8th July 2022. My name is Geetha. In 2017 was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of appendix (with secondary malignant peritoneal deposits). This involved multiple organs. On 13 October 2017, I had to go through a 14-hour major surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)]. This surgery is a two-step procedure that treats cancers in the abdomen. Cancerous tumours are surgically removed, and then heated chemotherapy drugs are applied directly inside the abdomen to eliminate the remaining cancerous cells.
During my post-surgery 17 days in the ICU, high-dependence and surgical wards, I looked like a ‘transformer’ from the movies. I had multiple tubes, attached to the left and right of my body. I encountered two devastating events. In January 2018, my 60-year-old elder brother suddenly passed away due to a brain haemorrhage. My bubbly 80-year-old mother’s health condition took a turn for the worse – she had a massive heart attack and onset of dementia. She passed away peacefully in her sleep in March 2018.
It was challenging to manage my medical condition. I lost 20 kilos. During my recovery, I had to be rushed to the hospital three times for complications and dehydration. Each time, God gave me His strength and grace to commit my challenges to Him and not to focus on my problems. God was with me all the time. My mantra during this time was “Jesus heal me, Jesus be with me, Jesus bring angels to give me the courage to move forward.” I spent my 6 months recovery time meditating on scripture. It was a period of rest, renewal, and strengthening my relationship with God. My problems may seem big, but God is bigger. My circumstances were overwhelming but I cling onto God’s promise that He will never leave me or forsake me. My journey ahead is uncertain but I am certain of this – God is great. All the time.
My stoma bag was reversed and I went back to work on 30 April 2018, after 6.5 months. With God’s grace, I have been on remission for 4.8 years now. All praise to God for His blessings and favour. My grateful thanks to His angels on Earth (healing prayer team at SJSM, fellowship team at HCF, multi-disciplinary medical team at NUH, bosses and colleagues at NUS, friends, well-wishers and strangers who reached out to me). Last but not least, my gratitude to my treasured siblings, ever-supportive family and angelic domestic help (Sini). Every day is a gift. Thank you, Jesus. All glory to God. Amen.
Published on Thursday, July 21st, 2022 under Latest Posts, Testimonies
2021 was a difficult year. Covid was the timekeeper. Vaccine mandates and passports dominated group chats. The pagan god of Covid is invasive, destructive and a formidable enemy.
Meetings were exclusively on-line. Zoom church became the norm for many. Will 2022 be any different for HCF? HCF exists to motivate and train healthcare staff to be effective witnesses, and build God’s kingdom through prayer, evangelism and discipleship. Many faithful co-laborers came before us. Many will come after us to serve the Kingdom of God through their talents, time and treasures. Now is our time to plough deep into this ministry and bear witness to the wondrous works of God in a world that rejects Christ . Our future is hopeful because our Lord Jesus promised to build His church (Matt 16:18), regardless of political leaders, or covid. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, is the ruler over the kings of the earth (Rev 1:5). We are unfazed by the prophets of doom and gloom. Those who fix their eyes on God and hold on to eternal truths can effectively negotiate the right pace of life. The writer of Hebrews 10:23 encourages us to “ hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful”. We enter this New Year with deep gratitude to our unchanging, ever-loving, heavenly Father who bore us on eagles’ wings (Exo 19:4). May we be found faithful and fruitful in 2022 and beyond. Happy New Year, beloved brethren!
Dr. Boey Mee Leng
Published on Friday, May 6th, 2022 under Latest Posts, TEAM LEADER's Message
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations….” Matt 28:19-20
Published on Tuesday, February 19th, 2019 under Latest Posts
2017 has been eventful. Dark clouds hovered over global issues- social, political, economic, environmental, Joy and sorrow walk hand in hand in life. Uncertainty rules 2018 and beyond. Scripture warns of difficult and challenging times ahead ( Matt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 ). The world and that of healthcare isn’t heading for utopia.
Think of workplace and immediately, images of a battle-field appears. The heavy weight of rapid change crushes even the strong in spirit. Protocols, deadlines, key performance indices (KPIs), competition in research, relational conflicts, are but a few demands we face at work. What impact then do we have in healthcare? Jesus challenges us, the believers, to be salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”( Matt 5:13 )
Why saltless? An unbiblical worldview of ‘secular-spiritual divide’ and poverty in prayer weakens our vocation. Do we give prayer the leftover of our time or treat it as ‘last resort’ strategy, when there is no other way out? Are patients mere recipients of medical care, our research trophies or prized investment?
Aren’t they, like us, by nature, children of wrath ( Eph 2:8 ), and in dire need of God’s salvation? Do we weep over our patients? Yes, healthcare has many praying men, but few men of prayer.
A New Year often begins with reflections, renewed resolutions, and re-alignment of goals. Yet for some, the only change is the date on their desk-top calendar. Time moves on relentlessly. It is unstoppable and non-negotiable.
Let us enter year 2018, watchful, alert and prayerful, as our Lord Jesus instructed us ( Luke 21: 36 ). Pray that our sightless eyes be anointed by God, the Holy One, to see Him as He is, a God of love and the Righteous Judge over the world.
Make it your ambition to pursue a deepening knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and spiritual maturity, which will lead to stability and prevent one from being tossed about or led astray by fear or false beliefs.( 2 Peter3:18 ).
May His blessings be yours in abundance this New Year.
Dr Boey Mee Leng
Published on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 under Latest Posts