The Intravenous Drug User and Jesus

So this week as I struggled to take blood from one of our intravenous drug using patients (although let it be known that he has not used for "2 months now") I was left pondering how Jesus would respond to him, react to him, question his behaviour etc. I know that the holy presence of God, Jesus meeting this patient, we will call Joe (not his real name) would convict him of his sin, open his eyes to the deceitfulness of his heart and lead him to true repentance in the truly remarkable way that only Jesus could but I still want to know how he would speak to him and act around him.

The fact is that Joe is no different from many of the people Jesus encountered during his 3 year ministry, its just that Joe has a slightly more sophisticated way of anaesthetising himself to life. However, in recent months and through Joe this week I would not ever consider describing the use of intravenous drugs as sophisticated. I can't quite believe the situation I had to deal with trying to get blood from him....it was not pleasant and the knowledge that the Consultant Radiologist had failed to get a PICC (peripheral venous access) into Joe, with the assistance of Ultrasound guidance and 2 hours of his expert time in the previous week I was not feeling confident!!! But the acquisition of blood in the syringes literally made my morning and actually helped build a rapport with Joe. As he told me that he "had not used for 2 months" mainly because he had been on ITU and then HDU with a huge abscess in his groin, unable to get off the ward let alone get to a dealer, I did find myself feeling some level of compassion for him.

There have been several IVDUs (as unfortunately us docs nowadays label them) under our care on our ward of late and I have seen a difference in the attitudes of them, there really is a spectrum. Joe, has literally come through death's door and with that experience seems to have a slight humility and admission of helplessness that opens a window to grace. I can only pray that it has a longterm affect on him and that his chaotic life before he came to hospital will not re-start post-discharge.

Another man on the ward, who went down after being found to have attempted to smuggle drugs into the UK from oversease is difficult to like, even for me. He's homeless so although he could leave hospital because of the way the NHS is today we have to hold onto him, till we have found him a home. And in that time, I doubt very much I will grow to like him.

The two of them remind me of the two robbers, either side of Jesus as he died at Golgotha. I guess all I can really do is pray that not one but both of them will be with Him in paradise.

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Anonymous said…
Ange I had no idea you were a blogger - I'm impressed and shall read with interest! :-)
Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:31:00 am
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