Perceptions
Open Doors, Open Hearts
Our resources may run out, but our compassion must not.
BY JEEVAK LAL, M.D., ALBION, MICH.

"So, what do you do for a living?"
I told him.

"Well, then, how good an ophthalmologist are you?"
"I'm very good."

The view out of the airplane window was stirring. We were closer to the sky than to Kentucky below. I turned back to my inquisitor. "As a matter of fact, I'm so good, there are none better."

He smiled. Receding hair crowned a compact frame. His complexion was dark. His clothes were simple: black shirt, black trousers and black shoes. There was a gentleness about him.

Gazing at the floor, he said softly, "I wish I had such confidence. It is important for a man to know his strengths."

Not to be outdone, I chipped in, "Yes, but it is even more important for a man to know his weaknesses and the strengths of others."

He nodded quietly.

"And what do you do?"
"Oh, I'm just a priest."

"A priest! Where do you priest, I mean preach, uh, work?"
He laughed. "In St. Lucia."

"I have many friends in St. Lucia." Names were mentioned. He knew them all.

"You sure must get around if you know them all. Where is your parish?"

"Actually, the entire island is my parish. You see, I'm the catholic bishop."

I regretted my earlier tenor. We chatted about simple things. A little later he left his seat for a while. Being a doubter, I bent down and flipped over the name tag on his carry-on. It read, "Kelvin Felix, Archbishop of Castries, St. Lucia."

He returned and started telling me about St. Jude Hospital. The hospital had an eye clinic that depended on volunteer ophthalmologists from overseas. Coverage was sketchy. There were not enough local doctors and staff to run the facility.

He asked if I could help. At San Juan airport, our ways parted. As we shook hands, he said, "Victor Hugo has written that you and I have something in common: Your door is always open and mine is never closed. So, if your patients cannot come through your door to you, step through the door and go to them. Please come and help us."

Some weeks later I walked through my door and entered the gates of St. Jude.

It is an old hospital now, lacking much but making do with what it has. It offers care and comfort to all who reach it. No one is turned away. Volunteer physicians, nurses, technicians and lay folk from all over the world work quietly and humbly with St. Lucian colleagues. Their purpose is simple: service before self.

The eye clinic is adequate for basic and common problems. But there are too many times when we cannot help patients, their conditions having gone beyond our means and control. Of course, that happens everywhere. It has been said that not every disease can be cured by a doctor. And there are diseases that do not need doctors.

At such times, we push away our instruments, shelve the prescription pads, and pocket our pens. We then gently and warmly hold our patients' hands and speak words of comfort and solace. It is an ancient and hallowed tradition. And it is a tradition that St. Jude abides by and honors.

If you would like to volunteer at St. Jude Hospital, contact Dr. Lal at worldeyemission@cs.com.