Ruel: Trusting an unknown future to a known God
Hello September 8th, 2023
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"Finish excellently in school.” This is Ruel’s big dream. Although an attainable task for many people, this was a challenging assignment for Ruel. He was born with knock knees, a condition where knees tilt inward and “knock” into one another while the ankles remain apart. Because of the deformity in both of his legs, Ruel had extreme difficulty walking long distances and the pain kept him from attending school.
Ruel lives in the Philippines, where access to medical care is limited. Bone treatment for conditions like Ruel’s is especially rare in remote areas where barely any orthopedic surgeons are available. More often than not, people turn to traditional healers, such as massage therapists, to fix a broken bone or heal any deformities. However, after these local resources were utilized and Ruel’s condition didn’t improve, He continued walking with knock knees for his first 18 years of life.
There was a possibility for Ruel to seek treatment in a bigger city, but it was almost impossible for his parents to pay for any kind of surgery. With their financial situation, they struggled to make ends meet and provide for all their children, so paying for Ruel’s hospitalization seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle.
When the opportunity of healing seemed to be lost, Ruel saw a glimpse of hope when the amazing mobile clinic team from Tebow CURE Children’s Hospital in the Philippines stopped by their hometown. Despite receiving good news about being a candidate for healing, the opposition didn’t cease. People close to Ruel discouraged him from getting treatment.
“Other people in our hometown discouraged us from undergoing surgery and told us that his condition will worsen if we do so. Despite the opposition and discouragement, I brought my son to Tebow CURE because I believe that God led us here so my son can receive the healing we’ve long waited for,” Ruel’s mother Josephine shares.
Despite the negative feedback from his community, Ruel decided to receive life-changing healing at Tebow CURE. That decision changed the trajectory of his future. He persevered during his medical procedures, and he has a newfound confidence that he can finish school after surgery!
In every step of his healing, Ruel saw how valued and loved he was. The entire process, although full of pain and suffering, gave him a renewed sense of hope for his future. Isn’t it incredible to witness God’s love for Ruel? His story reminds us that though our future seems uncertain, we can trust a seemingly unknown future to a God who brings Faith, Hope and Love in our darkest hour of need.
