Seeking relief for pain near his kidneys, one Jamestown man left feeling healed physically, mentally and even spiritually.
For four months after a ladder accident, Jeff Brown could not work at his job as a truck driver. The pain encompassed his life – it bruised his body, mind and spirit.
“I had lots of down days during those four months. Life had lost its meaning and purpose,” he said.
Knowing he needed help below the belt, Brown scheduled a visit with Jamestown Regional Medical Center’s Harvard-trained Urologist, Dr. Robert J. Bates. Dr. Bates performed a lithotripsy to break up the stones in Brown’s kidney.
“Jeff had a kidney stone treated but more importantly, he was treated as a whole patient with equal attention to his emotional and his spiritual needs,” Dr. Bates said. “This is what all of us, at every level, strive to do at JRMC. What a blessing to have JRMC here to serve the givers and the receivers of care!”
DIVINE HEALING
In preparation for the surgery, Brown met with Tami Rasmussen, his certified registered nurse anesthetist. He told her he felt sick in both his body and his mind. Brown, who describes himself as a born-again Christian, asked her for a prayer on the spot.
She laid her hands on him, praying for safety and healing during the procedure.
“If a patient asks me to pray for them, of course I will,” she said. “I’m at JRMC to help people medically, however, I would never say no to someone who asked me to help them spiritually too.”
Brown remembers Rasmussen resting her hands on his head and falling asleep to her words. He remembers waking up to those words too. That prayer remained with him for days following the surgery.
The surgery exceeded his expectations, a success Brown attributes to Dr. Bates, Rasmussen, Urology Registered Nurse MeLisa Roaldson and the power of prayer.
“I felt blessed and touched,” he said. “After feeling depressed for months, I went home and said, ‘I want to do my job. I want to be your husband again.’”
WORDS ARE POWERFUL
At his follow-up visit, Brown brought a gift.
A career on the road gave the truck driver time to think and talk to God. Brown said God gave him lyrics and melodies, so he put them into song.
Brown presented Rasmussen with a copy of those songs after his follow-up visit.
“Your words were and still are powerful,” he wrote on the inside.
Rasmussen said her family is a musical one – a tradition she learned from her grandparents and shares with her own children.
“We are really going to enjoy it,” she said, saying she would listen to it in her vehicle as soon as she left work.
Now that Brown is recovered, he is ready to return to life with his wife Virginia. He is also ready to return to work. His first day back was June 27.
“Just as God is triune, God the father, God the son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit, so all of us created in His image are also triune – made of, mind, body and spirit,” Brown said. “We are blessed in this community to have an institution, (JRMC), and an administration, that allows ministry, treatment and healing to all three areas of our lives.”
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