“Never Say Never!”

ECCLESIASTES 9:11 tells us that ‘time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all.’ It happened to our family toward the end of November 1986. Tiarah, one of our three children, was three and a half years of age at the time she caught what we thought was a cold, accompanied by a persistent cough. We took her to the pediatrician, who referred us to a general practitioner. He also thought that Tiarah had a cold, with some chest congestion, but nothing to worry about. He prescribed another cough medicine as well as antibiotics.

Tiarah’s condition worsened. She had a fever of 105° F. [41° C.], along with vomiting, bowel upset, and chest pains. Chest X rays were taken, and the antibiotics were increased. The nurse called us when Tiarah’s X rays came back. The doctors thought that she had acute pneumonia. By then she was running a fever of 107° F. [42° C.] to 109° F [43° C.]. It was causing her blood count to become extremely low, 2.0. On December 16, Tiarah was admitted to the hospital.

We are Jehovah’s Witnesses and abide by the counsel given to Christians at Acts 15:29, to ‘abstain from blood.’ We were not, however, overly concerned about the blood issue. Tiarah’s pediatrician is a blood specialist, and he was very much aware that we would not accept blood transfusions. When Tiarah was to be admitted to the hospital, we immediately reminded the pediatrician of our stand on blood. His reply was: “Yes, yes, I understand your beliefs, but I don’t think you have to worry about the blood issue.”

After the hospital took their own X rays, EKG, and blood tests, Tiarah was taken to a room. We stayed until she fell asleep. The next morning I was told that Tiarah did have pneumonia, that it was a very bad case, and that she would no doubt be staying in the hospital for about 10 to 15 days. Her temperature hovered around 109° F., which made the doctors very concerned. They reexamined the X rays, the EKG, and the blood tests, and they decided to take more tests. These tests showed that she did not have pneumonia but probably some type of tumor on her lung.

Blood Becomes an Issue

Needless to say, this put a different light on Tiarah’s situation. They took endless tests, including one for TB, which came back negative. They took sonograms, CAT scans, multiple X rays. The last X rays showed extensive infection of the right lung. The left lung appeared near collapse​—and that lung was crucial, as it was doing most of the work of breathing. The issue of blood transfusion was raised again. We had upon Tiarah’s admission to the hospital signed affidavits releasing the hospital of responsibility regarding our not accepting blood. They now felt that because our child’s life was in danger, we would change our mind.

When we stood by our decision, everything changed. The hospital administration told us that we were unfit parents, that they would get a court order permitting them to give Tiarah blood, and that they would have our other two children taken away from us. They would wait for the court order, and when it came, they would remove the infected lung. For what seemed like the 50th time, we explained to them that we don’t oppose medical treatment, and while we do not accept blood, we do accept blood substitutes.

All to no avail. The doctors refused to listen. They resorted to pressure to make us change our minds. They began telling everyone on the staff and those who worked on the floor​—from doctors to nurses to cleaning personnel—​what we were doing to our child. These people would then come to us and ask us why we were letting our child die. My husband and I told the doctors that we would look for a doctor and a hospital that would take Tiarah and do whatever procedures were necessary and do them without blood. They told us that no hospital would move her in her condition. I told them: “Never say never!”

Even If She Died, She Didn’t Want Blood

I explained the situation to Tiarah, told her what the doctors said, what Jehovah’s viewpoint on the matter was, and what we had decided to do, which was to find a doctor and a hospital that would help her without giving her blood. Tiarah understood very well for her young age. She wanted to obey Jehovah. Even if she died, she didn’t want blood. To hear my own daughter, sick as she was, take her own stand like that brought tears to my eyes. I realized then as I’ve never realized before the importance of starting Bible training from a child’s infancy, since even at the age of three and a half, Tiarah could tell us in her own simple way that she wanted to stay faithful to Jehovah despite all odds.​—Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:15.

In our efforts to get Tiarah out of the hospital before the court order came through to give her blood, my husband had talked with one of the congregation elders. He talked to a doctor who said that he would see what he could do. That gave us some hope.

I had stayed at the hospital since the evening after Tiarah was admitted. I was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. My dear husband, realizing this, insisted that I go home, that he would stay with Tiarah that night. I did go home, but I couldn’t sleep. I cleaned the house, called my parents, and talked to other friends who were Witnesses. Eventually I fell asleep​—I don’t know for how long—​and then the phone rang. I was afraid to pick it up, fearing that it was my husband calling to tell me Tiarah had died.

I finally answered. It was the doctor the elder had contacted telling me that they had found a doctor who was willing to respect our stand on blood and who would take Tiarah even in her deteriorated condition. He had already made arrangements with our hospital for Tiarah’s release! I thanked him tearfully. I hung up the phone and fell on my knees and gave thanks to Jehovah.

After being in that first hospital for ten days, Tiarah was admitted to one in another borough of New York City. That hospital specialized in pulmonary problems in children. When Tiarah arrived, they were waiting for her. They ran a series of CAT scans, X rays, sonograms, EKGs, and blood tests for their records, and they examined the records we gave them from the other hospital. After all this checking, the doctor we now had, a pulmonary specialist, felt that a transfusion would be a mistake and that her body would reject it.

Complete Cure Without Blood

While Tiarah was in this hospital, she was given extremely good care by those specializing in working on young children with pulmonary conditions. They consulted us on medical problems and advised us of the procedures they would follow. They did not put her completely to sleep but used a local anesthesia. Then they drew some fluid from the lung cavity and sent it to the lab for testing with various antibiotics. They found one simple antibiotic used for colds that would combat the germ. Tiarah received multiple doses of this antibiotic, and she was put in an oxygen tent for ten days. She steadily improved.

In studying her CAT scan and X rays, the doctors found that she had an abscess on the lower part of her right lung. Even though the antibiotic was reducing the amount of fluid surrounding the lung, it was not combating the abscess. In fact, the abscess was producing more fluid, and the doctors felt that it might have to be surgically removed. But first they continued the antibiotic treatment, with another kind added to it. They also gave her large doses of iron and put her on intravenous feeding for three days, followed by a light diet of solid food. Her blood count rose to 5.0, then to 7.0. The blood specialist and the pulmonary specialist were surprised at such fast and continuous improvement​—so much so that the pulmonary doctor said: “Your God must be helping.”

Since the abscess was unaffected by the heavy doses of antibiotics, fluid from inside the abscess itself was tested. It was found that another kind of antibiotic would fight this particular germ. Since it was a cold germ commonly found in the mouth, the doctor thought that Tiarah must have swallowed it with some food and that it went down the wrong pipe and into her lung. The antibiotics were trying to fight this germ, which caused a wall to form around it, and it became an abscess. According to the doctor, this was very unusual, so he felt it necessary to document all his findings and procedures and submit his report to a medical journal.

After staying in that hospital for one month, Tiarah was released as an outpatient. She still had to see the specialist once every week for three months and take big dosages of antibiotics and iron. She never did have surgery, however. She has completely recovered, without a spot on her lungs.

Tiarah is now a publisher in the Christian congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. On February 14, 1991, she gave her first talk in the congregation’s Theocratic Ministry School. My husband and I thank Jehovah for blessing our strong stand to abstain from blood in obedience to His commands. May all of us continue to praise Jehovah because he is worthy to be praised. And remember, if a doctor tells you that you will never make it without blood, tell him, “Never say never!”​—Contributed by Nina Hooks, Brooklyn, New York.