Thought for the Day Healing - Two

The end of the rainbow

Yesterday, I was remembering Ambroise Paré, a famous surgeon who worked on the battlefields in the sixteenth century.

As regards faith, Paré was a Protestant at a time when that was a very dangerous thing to be in France.

In the history of surgery, Paré won for himself the accolade, ‘The Father of Modern Surgery.’ He put a stop to something that was doing a great deal of harm to the wounded at the time – cleaning their wounds with hot oil.

He came to be so renowned that he was asked to attend, as surgeon, the French nobility.

In 1569, the king of France commanded him to attend to the Marquis of Auret. The Marquis had been unwell for seven months after being wounded in his knee by a musket ball. When Ambroise Paré first examined him, the nobleman was in very poor condition, with a high fever, and death not far away.

Paré was downcast. But the first thing he did was walk in the Marquis’ garden and pray to God that he would bless his skills. Paré operated on the Marquis. He put vinegar, oil of roses, and egg yolk on his wounds. He made the patient eat good food and rest in a clean bed.

Prayer. Skilful hands. Natural medicines from the earth. Food. Rest.

At the end of six weeks, the Marquis was walking on crutches in his garden.

In his notes, Paré wrote ‘I dressed the wounds, but God healed them.’