When I was 12 years old, I decided to become a doctor despite being deeply involved in swimming. At the same time, I started studying the Bible, so I wanted to become a minister. What happened to my different ambitions and interests? Were they compatible?
In 1961, Olive Springate, a Jehovah's Witness missionary in Brazil, began studying the Bible with my mother and me. Because of the opposition of the priest, a respected doctor from Pôrto Alegre, we dropped out. Olive stayed in touch with us, however, and as time went on I realized the true tone of what she had learned. But at this point my participation in swimming distracted me from spiritual matters.
When I was 19 I met a beautiful young woman named Vera Lúcia at the club she was swimming in and we started dating. Mom told him about our beliefs and was interested. So I contacted Olive and she started studying the Bible with us, despite resistance from Vera Lúcia's father.
Vera Lúcia continued her studies and deepened her knowledge of the Bible. He even started doing Bible studies with staff from my swimming club. At the same time, I concentrated on training for the next national swimming competitions.
After studying and attending Christian meetings for over a year, Vera Lúcia's father began to suspect that something was happening. One day when we came back from a meeting, he was waiting and asked where we were. I replied that we had attended a Christian meeting and that it was a matter of life and death for us if religion was not important to him. He sighed and said, "Well, when it comes to life and death, I have to accept things." From that day on, his attitude changed and although he never became one of Jehovah's Witnesses, he became a close friend and companion in times of need.
make decisions
I decided to give up competitive swimming after the national championship, but two wins and a Brazilian record of 400 and 1,500 free meters earned me an invitation to the Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, in 1970. Although Vera Lúcia was against me, I started training for the games.
When I was a good swimmer in Cali, the coaches asked me if I was ready to train for the Olympics. Thinking about my incomplete medical school and the wonderful truths I had learned about Jehovah's purposes, I gave up pursuing a career in swimming. From then on, my spiritual progress was rapid. In 1972, the year of the Olympic Games in Munich, Vera Lúcia and I symbolized our commitment to Jehovah through water baptism. This encouraged my mother to resume Bible study, and in time she was baptized too.
After the mother's baptism, the father's resistance increased. Eventually our family broke up, and when I was in college we had to be content with their little board and the profits from the sale of our house. As a result, Vera and I postponed our marriage. In fact, the great lessons I received from my father helped me make the decisions I made. He always said: "Don't be afraid to be different" and "Most are not always right". One of his favorites was, "A man's worth is measured by what he gives to others."
As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I was able to put my father's excellent advice into practice. I was by his side when he died in 1986. We had become friends and we respected each other. I think he was proud of me because I had become a doctor like him.
In the meantime, I finished my medical degree in 1974. I chose general medicine, but after thinking more about it, I decided it could be more. useful for my christian brothers to become surgeons. (Acts 15:28, 29) So I took up the challenge and spent the next three years training to be a surgeon.
A tough legal battle
A very sad case that I have been involved in is that of a 15 year old witness who suffered from internal bleeding. She was pale and hypotensive, but clear and absolutely firm in her decision not to take blood. After increasing his blood volume, I underwent an endoscopy and washed the affected area with cold saline to stop the bleeding. It initially improved, but 36 hours later, in the intensive care unit, the bleeding suddenly started again. Despite careful efforts, the doctor on duty was unable to control the bleeding and maintain her blood volume, and the girl died.
When that happened, the ethics committee suspended my internship and referred my case to the regional medical council. They accused me of violating three articles of the Medical Code of Ethics, which put my medical license and thus my livelihood at risk.
A committee gave me 30 days to present my defense in writing. My lawyers prepared legal and constitutional arguments, and I prepared a technical defense with the help of the Local Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC), a group of Jehovah's Witnesses that aims to promote collaboration between the hospital and patients. During the hearing, the committee of inquiry asked questions mainly about my position as a doctor and as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. However, my defense has been mainly based on medical and scientific arguments and reports from respected surgeons.
The evidence presented confirms that the patient refused to accept a blood transfusion and that I did nothing to influence her to make that decision. The audience also noted that of the four doctors consulted, I was the only one who initiated treatment based on the patient's wishes and her health.
My case was then referred to a committee that would vote in plenary. I did a ten minute oral defense during which, as in my previous written defense, I focused only on the medical aspects. After listening to me, two members of the committee mentioned that although he had not resorted to transfusions, the treatment he was prescribing had a sound scientific basis. Another doctor pointed out that bloodless treatment is effective and has a lower death rate. The last counselor said the question is not whether or not blood transfusions are good medicine. The question was whether a doctor could impose a treatment on his patient that he did not want, and the counselor did not believe the doctor had that right. Then city councils voted 12-2 to reject all charges and exonerated me.
Defend a patient's rights
Some medical authorities have received court orders to allow patient witnesses to accept blood transfusions, and I have occasionally presented evidence at court hearings that helped to lift those orders. One case involved a witness with inflamed blood vessels in his esophagus, a problem that causes severe gastric bleeding. By the time he was hospitalized, he was already very anemic; his hemoglobin level was 4.7 grams per deciliter. * At first he was not forced to accept blood and only received supportive care.
Then, after a week in the hospital, the patient was surprised to receive a visit from a court officer with a transfusion order. At this point, his hemoglobin had risen to 6.4 grams per deciliter and was clinically stable. It appears that the judge based his decision on the first hemoglobin level rather than the second, the highest.
The HLC offered to help. The patient asked me to examine him. Yes, and from there I managed to take him to a hospital where he could be treated without blood. At the same time, his lawyers challenged the court's decision to give the patient a blood transfusion.
I was invited to a hearing with the judge who asked me about the patient's condition. At the hearing he allowed me to continue treating the patient while the merits of the court order was discussed. At the time of the new hearing, the patient had improved and was discharged from the hospital. When asked to testify again, the hospital attorney asked me to prove that the treatment I was recommending was scientifically based. To his embarrassment, I published an article in a medical journal in the same hospital that I represented and he recommended this treatment!
When the decision was made, we were pleased to learn that our position on being dependent on medical treatment other than blood transfusions had been confirmed. The hospital had to bear all costs including legal fees. Although the hospital appealed, he lost again.
Take care of our family
Since I have been one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I have had the support of Vera Lúcia as a committed companion and as a capable woman and exemplary mother of our children. How did you manage to overcome all the challenges of maintaining our homes and caring for the children who are young and lively now? This was possible because of his deep love for Jehovah and Christian ministry.
As parents, we taught our children Bible doctrines and principles from a young age. Despite our busy lives, we strive to serve full-time for several months each year. And we do our best to stick to a schedule that includes reading the Bible regularly, discussing a text from the Bible daily, and sharing our beliefs with others in Christian ministry. Recently, our family conducted up to 12 Bible studies a week with people who were not Witnesses.
Vera Lúcia and I also try to include our children in our activities while respecting their personal tastes. We believe three basic things are necessary for parents to properly look after their families. First, the correct teaching based on the Word of God, the Bible. Second, the correct example that gives children clear evidence that their parents have a healthy fear of God. Third, proper association with Christians of all ages and backgrounds who can instill a variety of gifts and skills in family members. As a couple, our goal is to provide these things for our family.
In retrospect, our nearly 30 years of service to Jehovah, my wife, and I can say without a doubt that He has given us the best of life and brought us many joys and blessings. Even though I didn't make it to the Olympics, I still enjoy swimming several kilometers a week. It is true that being a doctor and Jehovah's Witness has been a busy life, but it has been very rewarding for me to help my Christian brothers and sisters persevere in their service to God despite the trials.
Wise are good but not easy to make