Couple's crisis in Russia spurs worldwide help from United Methodists
9/16/1998 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn. NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.
JACKSON, Tenn. (UMNS) - What began as a vacation trip to Russia nearly turned into tragedy for a United Methodist couple, but church members at home and in Europe pulled together and showed how connectionalism can make a difference.
Leroy and Barbara Roberts of Jackson were cruising down the Volga River in early August when Leroy suffered an intestinal blockage. He became critically ill and was placed in the intensive care unit at Zil Hospital in Moscow. Plagued by pneumonia and renal failure, he was given a 1 percent chance of survival.
On Aug. 5, the couple's pastor in Jackson, the Rev. John Bonson of Aldersgate United Methodist Church, received a call that Leroy was in emergency surgery.
Barbara, alone in a strange country, was unable to speak the language and "was truly at a loss," Bonson wrote later in the Memphis Conference edition of The United Methodist Reporter.
In Jackson, Bonson tried to form a plan to help Barbara half a world away. Searching the Internet, he found two United Methodist missionaries in Russia. One, Bill Lovelace, graduated from Emory University with the Rev. Sky Lowe-McCracken, pastor at East Trinity in Jackson. Bonson sent both an immediate e-mail.
Then Bonson's office called the 800 number for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries in New York. "That one phone call set in motion a remarkable series of events," the pastor wrote.
Alicia Patterson in New York contacted a staff member of the Board of Global Ministries Russia Initiative who was in Moscow. That staff member contacted Barbara and also an organization known as PeaceWorks, an Advance Special supported by United Methodist Women through their undesignated giving. Ula Reeves, with PeaceWorks in Virginia, became the connecting point between Barbara, her family and the agencies capable of giving help.
During this process, Barbara had to return to Jackson because her visa had expired, and arrangements had to be made to bring Leroy home.
Meanwhile, PeaceWorks helped secure a private duty nurse to care for Leroy. The organization continued to keep Barbara informed of Leroy's medical status and faxed materials to update her visa for her return to Moscow. After a down-to-the-wire rush to get her paperwork and visa approved through the Russian Embassy in Washington, Barbara returned to Moscow with her son, Ed, on Aug 12. PeaceWorks had made arrangements for them to stay with an English-speaking family in Moscow, and had also lined up a driver and translator for them.
When Barbara arrived in Moscow, her new Russian friends sent an e-mail to her home congregation in Jackson: "Arrived in Moscow and went to see Leroy. Things still do not look very good. Leroy is getting some better according to the doctor, but is still in critical condition."
The United Methodist network continued working on the couple's behalf. Methodist Central Hospital in Memphis contacted three physicians in Moscow who had trained in their facility. The three offered their assistance to Leroy's doctors.
In Moscow, Alexander "Sasha" Tsoutserov, a former KGB agent who was trained in clinical pastoral education at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, stayed with Leroy at Zil. Using the Internet, he kept family and friends updated on Leroy's condition.
By Aug. 14, a medical evaluation team made arrangements to airlift the patient to Helsinki, Finland. Leroy was coherent for the first time in days and understood that plans were being made to move him. Nancy Heisley, the Robertses' daughter, sent this message: "At this point, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. We all hope and pray that progress continues and the journey is a safe one."
Those prayers were answered when the Robertses arrived at Helsinki University Hospital. Barbara was asked if she would like to call a minister. The hospital staff furnished her with the name of the pastor at First United Methodist Church of Helsinki. The Rev. Timo (Tom) Karvonen, who speaks English, described his downtown church as one with "big facilities and a small congregation."
Finally, Leroy was stable enough to return to the United States. A commercial flight wasn't an option because of an inadequate oxygen supply should he have an emergency during the flight. A medical ambulance jet, owned by Fox Air Ambulance Service of Toronto, was hired.
On Sept. 5, the Robertses and an international medical team departed from Helsinki. After a smooth 16-hour flight and four stops - in Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Detroit -- the plane landed at Jackson's McKellar-Sipes Airfield.
When the plane touched down at 5:45 a.m., Barbara looked out to see a crowd of 30 church friends and family waiting in the pre-dawn darkness to welcome the travelers home. As Leroy was transferred to a waiting ambulance, Bonson led the sunrise group in singing the doxology.
As the group sang "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," the ambulance attendants, pilots, a doctor from Czechoslovakia and a nurse from Barbados joined in. Tears ran freely down the cheeks of the impromptu choir as Leroy smiled from his gurney.
Leroy is still in intensive care at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, but he is able to talk.
Throughout the ordeal, Barbara said she has drawn strength from the many people who have helped.
"Through it all, we felt the strength of the connectional church," she said. "I was alone, but I was not despondent because I felt the prayers of friends, pastors and churches all over the world. Because of my lifelong experience in the United Methodist Church, I knew of our connection. Now I have seen the connection, and it shines all around the world."
# # #
*This story was compiled from two articles that appeared in the Memphis Conference edition of The United Methodist Reporter.
|
Back : News Archives 1998 Main
|
|
“We believe in God and in each other.”The people of The United Methodist Church
Still Have Questions?
If you have any questions Ask
InfoServ
Purchase a $20 buzzkill t-shirt and help save a life
Buy a t-shirt
|
Korean News