Larry Aiken is visited by family and friends; prayers are said
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 1:31PM 
When next I went to visit Larry, I found him with his dad, Wesley, his mother, Anna and his sister, Iqi Aiken, all of whom live in Barrow.
Wesley, by the way, witnessed the fall that I took in the Barrow High cafeteria when I shattered my shoulder and wound up with a need to get a titanium replacement. My memories of that are a little strange, but the sight of him next to me as he tried to determine how badly hurt I had been and the calmness in his voice as he sought to convince me that I could not shake this off but must go to the hospital immediately is very clear - and appreciated.
Soon, Larry's nephew Wesley Aiken entered and greeted him with a hug.
So we did another family pose to include young Wesley and girlfriend Katie Okpeaha.
But we could not have family poses and leave cousin Percy out. It was Percy who had twice come down to Anchorage with Larry to serve as his escort and see him through. Percy is a Certified Nursing Assistant and over the past several years has cared for people, including his parents in their final years.
His mother, the late Martha Aiken, told him that he should become a registered nurse. It is now his goal to do just that and to work in the new hospital that is nearing completion in Barrow.
So we did still another pose.
Friends came, too, including Harry Ahngasuk who appeared in Wednesday's post, his wife, Sarah, Leo Kaleak and Joshua Sours and Irene Thomas from Kotzebue.
Joshua offered a prayer. In it, he thanked God that the surgery had gone so much better and that Larry had come through it in a manner that even his surgeon has described as a miracle. In his prayer, he said that Larry must have important things yet to do, and that is why he experienced such a miraculous healing.
He said Larry would be shown the way to do those things still ahead for him.
Soon, a man entered the room and a big strong hand reached out and took Larry's hand.
It was his Uncle Lewis, brother to his dad. People still talk about how, when he worked as a laborer, Lewis could single-handedly pick up full, 55 gallon fuel drums one after the other and hoist them into waiting trucks. Now he shared his strength with his nephew.
Remember Leroy Paul Wilson, originally of Kotzebue, who sang gospel the night before Larry went into surgery? He came by as well and offered a prayer in which he spoke of the healing that had taken place. "That was you, Jesus," he said. He told Larry that Jesus has been with him.
If all this seems pretty heavy, just remember that before he went into surgery, Larry had been advised by his doctors that he would have to spend two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit and that for most of that time, he would need to be so heavily sedated that he would not even recognize his visitors - but the surgery went so well that all of this was avoided.
What I learned later is that Paul also has a close loved one in the hospital, fighting for life. I did not get a chance to talk to him about it, so I will mention no details, but I think that all those for whom Paul has prayed and who believe in prayer themselves might now also pray for him and his loved one.
What I did not say in my earlier post was that not only did Larry's surgeon remove the cancer tumor, but to do so, she had to take half of his stomach and about six inches of his esophagus.
Larry said that he had slept better the night before then he had for months. Often, when he did sleep briefly, he would wake up choking, gasping for air. He did not choke. His breath was clear and unobstructed.
Reader Comments (4)
Bill, you are a Samaritan to so very many. Thank you for caring so much for your friends and family, and letting those of us unknown to you see goodness in a whole new way.
Great news and I hope you fully recover soon Larry!
This post is wonderful. So much love. Thanks Bill!
I lived in Barrow for two years in the early 90's. I really enjoy these uplifting posts, esp. about the great folks of Barrow!