I'd like to you to meet Ibu Lina. I first met her the day she showed up at our house for an interview to be our house helper. An extremely meek, sweet-faced woman, she mentioned nothing about the fact that she had a serious, debilitating illness. I hired her that same day. Not long after that, she began calling in sick for days at a time, saying something about her legs and arms being "weak." About two times a month this would occur and would last almost a week at times. I began asking more questions about her illness, confused as to what could be going on. She told me that she had been suffering from this illness for six years now, and that when the attacks came on, she couldn't move any part of her body. Sometimes she even had difficulty breathing. Visiting several doctors produced no answers. One day during one of her attacks, I visited her at home. Sure enough, she was completely paralyzed. Her family said she became "seperti orang mati (like a dead person)." After a few days the paralysis slowly resided and she regained her strength, almost as if nothing had happened.
"Lord," I prayed, "please show me what is wrong. Please allow me to help her." After doing some research, I came up with a theory as to what the illness was. If I was correct, the solution was as simple as taking medicine. I asked her if the next time this happened, she would allow me to take her to the lab to get some blood work. In Indonesia, anyone can order labs without a doctor's prescription. She agreed.
Then without notice, she sent me a text saying that she had to stop work and didn't show that day. When I asked her why, she didn't respond. I'm not a doctor, but I just couldn't shake the thought that she might have been delivered from a long-term illness, if she would only respond to my texts! Disappointed and frustrated, I started looking for a new helper. To my surprise a candidate showed up at our house for an interview, accompanied by Ibu Lina. Apparently a family member had persuaded her to accompany the interviewee to our house as an act of goodwill for leaving so abruptly. After the interview I talked with Ibu Lina about what had happened. She said that she had another attack, and apologized severely for quitting without notice. When I asked her if she would still like me to take her to the lab the next time she had an attack, she declined with tears in her eyes, saying she thought God had a beautiful plan and that she would just continue to pray. I think she was still ashamed and embarrassed about leaving us. "Ibu Lina," I responded, "I believe that God does have a beautiful plan for you, but I also believe that sometimes He sends other people to help. I am willing to help if you will let me." After thinking it over later that day, she agreed.
The next time she had an attack she called me. Her husband carried her limp body on his back down the rickety ladder of their second story shack and loaded her into my car. We drove to the general hospital here in Tarakan. She was so ill, the hospital personnel whisked her away on a stretcher and were getting ready to admit her. It took quite a bit of convincing that I just wanted labs, but thankfully the doctor was a friendly young man that spoke some English, and he finally agreed. When the lab results came back, they confirmed what I had originally suspected. After consulting with an American doctor working in West Borneo, we decided to start her on a regimen of medicines.
I am overjoyed to say that Ibu Lina has not had another attack since! After six long years of terrible suffering and strain on her family as well, she is free! We are praising God with her.
She is under the care of a doctor in town now so that she can get her medicines for free through the government. It has been rather difficult to get the exact medicines and dosages correct, and she has still felt some weakness, even though she hasn't had an actual attack. Please pray for Ibu Lina, that the doctor would understand what is going on and be able to get her on the right meds and dosages. Being healthy again will transform so many aspects of her life.
