending some more time with Nihal and her mother, they left the hospital and headed home. Though the words I exchanged with them were few, there is a tangible sweetness that surrounds this mother and daughter as felt through shared smiles. Those of us at Shevet look forward to seeing Nihal again, and we ask that you continue to pray for this sweet girl as the next steps are decided for her. May the Lord continually make her path straight!