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Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
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And I’m Ruby Jones. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Gabby was a normal, healthy baby - for the first four months of her life. But after this, Gabby’s parents noticed that something was wrong. Gabby’s father, Steve, explained more:
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“I was rubbing some medicine on the soft part of Gabby’s mouth - where her teeth were growing. Suddenly, she bit down hard on my finger. It was so hard that I could not deal with the pain... I pulled my finger out - and one of Gabby’s teeth came out with it! Gabby continued to play. She did not seem to notice that this had happened.”
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Gabby continued to bite on any object she could find - books, playthings - even her own fingers! Trish is Gabby’s mother. She was very worried about Gabby’s behaviour. She remembered:
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“Gabby damaged her fingers very badly. They looked like uncooked meat! She bit them so much.”
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Gabby’s parents took her to see many different doctors. But, not one of them could discover the reasons for her strange behaviour. Trish decided to do her own research. She looked on the Internet. And, she found some pictures of children’s hands. Their fingers were in the same state as Gabby’s! Trish was very excited. Had she found some answers at last?
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Trish read that these children suffered from a rare medical condition - Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy - HSAN. People who have this condition are born with no nerve endings. They cannot feel changes of temperature. And, they cannot feel pain. And this is what Gabby was suffering from. People with HSAN can still hurt themselves very easily. They have no power to protect themselves from danger. They have lost the ‘gift’ of pain.
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In an earlier “Spotlight”, we talked about pain. We discussed how physical and emotional pain can cause many difficulties. And we looked at how expressing our pain can help in the healing process. In today’s programme, we consider the question: does pain have a positive side?
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Paul Brand was a doctor. In the 1940s, he moved to India. He worked there for many years. Doctor Brand was famous for his work with people who had leprosy. Leprosy is a disease, not a genetic problem like HSAN. But leprosy also deadens people’s power to feel pain. Doctor Brand treated many patients with terrible injuries. And through this, he came to believe that pain is truly a gift. He wrote:
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“If I had the power to take away physical pain from the world, I would not do it. My work with people who cannot feel pain has proved something to me. Pain protects us from destroying ourselves.”
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Doctor Brand had not always believed this. He explained how he changed his mind:
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“I started to study medicine. I believed then that my purpose was to reduce pain and suffering - and to save lives. I have spent my whole life treating people with pain and without pain. And I would say that this has changed my purpose...it is now to help suffering people and improve their quality of life. I used to think of pain as an enemy. But today I think of it as a help.”
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Doctor Brand continued:
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“I have often heard people tell God how unhappy they are when they have pain. They do not blame God for giving us a signal that tells of disease or injury. But why make it so unpleasant? And why not make it easy to stop?”
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Many people throughout history have asked this question - why is pain so unpleasant? And what about human suffering - that causes pain? Many people do blame God for their suffering and pain. But is this fair? C S Lewis was a twentieth century teacher and writer. He was also a Christian. He wrote a book about this issue. He called it, “The Problem of Pain.” In it, he argues that suffering was not part of God’s plan for his creation. However, God created humans with free will - they could choose to act as they pleased. Sadly, humans chose to act against God’s wishes. They rebelled against God. They broke their close relationship with God. Breaking from God brought sadness and suffering.
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Lewis believed that God can use pain to bring people back to him. He wrote:
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“God speaks quietly to us in our pleasures. He speaks more loudly through our conscience. But he shouts in our pain. It is his loudspeaker to wake up a world that cannot hear.”
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But can a God who permits pain and suffering still be loving? Lewis believed that he could. Lewis felt that people were confused. They did not understand that sometimes, love involves pain. Instead, they only wanted God to be kind to them. He wrote:
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“Kindness does not care if its object becomes good or bad. It only wants it to escape suffering. Love is different. It permits people to suffer. This is better than them being happy in wrong and undeserving ways.”
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Lewis also believed that one day the world would be as God first planned. God would create a new heaven and a new earth - with no more death or crying or pain. And that could give great hope to people who were suffering.
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Doctor Paul Brand was also a Christian. And he shared C S Lewis’s opinions. He suggested a way to learn how to deal with pain and suffering. Brand looked at how sports people deal with pain. He described how athletes like to push their bodies as hard as they can. They welcome the physical feeling that this brings - a feeling that is almost pain. He wrote:
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‘If they manage to control their body, pain is not an enemy, but a friend. I believe that all of us, early in life, should develop the same attitude towards pain. It is not an enemy from outside. It is part of ourselves.”
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What are your experiences of pain? How do you deal with it - is it an enemy or a friend? Write and tell us! Our address is radio @ English . net.
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