Isaac’s Story

Isaac is one of the most remarkable patients I’ve ever met in Kapsowar, and we promise the few minutes you spend reading all the way to the end will be worth it.

Last post, we introduced you to Dr. Celeste Adrian and the incredible wound care therapy she leads at the hospital. Isaac is one of her patients—and his journey is unforgettable.

When Isaac first arrived at the hospital, he was just 19 years old. A few years earlier, a road accident had left him paralyzed from the middle of his back down. As far as Dr. Celeste could tell, he had been largely neglected by his family. He had spent months in a palliative care unit in Eldoret, lying with 11 severe pressure sores—wounds that form when someone who cannot move isn’t repositioned regularly. By the time he arrived, these wounds had gone completely untreated.

As Dr. Celeste explains, “Most people who are paralyzed are just… put in the back corner. This is not a disability-friendly country, and no one expects them to have a full, meaningful life.”

Isaac’s situation was heartbreaking. But Dr. Celeste knew his story could be different.

Isaac in the ward months after his treatment. Paralyzed from the waist down, he relies on caregivers to help him turn in bed and move into his wheelchair.

Those first few weeks, Isaac was malnourished and withdrawn. She knew that nutrition would be the first step to his recovery. Celeste would deliver extra proteins like peanuts or chocolate milk during meals, and even stopping by in the evenings after long surgical days on what she called her “protein rounds.”

“It’s a lot of work, it’s not glamorous,” she says, “but it’s really rewarding.”

The road to healing was long. Dr. Celeste performed multiple debridements, wound vac therapy, and at one point, even bridged five wound vacs together to cover his largest sores.

But Isaac was remarkably patient and determined — lying on his stomach for twelve weeks so the wounds could heal properly. Slowly, his body began to mend.

But even more beautifully, his spirit began mending too.

At first, Isaac didn’t talk much — he was quiet and withdrawn. One day, while Dr. Celeste was chatting with a nurse about patients who had been referred to them, she asked, “What was the name of the last one they sent?”

To everyone’s surprise, Isaac suddenly spoke up — in perfect English — and said the name. “I mean, he speaks fantastic English,” Celeste laughed.

Dr. Celeste with Isaac in the ward. During his six months in the hospital, they came to know each other well.

Soon after, Dr. Celeste invited Bob Barrows, one of the hospital chaplains, to spend time with Isaac. Bob began visiting him every other day — reading Scripture together and talking about life.

He quickly noticed Isaac’s sharp mind and love for reading, so he began bringing him books — including ones by Joni Eareckson Tada, who writes about living with disability and deep faith. Isaac devoured each one.

Then Bob gave him a journal, encouraging him to write down his thoughts. Isaac allowed Bob to read what he wrote, and Bob was astonished. He remembers, “I was immediately blown away by the things he was writing. It was just amazing.”

Isaac’s writing was full of honesty, pain, and hope. Here’s one of his reflections:

“When I first arrived at Kapsowar Mission Hospital I was in pain — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. My body was weak, my heart was heavy, and I wasn’t sure what kind of care I would receive. But from the moment the nurses welcomed me, I felt something different. They didn’t treat me like a burden. They called me by name. They smiled genuinely, spoke gently, listened patiently, and touched my wounds with compassion — not just gloves.”

Bob Barrows, one of our chaplains, grew close to Isaac during his stay and gave him a journal to write down his reflections.

As Bob kept visiting, he began to wonder what was happening in Isaac’s heart. Then, one day, Bob was reading his journal and found this entry:

Right there in my bed, I broke. I cried not just because of my legs, but because I realized I had been walking far from God even when my legs worked. Now I have nowhere else to turn, so I turned to Jesus. And that night I said with all my heart, ‘Lord, I want to follow You. Even if I can’t walk, let my life move with You.’”

“Since that day I have never been the same. I found peace, joy, and strength — not only from healing of the body but healing of the heart. I am still in this wheelchair, but now I do it with purpose, because in my lowest moment, I found the highest love. And now I have decided to follow Jesus — no turning back.

Now, six months later, Isaac looks completely different — he’s strong, healthy, confident. He’s learning that his life still has purpose and that he can live meaningfully even in a wheelchair — something not often understood in rural Kenya.

Dr. Celeste credits much of his recovery to the hospital’s dedicated nurses: “They’ve really stepped up… helping him with daily care, moving him, changing dressings, making sure he heals in every way.”

Isaac saw their kindness, too. In one of his journal entries, he wrote:

“Day and night they moved through the wards like angels in unison, checking vitals, changing dressings, offering medication and sometimes just sitting beside me when I felt low. Some of them prayed with me. There were moments when I couldn’t speak because of pain but they stayed with me. That’s when I knew this wasn’t just a hospital but a place of healing for the heart. Thanks to the nurses and doctors of Kapsowar Mission Hospital. I didn’t just receive treatment. I received dignity, love, and hope.”

Brent Adrian, Dr. Celeste’s husband, surprises Isaac with a brand-new wheelchair to take home.

Before he was discharged, Isaac wrote a poem — a reflection of everything he’d endured, learned, and come to believe. Many of us were moved to tears by his words.

The time has come, the doors swing wide.

I have faced the storm, the tears I have cried.

Now light peers through the morning haze.

A sign I am stepping into new days.

Six months within these healing walls

Where pain would echo through the halls

Yet through it all I found my way.

And now I'm strong enough to say

I'm leaving now with heart held high

With lessons deep and spirits nigh

The wounds may linger but I have grown

With faith and strength I have newly known

Though wheels now roll beneath my feet

I face the world, I won't retreat

For healing's not just standing tall

It's finding grace when you must crawl

So here's my song, my silent cheer

I leave with hope not pain or fear

The road is mine, the sky is wide.

God walks with me, right by my side.

As Isaac heads home, he’s not going alone — he’s surrounded by friends who will be looking out for him. On the day before his departure, friends gathered to celebrate Isaac’s journey and recovery. The Adrian family even surprised him with a brand-new wheelchair, giving him a bit of independent mobility as he heads home.

Our team gathering with Isaac and his mom to pray over him as he prepares to go home.

We truly believe God has amazing plans for his life, and there are already exciting opportunities beginning to take shape—plans that might include higher education for Isaac, who is clearly an incredibly talented writer.

Isaac’s words perfectly capture the heart of our hospital. Every day in Kapsowar, our work goes beyond surgeries and medicine — it’s about love, presence, and the quiet power of believing in someone. His healing happened through people who reminded him he was seen, valued, and deeply loved — by them, and by his Creator.

And that kind of love? It’s the most powerful medicine of all.

The Adrian family, Janie Schumacher, chaplain Bob Barrows, nursing student Joshua, and Isaac’s mom came together to celebrate Isaac’s discharge after six months at the hospital—with a homemade cake from Dr. Celeste!