It is with a sense of quiet joy that I share with you that my troubled right eye has been improving
over the last week. I had wanted to report this to you before now, but found myself swept away
by tasks that I thought had to be done last week. Maybe I have my priorities mixed up. What has
happened to my right eye is quite remarkable. I still do not have good vision in my right eye (I
never did over the past few years), but the steady process of the eye shutting down has been
halted. For the past week the condition of the eye has been improving dramatically. It is a big dif-
ference from ten days ago.
In mid-April I met with an eye specialist in Aberdeen. The condition of my right eye was poor.
I did not have any vision from that eye and it was continuing to gradually shut down. It seemed
that it was only a matter of time before the eye shrank and shut down completely, and then the
eye would have to be removed. That did not sit well with me at all. I agreed to meet with her
again in two weeks after the demanding events of Holy Week were over. There was no improve-
ment over those two weeks.
Since last autumn I have been helping lead a Saturday morning prayer group in Peterhead, the
big town nearby. On the Saturday before I met with the eye specialist, I shared with the mem-
bers of the group about my eye. I told them about the rapid deterioration of my eye and asked
them to anoint me with oil, lay hands on me, and pray for healing of the eye. They had been
praying for me before, but this was a new step for us. Abi, my dear African brother and minis-
terial colleague, prayed mightily for the healing of my eye. I also contacted various other peo-
ple in Scotland and the USA to pray in agreement for healing of my eye.
I experienced gradual changes in the eye the rest of the day. On Sunday my eye was much im-
proved; vision started to return. By Monday morning, the eye was in far better condition yet.
Early in the afternoon I saw the eye doctor. The purpose of meeting was to discuss the remain-
ing options for me. In our previous meeting she had said that the options available to me had
been greatly reduced. I had the sense that she perceived that the eye was beyond restoration;
it had deteriorated to a point beyond which recovery did not seem likely.
The eye specialist examined my eye and I reported to her what I had been experiencing with
my eye. She told me that the fissures that caused so much concern in my eye were disappear-
ing; the retina that had been curved was now flatted out nicely; and there was no sign of bleed-
ing within the eye. The eye had greatly improved. Then she talked about the options. Because
of the condition of the eye, she would not advise me to have the eye removed. Those were the
words I and others had been praying for. The option to remove the eye was the one I had been
dreading.
After hearing the options available to me, I decided to continue the present regimen of drops
and steroids to stabilise the eye for a few more weeks. Upon her recommendation, the gel in
my inner eye will be replaced with a more stable silicone gas to build up the pressure within
the eye. She will also remove the buckle that had been the chief source of my present prob-
lems. That the doctor offered to remove the buckle soon was a sign to me that the condition
of the eye was greatly improved. Because the eye had been in such poor condition, the re-
moval of buckle was not even an option before last week. But things are different now.
It has now been a week since I met in consultation with the eye specialist. The vision of the
right eye continues to improve; but that is not saying much, for the vision in that eye has al-
ways been poor, especially in comparison with the other eye. Meanwhile I continue to be in-
volved in the ministerial duties that are entailed in being the minister of St Fergus Parish
Church. As always, I ask for your prayers, especially in regard to the ongoing issues of my
right eye. I ask your prayers for the continuing healing and restoration of my right eye.
Blessings to you and yours,
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