A Gift of Love
Non-fiction
During his mid-thirties Bill suffered from the effects of lifting heavy
equipment in his construction job. After years of construction work, he changed
fields, returned to school and started working in electronics. Bill, though
very young, was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia.
For several years
he lived with a persistent pushing up of the diaphragm into his throat. A full
glass of milk in the evening was about the only thing that would relieve the
discomfort. His doctor was surprised that at his age he had a hiatal hernia,
but the x-rays clearly indicated that was the problem.
A hiatal hernia
occurs when the upper part of your stomach pushes up through your diaphragm and
into your chest. The diaphragm is a large muscle that lies between your abdomen
and chest. You use this muscle to help you breathe. Normally, your stomach is
below the diaphragm. However, in people with a hiatal hernia, a portion of the
stomach pushes up through the muscle. The opening it moves through is called a
hiatus. This condition mostly occurs in people who are over fifty years old. It
affects up to sixty percent of people by the time they're sixty, according to
the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association (ECAA).
The exact cause of
many hiatal hernias isn't known. In some people, muscle tissue may be weakened
by injury or other damage. One of the causes is the lifting of heavy objects.
Some people are even born with an abnormally large hiatus, making it easier for
the stomach to move through it.
Bill's doctor had
him drink a liquid with barium in it before taking an x-ray. The x-ray showed a
clear silhouette of his upper digestive tract, and it indicated that his
stomach was protruding through his diaphragm. He had a hiatal hernia.
The only treatment
available was to take over-the-counter antacids to neutralize the stomach acid.
Surgery was not recommended, and Bill accepted the discomfort as just part of
life.
The Sunday morning
service went as usual, and Bill was filling that strong upward pushing in his
throat. At the close of the service, the pastor asked if anyone needed prayer
for healing. Bill stood up and went down. The pastor asked for the men to come
and lay their hands on Bill. As they prayed, Bill felt the upward pushing in
his throat stop! All symptoms were gone. Later x-rays indicated no change, the
hiatal hernia was still there! Bill's doctor had no explanation.
Now at the age of
seventy-three Bill has accepted this gift of love for over forty years and had
no other symptoms. Bill uses caution, follows his doctor's recommendations and
continues to live a very active lifestyle.
We have not because we ask not!
Copyright © 2015 Hubert Clark Crowell
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