Danger in the Womb

Gazing at the newborn babies in the hospital nursery, my grandfather observed that my face had a strange, bluish color. At that moment, he knew in his heart that something was wrong with his first grandson. During the days following, the doctors examined my symptoms and pieced together clues. Their diagnosis: I had had German measles (rubella) while in the womb, although Mother’s pregnancy had seemingly been normal.

Congenital rubella can cause a baby to be born with a number of birth defects, including heart problems, vision problems, hearing problems, intellectual disability, and bone and growth problems. When my parents took me home from the hospital at three weeks, my mother noticed that I had a cataract in my right eye. Then, when I was five weeks old, I was taken to a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital for heart surgery.

Surgery Successful

The surgery performed was already common at the time and did not entail too many risks, except for one complication: I had thrombocytopenic purpura, a condition in which my blood platelet count was very low. Since blood platelets help blood to coagulate properly, the doctors feared if they performed surgery on me, I would bleed internally, affecting other organs, including the brain. To deal with this problem, the doctors began injecting cortisone shots into my foot every day in order to strengthen my blood vessels.

My parents understood that there was a real risk that I could die during this hospitalization. At this time, Mother prayed a noble prayer—a prayer that only a mother who did not want her child to suffer would pray. She asked God that if I could not have a normal life, He would take my life. After three weeks, my blood platelet count rose to normal levels, surgery was performed, and my parents were able to take me home. My mother thanked God I was alive—and from that point on, she never doubted that God had answered her prayer, or that I would have a normal life.

Normal Life Begins

My father’s job as an insurance salesman took us to Louisiana, where I had my cataract removed when I was 14 months old. As my parents learned more about my condition, they were told that German measles can result in children being born deaf. So, naturally, they observed me, trying to detect any signs that I might be deaf. When a hearing test was done, it was confirmed: I was indeed deaf.

When I was 22 months old, my family moved to Denton, Texas, where my cataract was removed a second time. Little was known about how to stimulate the eyes of children after cataracts were removed, and because of this, my eye-to-brain connection was never properly developed. Thus, today, I cannot rely on my right eye for reading or driving. For all practical purposes, I am blind in my right eye.

Once they arrived in Denton, my parents began looking for a school where I could receive good training, and they found the Callier Speech and Hearing School in Dallas. I began attending this school, making the 45-minute commute from Denton to Dallas and back every weekday. At that time, the school emphasized training deaf children to hear and speak. I was fitted with hearing aids and began to receive training in how to hear and speak like hearing people. When I was five years old, I was mainstreamed into a classroom full of hearing children at the Asbury Methodist Kindergarten in Denton.

The World Opened to Me

Even having limited eyesight does not keep me from “seeing” God’s gracious care for me throughout my life. German measles has the potential to cause far more serious harm—depending on when it strikes during pregnancy—than I have suffered. Thankfully, I have not had mental disability. Also, if German measles strikes very early during pregnancy, it can result in death for the unborn child. I know God mercifully preserved my life, and I can see God’s hand in placing me in the Callier School. I am forever grateful that I was trained to listen and speak like hearing people, because this has opened the whole world to me. Many people have commented—after speaking with me—that they would never have known I was deaf, if they were not told.

After I was mainstreamed, I went on to attend public schools during my elementary and secondary years, then to Baylor University, where I majored in English Literature. While I have always been an introvert, I had a childhood that was like most any other child—I played on several baseball and soccer teams, rode a bicycle, played at the playground, swam at the swimming pool, took Taekwondo lessons, became a Cub Scout, and participated in all things boyish. Later, I earned two different Master’s degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

But God definitely has a sense of humor. He sent me to China—a nation whose citizens speak a tonal language—where I taught English for 13 years! While in China, I taught high school students, undergraduates, graduates, and business people—at three different universities in three different cities. As an English teacher, I had amazing opportunities to expose my students to ideas they might otherwise have never considered. And I had the privilege of living as a child of God, sharing His love with those around me.

Today I am the English Ministry Pastor at a Chinese church in a Chicago suburb. The ability to serve God in the ways that I have is also an act of God’s mercy. And if these blessings weren’t enough, I am also married to Lai Kein, my wonderful Singaporean wife, and we have a delightful seven-year-old son, Caleb!

My Thank-You Letter

God has plans for every person’s life, but the circumstances surrounding my birth and early years helped me realize this truth in a very powerful way. Perhaps this is one more reason why I made the decision to follow Jesus when I was 11 years old. Because of God’s mercy in my life, I have a strong desire to live my life as a thank-you letter to Jesus. Even with disabilities, God has used me over the years—in America and elsewhere—and I am forever thankful for the privilege to serve my Lord!

Whether you’ve had a life full of difficulties or a life that has been less challenging, God is the One who shows you mercy. The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed it: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

(Derek serves as English Minister at a Chinese church in Chicago. For more than ten years he lived in China and taught English to undergraduate and graduate students and also to business executives.)