"Not long ago a man from a Roma background looked me up from near Fogaras, he was begging , asking for help. We shook hands and since his hand was at a strange angle I asked as to what has happened to him. “ A circularsaw cut it off , but I was shouting until they sutured it back .” I looked at him questioningly , with staring eyes and he started to talk : I was careless and the spinning steel caught my arm above my wrist , it all happened in a flash , my hand was cut off but I picked it up from the sawdust and after shaking it off, shouting, I ran to the doctor asking them to suture it back . The doctor in the village ,could not help but I was asking ,crying, again and again . Eventually I was advised to try my luck in Marosvásárhely ! They put my hand in a bagful of ice and took me to the hospital to try my luck there. The journey was long , they did not want to see me, I had neither money nor health insurance , but I was crying, begging, shouting loudly and finally my hand was sutured back. Now I can even use it to a certain extent.”
I looked at this simple man , with his incredible faith he took his severed hand with himself to a hospital about 300 km away ! Bravely , against all better judgement , despite the laws of nature , the cowardly ,faint hearted little faith , the labyrinths of bureaucracy ,alone, going against it all and saved his severed hand . I looked at my own hand ! Would I have picked up my own from the dust ? Whether if hearing all the sane medical opinions , would I have resigned to accept my loss or would I have taken a chance, on the one percent probability of success, crying, sobbing ? Do I have such a faith in medical knowledge , human goodness , nature's healing power , man triumphing over difficulties , like this beggar ? Without a word I looked at this man and in owe I took his hand again, but not like an alms- giver , but like a beggar , who wants to learn from his brother, who is richer in faith, hope and will to live .”
Böjte Csaba ofm
translated by dr kalotay eszter
"Not long ago a man from a Roma background looked me up from near Fogaras, he was begging , asking for help. We shook hands and since his hand was at a strange angle I asked as to what has happened to him. “ A circularsaw cut it off , but I was shouting until they sutured it back .” I looked at him questioningly , with staring eyes and he started to talk : I was careless and the spinning steel caught my arm above my wrist , it all happened in a flash , my hand was cut off but I picked it up from the sawdust and after shaking it off, shouting, I ran to the doctor asking them to suture it back . The doctor in the village ,could not help but I was asking ,crying, again and again . Eventually I was advised to try my luck in Marosvásárhely ! They put my hand in a bagful of ice and took me to the hospital to try my luck there. The journey was long , they did not want to see me, I had neither money nor health insurance , but I was crying, begging, shouting loudly and finally my hand was sutured back. Now I can even use it to a certain extent.” 