August 26: Old Doctor Dorian, Health Concerns, Prayer for a Friend

Fern disappeared after a while, walking down the road toward Zuckermans'.  Her mother dusted the sitting room.  As she worked she kept thinking about Fern.  It didn't seem natural for a little girl to be so interested in animals.  Finally Mrs. Arable made up her mind she would pay a call on old Doctor Dorian and ask his advice.  She got in the car and drove to his office in the village.

Mrs. Arable is worried about Fern.  Fern has been telling her mother stories about the animals at Zuckermans' barn.  Talking sheep and geese.  A spider that catches fish in her web.  Another spider that flies into the heavens on a gossamer thread.  Mrs. Arable thinks her daughter is losing touch with reality and turns to modern medicine for the answers.


I have been working in the medical field for close to twenty years.  I've seen a lot of miraculous things.  People who are nearly blind from cataracts undergo a surgical procedure and, Presto!, 20/20 vision.  People with cleft lips and palates undergo a surgical procedure and, Abracadabra!,

Yes, medical science can do some pretty amazing things these days.  But, as Doctor Dorian eventually tells Mrs. Arable, "...Doctors are supposed to understand everything.  But I don't understand everything..."

I have a friend who works in the medical field and is convinced she has ovarian cancer.  She hasn't seen her doctor yet.  Today, she went for an ultrasound, and, based on a comment the ultrasound tech made, my friend has given herself a grim diagnosis.  She has pulled a Mrs. Arable.

I'm asking anyone who reads this post to pray for my friend.  She is going to call her doctor tomorrow to find out the official results of the ultrasound.  I have no idea what her doctor is going to tell her.  However, I'm praying for something simple.  Menopause or gluten allergies or too much dietary fiber.  And I'm asking you guys to pray for the same.

Let old Doctor Dorian tell Saint Marty's friend that Fern is just a normal little girl.