Alternative Avenues of Hope (Reposted from Caring Bridge)

I'm re-posting this entry from our Caring Bridge website for those without access.  My apologies for the Caring Bridge site making you log in.  I've tried to set the security settings such that you don't have to do this, but something appears broken on their end.  This was posted last night.

- Tim - 

Sunday, January 15, 2012 8:05 PM, EST

written by Tim Miller

Alternative Avenues of Hope

Sorry I haven't updated the journal in a couple days. It's been a busy and eventful weekend - the emotional roller-coaster continues...

Through some mutual friends, I've recently been introduced to the Amish community and frankly, been impressed with the people I've met.  I've also heard stories that are not so good but I figure, like any other time there are humans involved, you meet all sorts and you can't judge the whole by a few isolated experiences.

In this case, I was introduced to a family who is very well known within the Amish community as a healer ... kind of the Amish equivalent to a doctor, but with a far more naturalistic or "holistic" approach.  As many of you had already guessed from my few and cryptic Facebook posts, the man's name is Solomon Wickey and he lives in far north eastern Indiana near Auburn.  I didn't know much about Solomon until a good friend of mine met his son and later met Solomon and began telling me some pretty amazing stories about this man who's been healing people of pretty much everything people can have wrong with them for over 30 years.  I believe he is 73 years old now, but still seeing literally thousands and thousands of people each year at a little office constructed next to his house on the family farm.  He is reputed to have the highest rate of recovery of cancer patients of any individual or institution inside or outside the traditional medical community.  The figure I heard was 98% but I don't really know where that comes from.  I'm told that many oncologists send their patients to him on a regular basis.  His son, who worked in the "clinic" for 5 years when he was younger, told us stories about doctors themselves coming to see Solomon, but almost always after regular business hours or after dark.

People have HUGELY different opinions about Mr. Wickey and what he does but a book that was written about him (you can find it on Amazon) tells the story of how, when a court case was brought against him for supposedly practicing medicine without a license, the courtroom was filled every day with hundreds of people who had been healed by him there to testify on his behalf.  The case was eventually thrown out of court as I understand it, though he was ordered to make some changes in how he dealt with the people who came to see him.  I don't know about you, but regardless of what he does, that boils my blood.  But I won't get started on that now.

Through Solomon's son, we received permission to come see him on a Saturday (not normally a time when he sees people) and I jumped at the chance.  Regardless of what I thought might happen, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't TRY every means at my disposal to help my son.  I resolved to take Daniel to see him, see what he did and said, and then make up my own mind about any results or recommendations from him.

I was also pretty sure that I was the one who was going to have the hardest time dealing with whatever happened.  If he said he couldn't do anything, I'd be right back where I started from with even fewer options in a dismal situation.  If he told me Daniel was healed and should stop chemotherapy, I was going to be faced with some enormously difficult decisions as to whether to follow any such advice and how to handle the doctors that would be convinced I was killing my son.

To skip to the end, the latter is exactly what happened.  Mr. Wickey examined all 3 of us, "tested" Daniel in his own peculiar way, examined his eyes in a practice called "iridology", prayed for him, and pronounced him "released" from leukemia the same way he has many thousands of others.  The whole thing was over in about 5 minutes and I found myself struggling to ask some intelligent questions about what to expect, how we should proceed etc.  He said it would take about 4 months for Daniel to return completely to "normal" in his blood counts and to escape the effects of the chemotherapy he'd already received.  He recommended a couple of herbal supplements that would help the body rid itself of the toxins faster.  And then we were on our way back home.

Now, as anticipated, I'm faced with the decision of what to do with this experience and how, if at all, to alter anything in Daniel's on-going medical care.  I am fully aware that if I make a wrong decision, it could easily mean Daniel's life.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the disease, and due to the fact that Solomon indicated it would still take about 4 months for Daniel's body to return to normal, I pretty strongly believe that there exists no way for the medical community to validate Solomon's claim of complete healing.  But I'm intending to ask the doctors ... not to believe in any of this ... but simply IF such a thing had actually happened, would there be any way for them to verify it?  Now THAT should be an interesting conversation if nothing else. :)

Now before I get barraged with several hundred different opinions as to Solomon's efficacy or what I should do, let me explain how I have resolved to proceed.  First, I have no intention of taking Daniel out of the care of what is considered to be one of, if not THE, best children's hospital in the world without powerful evidence that their care is truly no longer needed.  That evidence could come by way of their own medical confirmation of Solomon's results, or it could come directly from God ... which is actually what I'm expecting to be the only avenue possible.

I figure that if God has stepped into our family supernaturally through Solomon Wickey, or any other way, and healed my son and wife of cancer to the effect that we can take one or both of them off chemotherapy, then He's fully capable of confirming that action to me as the head of my family and the one accountable to Him for their well being. So at this point, I am actively, seeking God's confirmation to me of what He has done and any changes in our path forward.  We all covet your prayers for discernment and wisdom as we seek our Father's guidance on the path forward.

The way I see it, the worst that could happen if I take Daniel off the chemotherapy is, quite bluntly, that he could die.  Even if we detect his condition deteriorating again, it may be too late to restart the therapy effectively.  On the other hand, the worst that could happen if Daniel has been healed and I leave him on the chemotherapy, then we have unnecessarily subjected him to a horrendous trial of pain and suffering, but most likely one that won't kill him.  We just have a much, MUCH higher probability of success.  So without a solid confirmation directly from my Heavenly Father Himself, I intend to stay the course. 

Now with that said, I truly desperately want to hear that God has in fact returned my son to me wholly healed and have no need to continue down this dismal path.  I have been fasting and praying this weekend and will continue to do so earnestly seeking a word from my Lord.

- Tim -