Tag Archives: surgery

Jun 2 2015

Does Bruce Jenner Still Exist?


Does the former Olympian still exist?

Are the long bones and athletic frame still there?

Does the father and grandfather of the Jenner children and grandchildren still exist?

Is the person who conceived his children with the contribution of a Y chromosome still alive?

Is the dysfunctional person portrayed on cable reality shows for the past 10 years still with us?

Does Bruce Jenner still exist?

The answer is overwhelmingly YES. He is still there despite all the surgery, makeup and pretending.

Claiming a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, Bruce Jenner went under the knife trying to become something he can never be: a woman. But don’t try to tell that to the progressives who are so fixated on fresh ways to pervert sexuality, that they will feed Bruce Jenner and the rest of society the colossal lie that he is now a woman.

But that’s ok, if Jenner will change his mind again about his gender and wants to switch back to being a man, the same progressives have another diagnosis for him: gender fluid – a person whose gender identification shifts continuously.

Oh wait, lets use another “diagnosis” just in case the above is not comprehensive enough: pangender – a person whose gender identity is comprised of all or many gender expressions.  How ridiculous and sad is this gender reassignment business?

What will they tell Jenner’s grandchildren? That they do not have a grandfather? That the person they knew as their grandfather no longer exists?

Delight in Truth will now point to Jesus Christ’s position on gender:

Matthew 19:4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

If any Christians who hold to the Bible as the Word of God have doubts about the biblical stance on gender transition or the issue of marriage, then the above two verses should settle it. From the beginning of creation God created us as two sexes with appropriate gender assignment.  From each of our beginnings, God gave us a gender based on our genetic makeup and we have no license to change it. The fact that genetic disorders exist is no license for anyone to change their gender based on their disordered sexuality.

Jenner will not find happiness in his new gender because he does not belong there. Delight in Truth predicts that trashy reality shows with the new Jenner as the star will show a disorganized, disordered, unhappy, unfulfilled, in-need-of-help Jenner.

Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can release someone from the prison of their own mind. Please pray for Jenner.

Credit: John G. Zimmerman/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
May 7 2014

Final Desperation

Have you ever experienced desperation in the true sense of the word?

Most people despair when their well-being or the well-being of their loved ones is compromised. I had the privilege to help someone in despair recently. It was woman with history of chronic pain who just woke up from surgery and who was in severe pain.

Patients who become tolerant to narcotics can be very challenging to manage in the peri-operative setting because pain medications do not work on them like they do in a narcotic-naive person.

Despite large amount of medications already administered during the surgery and immediately afterwards, she was in tremendous pain. I looked in her eyes and I saw desperation. She told me something no patient ever told me:

“I will pay whatever it takes, just take this pain away”

Since large doses of intra-venous narcotics were not helping, I resorted to an old, rarely used drug that is classified as a muscle relaxant.  The result was that it relieved the muscle spasm around the surgical site and the patient felt much better.

It was a striking experience because we rarely observe sheer desperation in everyday life.  When was the last time you someone utterly desperate? The thing that comes to mind is a parent whose child has been hurt or someone whose life is in imminent danger.

As powerful and scary as desperation can be, it cannot be compared to the feeling that many people will have one day when they realize they will spend eternity apart from God in the place called hell. In the parable of the ten virgins, the five unwise ones desperately went out to buy oil for their lamps, only to return too late. The bridegroom had returned and the wedding feast had begun. Jesus had returned and taken his Church, and the unwise virgins (the compromised “Christians”) received the shock of their life:

‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Matt 25:11

Imagine the despair. The regret. The anger. To be enlightened, to know the truth, to share to some extent in the experience of the wise virgins, but ultimately to be left outside…

There can be no greater failure.

The honest desperation I saw on my patient’s face will be nothing compared to what the fallen Christian will experience when he will be left behind.

I would like to use this example in order to exhort Delight in Truth followers to a life of holiness worthy of our salvation. We must raise our awareness for this spiritual truth, that salvation belongs to the Lord but we are active participants in the process!

Avoid regret and desperation on that final day and instead be ready for your glorification!

image source

Oct 10 2013

How a Decision Blessed the World with Music

In 1958 a pregnant mother went to the hospital with severe abdominal pain.  A diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made and surgery was the obvious best option.

It can be a formidable challenge to anesthetize and do surgery on a pregnant patient, especially non-obstetric surgery. Every time I face such a case, I am well aware that I must take care of two patients, and their lives and well-being are equally important to me. The stakes are increased not only because there are two individuals under my care, but because pregnancy increases the anesthetic risk for the mother significantly.

Image how much more difficult this situation was in 1958, when surgical and anesthetic technique was not nearly as developed as today!

At the time of surgery, the young mother-to-be was advised to abort her baby due to the risk of developmental defects as a result of surgery and anesthesia. But contrary to medical advice, the mom trusted God and decided to keep the baby in the hopes things will work out alright.

She gave birth to a boy who had congenital glaucoma, but who was otherwise healthy.  He had decreased vision, and following some trauma during a football game he lost his vision at age 12.

But this boy was special for a different reason. He was blessed with an unbelievable talent. He had and continues to have the voice of an angel.

During a concert he thanked his mother, Edi, who made the right decision to allow him to live so he can bless the world with the common grace of beautiful music.  He ended up selling over 70 million records, and his music is well-loved throughout the world.

That musician’s name is Andrea Bocelli.

Oct 3 2013

Chuck Smith Evangelized to the End

Pastor Chuck Smith announces he has lung cancer!

Chuck Smith went to be with the Lord.

My physician friend who is not  a believer (a non-practicing Catholic) had the opportunity to take care of Chuck during one of his surgeries. My friend had been to a Harvest crusade in the early 90’s and remembered Chuck from there and told Chuck about it.  He asked Chuck why he became a pastor.

The pastor seized the opportunity to tell him about Christ. A few minutes before surgery Chuck was preaching. For some it is with great restraint that they will muster up the courage to tell an unbeliever about Christ. But not for Chuck Smith.

The dying pastor told the physician that he too wanted to become a physician.  It was a dream of his when he was young.  A neurosurgeon to be precise. He wanted to be able to perform the most complicated and heroic of surgeries and to save a life in the process.

But then something happened.

He realized there was a much better way of saving people.

There was a way in which he could help save lots and lots of people at once, as opposed to one person, one surgery at a time. So he became a pastor and brought people into the kingdom of God by spreading the gospel. He founded one of the largest system of churches in the world, the Calvary Chapel system. He also mentored Greg Laurie and was intimately involved in building up the Harvest Crusades in the early years.

He continued to preach using an oxygen nasal cannula until the very last week.

He ran the race until the very end. My friend was deeply touched by Chuck’s testimony and I pray that the Holy Spirit will convict him.

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”” Rev 14:13

photo: cn.com