AHA!
A Great Doctor Meets the Divine Healer
Dr. Rick Amato and Dr. John Owens
 We have all had those “Aha!” moments. You know what I mean. Those times when an
idea we have carried along in our brain, semi-understood and unquestioned,
suddenly appeared in a new light and we could clearly see the concept involved.
Math was like that for me. I was a whiz at performing calculations, but their
utility and beauty escaped me until I understood that they provided a means to
understand the forces involved in solving physics problems, or developing
behavioral theories based on statistics. Sometimes the moment comes when we are
forced to look at something in a new way. I experienced a major “aha!” moment
the first time I saw the Grand Canyon.
I approached the southern rim as a thunderstorm was exiting the area and a great
rainbow arched across the gorge. The hundreds of pictures I had seen of the
canyon were instantly forgotten as I stood at the edge of God’s magnificent
creation, tears on my cheeks and my breath taken away by such unimaginable
beauty.
Another such moment occurred when I first held each of my children in my arms.
You can play with kids, teach them, coach them and babysit them, but when your
child first looks into your eyes, at that moment God allows you to touch the
Divine.
This process seems to be a part of Christian living as well. At least it seems
to make up a major part of my experience. Having been aware of our Savior’s
sacrifice on the cross for years, it was only after I became a physician that I
began to understand the horror of this physical ordeal. (This was in the distant
past, before “The Passion of the Christ” made such considerations vividly
accessible.)
Contemplating the medical aspects of His suffering during the crucifixion then
led me to an examination of the Spiritual aspects of His suffering on the cross
and another “aha” moment.
As bad as the physical suffering was, the fact that Jesus’ attention on the
cross was persistently focused on the Father indicates that the spiritual pain
was infinitely worse. I believe it was so bad that it is beyond our
comprehension. We can understand physical death. Perhaps a moment or a season of
pain and then it’s over and we are through the door to the unknown. To look at
spiritual death, not as annihilation, but as an ongoing conscious separation
from God is to me the most horrifying of all contemplations, and a real spur to
sharing the Gospel.
Recently, I had an “aha” moment involving the function and power of prayer. Let
me relate an anecdote to illustrate this new understanding.
As a Christian I’ve had an up and down prayer life. While in my head and heart I
knew why we pray—Jesus commanded prayer to commune with God and align ourselves
with His will—I was never able to consistently focus on the day to day
outworking of this command.
I knew that God heard me and that the Holy Spirit would reveal truth to me in
the meditations following focused, intense prayer, or as I studied scripture,
but I was naïve and lukewarm regarding the REAL power of prayer. I even
understood that God was ordering my life to bring me into conformity with His
plan and that prayer was a part of this; but I viewed all this as a sort of
cosmic process working itself out in some distant spiritual dimension with
varying degrees of effect in the here and now. Was this how the Lord viewed
prayer? Definitely not.
He taught that the powers he experienced in His life on earth as a man were
directly related to His ongoing walk with the Father, a walk dependent on
unceasing prayer. All through the Gospels we are told that Jesus withdrew to a
private place to be alone in fellowship with the Father through prayer.
Furthermore, He taught us, His followers, that His power is likewise available
to us here and now in this life.
In fact, he became frustrated at the disciples’consistent inability to grasp
this powerful truth.
About a month ago, my wife Debbie and I were en route to California for a
conference on medicolegal issues when I suddenly became ill. I was struck with
vertigo (a persistent spinning sensation) and extreme nausea. Since we had only
traveled about 50 miles from our home in South Haven on our way to the Detroit
airport, we stopped in Battle Creek where we went to the local hospital thinking
I would get a shot of antivert, some anti-emesis medicine, and we would be on
our way. However, the Lord had a different plan.
The symptoms persisted and I was admitted to the hospital for further evaluation
and treatment. As part of the work up I was up I was given a CT scan, which was
normal, and an MRI (for those of you who are claustrophobic, let me suggest you
ask for an “open” machine should you ever need an MRI. Those of you who enjoy
being wound like a Cuban cigar and crammed into a tube may opt for the standard
MRI machine.) To my shock, the MRI revealed an incidental finding unrelated to
my symptoms.
It was a finding with potentially lethal consequences and no upside whatsoever.
The MRI showed a cerebral aneurysm. This is an abnormal bulging of the arterial
wall, due to an area of localized weakness that is prone to rupture under the
high pressure of the arterial system. When a cerebral aneurysm bleeds this is
the worst type of “stroke” a person can experience. In fact, undetected
aneurysms often make themselves known at autopsy in young or middle--aged people
who suddenly “drop dead.” My first reaction was to pray, “Lord, let this be a
misreading.” But having had an aunt who had died of a ruptured aneurysm, I
“knew” the reading was correct. I shared the diagnosis with Debbie and we prayed
together. The doctors wanted to do an intervention right away. Since the
procedures involved either passing a coil into the aneurysm, or “clipping” it,
depending on its exact size, form and location are not without significant risk,
we opted for a second opinion.
In this case, since my daughter had recently been accepted as a nurse extern at
the Mayo Clinic and they are the acknowledged world leader in this type of
medical problem, we made arrangements to go there for further evaluation and
treatment. With the prospect of dramatic changes in my life (or death) and
career facing us we were moved to share the situation with family and certain
Christian friends who would faithfully pray with and for us.
Among these were Rick Amato and the gang at RAMCare. I knew that I could count
on Rick for prayer and he came through with fasting, prayer and laying on of
hands. Now, I am a Christian and a scientist, so I take (took?) most healings
like you see on TV as …well, let’s just say less than forthright. However, after
Rick’s prayer and laying on of hands, I was filled with peace -- a certainty
that this whole episode was somehow to help me and glorify God—whatever the
outcome. As the time to go to Mayo neared, the “feeling” grew to a conviction
that “all was well.”
During my initial consultation with the neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic, after he
reviewed my MRI, he ordered a cerebral angiogram. This is a process where a
catheter is advanced from the femoral artery up through the aorta, similar to a
cardiac catheterization, but into the cerebral arteries’ takeoff points, dye is
injected and xrays are taken. He also suggested that as the studies were
obtained a coil could be placed at this time if appropriate or plans made for a
‘clipping” procedure (a big operation) if that were indicated. It was with some
trepidation and a lot of prayer that I was wheeled into the procedure suite.
Then, I suddenly felt a presence telling me to relax, that it is in the hands of
the Lord…and so I did. I emerged from the procedure without a coil being placed,
and when the neurosurgeon came to my recovery room to speak with me, he said
that neither he nor the neuroradiologist could find AN ANEURYSM ANYWHERE. They
noted some twisty vessels and normal variants but NO ANEURYSM.
PRAISE GOD. Praise Him for His holiness, His awesome power and our salvation.
Praise Him for His tender mercies.
I know many people will say that there never was an aneurysm, that the whole
thing was a misreading of the initial MRI, or otherwise explain away the hand of
God in this, but for me, this process was truly an “AHA!” And they didn’t see
the neurosurgeon’s face when he delivered the news... God has delivered me here
today without an aneurysm. And the real, here and now power of prayer is once
again affirmed. To Jesus Christ be all thanks and Glory.
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