I don't know that I ever told you about Nathan. He was brought to us from the Congo as a last resort. You see Nathan had a huge cancerous growth from his neck. I'll spare you the gory details, but it was BAD. So bad that someone paid his way on an airplane to come see us at Mercy Ships, hoping that there was something we could do. We were able to give him fluids and try to tame the infection, but we weren't able to do much else. Sadly we had to send him back to the Congo.
I didn't have the privilege of being Nathan's nurse but the little contact I had with him will forever have an impact on me. As an Emergency Room nurse I have a lot of experience inserting IVs. So it was a slow day and Nathan needed a new IV, so they asked me if I would look. I didn't hold out very much luck, some very talented nurses had tried before me. So I walk into his room. Before me sat a young boy with a tumor as big as his head and tiny body and spindly arms from years of malnutrition. It broke my heart right then and there, but I pushed on and gathered my supplies. Right before I was going to start by placing the tourniquet on his arm, he looked me in the eyes and said "Can we please pray?". Oh course I said yes. After two unsuccessful attempts I told him I couldn't hurt him anymore. He was being so brave and huge tears were rolling down his face. He asked me to try one more time and please pray again. So Clementine, one of the patient advocates, prayed in his native language of French. I said my own little prayer over him, it went something like this ... please God, he is already hurting so much, let me get this IV so he doesn't have to hurt anymore and we can help him feel better ~Amen. Well guess what? I got an IV. I really couldn't believe it! This little boy who was hurting so much had more faith in his tiny body than I could ever imagine having. He looked at me and said "Thank you".
I just found out this morning that Nathan passed away a few weeks ago. I'm told that he was praying and singing praises as he went to sleep that night and his Grandmother found him the next morning peaceful. I know that Nathan had the best Christmas imaginable. He was finally able to meet his Papa God and has no more pain. Thank you Nathan for being my angel on Earth and teaching me more than I could ever imagine!
