How far would you walk for someone you loved?

Five miles?

Ten miles?

One hundred miles?

We encountered Reuben (not his real name) in August 2006. We were operating a clinic near Solwezi, Zambia. It was a busy day, which wasn’t unusual. Obviously, I don’t remember when he entered the compound. However, I will always remember his remarkable journey.

Reuben was desperate. He had already walked many miles through sun and sand, searching for the one bottle of antibiotic that the Doctors needed to cure his mother.

His mother was laying deathly sick in a mission hospital a couple of hundred miles away. Reuben had visited all the hospitals and pharmacies he knew of and each time was faced with a negative answer. There were simply no antibiotics available. With one last desperate attempt, Reuben came to us with his heart-wrenching story. At first, we thought we did not have that particular antibiotic either. However, we searched and found one bottle of the medication. He could not express his gratefulness enough. Soon, he had gone, anxious to return to his mother.

We had to return to our other patients. Then, after a few weeks, our team left Zambia and returned to Canada. Our term had been completed, but memories remained.

This memory is of the miracle of one.

-Charlene Constant