My Mother's Care for Smallpox
When I was three or four years old, I had the worst possible case of smallpox. The smallpox attacked my eyes, ears and nose—everything. The doctor said it was a matter of weeks: I would die or I would go blind or become deaf. The case was so serious.
My mother said, “With God’s Blessings and my prayers, I will not allow my youngest son to die or to become blind or deaf.”
The doctors said, “We don’t want your son to die, but he is going to die. Our medicine won’t work.”
My mother accepted the challenge. She used to wash my face with coconut water. Her prayer and coconut water saved me. I am not dead, I am not blind or deaf. I may have the marks on my face, but my case would have been infinitely worse if the smallpox had not left me. I was cured only because of my mother’s prayer to God and her concern and affection for me. She saved my life.
