17 Jul, 2008
Are you in your write mind?
Pencil removed from woman's head after 55 years
BERLIN – A woman who had a pencil lodged in her head for 55 years after a childhood accident finally had most of it removed, which should end her chronic headaches and nosebleeds.
Margaret Wegner was four years old when she fell while carrying the 3.15-inch pencil, which went through her cheek and into her brain.
"It bored right through the skin and disappeared into my head," Wegner, now 59, told Germany's best-selling newspaper, Bild. "It hurt like crazy."
At the time, the technology did not exist to safely remove the pencil, so Wegner had to live with it – and the ensuing chronic headaches and nosebleeds – for the next 5 1/2 decades.
But Dr. Hans Behrbohm, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Berlin's Park-Klinik Weissensee, was able to identify the exact location of the pencil so that he could determine the risks of removing it, and then took most of it out.
The operation was difficult because of the way the pencil had shifted as Wegner grew. Although a piece of a pencil about four-fifths of an inch long could not be removed, Behrbohm said it does not pose a danger.
And now Wegner, the wife of German boxing coach Ulli Wegner, will no longer have the headaches and nosebleeds, and her sense of smell should return soon, Behrbohm said.
photo & story courtesy kvue.com, 8/7/07
Proverbs 7:2-3 (CEV)
2Obey me, and you will live! Let my instructions be your greatest treasure. 3Keep them at your fingertips and write them in your mind.
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about obeying God's commands?
The context of Proverbs chapter 7 is that Solomon (with words given him by God's Holy Spirit) is warning God's people about immorality.
While this is a clear warning against sexual sin, the big picture is that Christ followers must obey all of God's commands. If we do, God says we will experience life the way He intends for us. Why would we want to risk everything and do life our way?
God says this is so important - we have to remember it and guard it. How? By writing His instructions in our minds.
Think about it....
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Write down a prayer of confession to God for any instructions from His Word that you have not been following and remember to thank Him for His loving forgiveness.
- Keep a written list of how you are experiencing real life in Christ when you obey God's commands in His Word.
- For the next week, whenever you read the God's scriptures, tape a pencil to your head as a reminder to obey and apply what you learn. (Be ready for some interesting conversations if your friends or family see you doing this!)
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others who need Jesus?
This is real simple but it could be fun, practical and meaningful - think about someone you know who is really thinking about God's Story and becoming a follower of Jesus - tell him or her about the German woman having the pencil removed from her head and then talk about how you're going to try to start writing more and more of God's Story in your mind. Be sure to explain why and then ask your friend what he or she thinks?
- August 2008 [19]
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- June 2006 [3]
