Excessive burping/belching
In Jan 2014, I noticed that I was burping/belching excessively which was unusual. My doctor did a few diagnostic tests couldn’t identify the cause. Meanwhile, the burping got worse in a couple of months and one day I was continuously burping for 8 hours. My GI doctor felt my Colitis is causing the burping and bluntly refused to treat me further if I don’t undego Surgery (Total Colectomy).
As I already discussed this Surgery in detail with a Colo-rectal Surgeon in 2012 and also heard from patients who had undergone this surgery, I stubbornly refused surgery and continued to plead for the Lord’s mercy. My stomach was always bloated and I was in severe pain throughout the day. I was only able to take short naps whenever my tummy was empty. The Lord was my only comfort:
“You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.”
Psalm 71:20
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this Solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
My Naturopath treated me with anti-bacterial / anti-fungal supplements which helped me with the bloating/burping but it was not strong enough and I started getting low-grade fevers continuously. This was my prayer:
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
Psalm 77:11-12
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
Continuous Fevers and Weight loss
In July, I was admitted in the hospital as my symptoms were unbearable. The Colo-rectal surgeon was called and the doctors started pushing me for Surgery. I had to get a voluntary discharge from the hospital to avoid Surgery and came home. Changing doctors meant that I had to wait for months to get an appointment and time passed very quickly. By then, my weight had gone down to 98 lbs (45 Kgs) because of continuous fever for many months and I couldn’t travel to India also as I had severe incontinence. I was doing everything possible medically but nothing helped.
I slowly recollected the Lord’s promise to me in 2007 as well the miraculous signs thru which He confirmed His promise in 2011 and 2012. I believed that the Lord who promised me will be faithful to the very end. I consider myself blessed to have friends who’re doctors, nurses, physical therapists etc who came home and treated me (or gave me medical advice) as I was unable to go out due to severe incontinence. Above all, there were so many friends and prayer groups who were fasting and praying for my recovery which gave me the strength to endure.
Hospitalizations
From November 2014 to February 2015, I was very sick and just managed to drag myself to the bathroom but was in bed for the rest of the time. It was so painful that I had to hold my stomach with both hands while my wife fed me. I had very little sleep and it was purely God’s mercy that I survived this phase. I was undergoing Outpatient treatment as my new doctor wasn’t willing to hospitalize me (In the US, doctors are bound by a lot of Protocols and liability issues). I kept saying Psalm 121 and Psalm 91 for protection and the Lord protected me from Colon rupture as well as Surgery.
Finally, in February 2015, one Gastroenterologist who knew my friend was willing to take the risk and hospitalize me. As soon as I got hospitalized, the Lord comforted me with Psalm 91: 14 – 16 I was given IV antibiotics which helped with the bloating and some Steroids to control my symptoms. I had 3 back to back hospitalizations (1 week each) between February and March. This was my prayer after those hospitalizations:
In God I trust and am not afraid.
Psalm 56:11-13
What can man do to me? 12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
By God’s grace, I came to know about a new department in our hospital called Integrative Medicine and the head of that department took a personal interest in my condition and put in a lot of effort to control the gut infections. I gained some weight after the fevers stopped and the burping/belching also reduced significantly. I was out of crisis and able to go out for short trips but still had incontinence and severe pain in the mornings.
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
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