Return The Favor

By now the whole world knows that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was admitted, treated and released from Howard University Hospital of Washington, D.C., over an eight-day period. He is now continuing a remarkable recovery from a complication of his radiation treatment administered on two separate occasions for prostate cancer. He is expected to continue his convalescence during a period of sabbatical that had already previously been planned.

As he recovers from this most challenging ordeal, which represents the most serious medical condition of the 65 years of his life, he is in excellent spirits and is doing quite well.

At the moment of the Minister’s deepest health crisis, prior to the decision to hospitalize him, I remarked quite candidly in a telephone conversation to him, "My worst nightmare is coming true." Of course, the Minister knew exactly what I meant as we had discussed it previously. Those believers who attended the Believer’s session at Saviours’ Day 1999 also knew what those words meant. My worst nightmare is that my phone would ring and I would be given information that would cause me to know that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan needed to be in a hospital. What was I, as the Minister of Health of the Nation of Islam and Minister Farrakhan’s personal physician, expected to do? We have no hospital of our own in which to admit this most important human being among all of the human beings alive on the earth today.

Rushing to be with the Honorable Louis Farrakhan in this most critical hour, being driven at high speeds from O’Hare airport during a rainstorm, there was a gathering gloom and darkness that was most forbidding. In my thoughts, as we rushed to the scene, I had the forboding that I was rushing into hell.

In the back of my mind, as we wrestled with the tremendously complicated issues revolving around Minister Farrakhan’s health, there was a nagging voice that was never silent, telling me at every step of the way: "Don’t let history repeat itself."

The reference was clear. Don’t let what happened to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in Mercy Hospital happen to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at his moment of greatest vulnerability.

The cartoon in the New York Post, one of the most malicious and sick anti-Semitic cartoons to ever appear in print, was fresh on my mind. For those who have not seen it, the cartoon depicted two obviously "Jewish" doctors—one with a saw in his hand standing over a profusely sweating Minister Farrakhan in a hospital bed. There was a dotted line across his neck and the caption read, "Dr.’s desperately try to remove a cancerous tumor from Farrakhan’s body." The implications were clear. In other words, "We hear that you are sick, pretty soon you will have no choice but to turn him over to us and when you do, we will separate your head from your body."

All praises are due to Allah; history was not to repeat itself because we would not let history repeat itself! Members of the involved medical staff, Minister Farrakhan’s family and the National Laborers all conferred together constantly over a period of time until we arrived at what has proven to be a wise decision.

Apart from the medical complication itself, which could have been handled at any university center or top notch medical center, the biggest issues were of a security nature. In other words, what institution could the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan be admitted to that would not endanger his safety and where he would not become the victim of his enemies’ death plots? It must be remembered that it is the aim of this world to "kill the Messenger of God."

There was only a short list of options to be considered. After long deliberations, intense debate and exhaustive analysis of the relevant facts, it was decided to take the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to Howard University Hospital (HUH) in Washington, D.C.

Howard University Hospital was my personal choice for several reasons. It is an institution that is world class and second to none in expertise of its professional staff and facilities. It is a Black institution that overall has been a strong supporter of Minister Farrakhan over the years and sent a huge contingent of medical professionals to assist at the Million Man March. Unlike any other institution in the country, literally every single person—from the ward clerk to the janitor to the president of the institution—had a vested interest in a positive outcome for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Finally, the most obvious reason was that from start to finish, this is where the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan had received all of his care as related to prostate cancer.

Now that Minister Farrakhan is safe and sound and recovering nicely, and some of the dust has settled, I have time to reflect on the events of this most trying experience of my professional life. I find myself awestruck by the direct intervention of Almighty God, Allah, in our affairs, Who was directing our thinking and our hands in a way to ensure a proper outcome.

The fact that this story has a happy ending is not to be taken for granted. It was the concerted efforts of many people that brought this about. As Minister Farrakhan’s personal physician, who had the responsibility to "orchestrate" the care and after-care, my hat is off to all of those who did so much for a man who matters so much.

Those who know me know that I am often a critical and often hypercritical person. They know that no matter how well something is done, I always seem to find fault on this point or that point—never quite satisfied that everything is perfect.

As I look back on the care that was administered to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at Howard University Hospital, try as I might, I can find nothing, absolutely nothing to criticize! I certainly must thank the chairman of the Radiation Oncology Department, Dr. Alfred Golson, for his pioneering efforts in the development of a seed implantation technique that made a prostate cancer cure possible for the Honorable Louis Farrakhan. His years of research and hard work paid off in the biggest way possible by helping to preserve the life of this most vital human being.

Of course, we must also mention the surgical "Dream Team" headed by the world renowned Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D., Dr. Robert DeWitty, M.D., Dr., Deborah Ford, M.D. and the Chief Surgical Resident, Dr. Wayne Frederick, M.D.

The entire administration of Howard University Hospital certainly put their best foot forward and rolled out the red carpet for the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, making his stay at the hospital almost on the level of a stay at a four-star hotel. Everything that could be done was done for the comfort and security of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan.

The nurses were all great, the food service was excellent, security was impeccable and the housekeepers, clerks and other miscellaneous staff did an outstanding job. In my mind, the care that the Honorable Louis Farrakhan received at Howard University Hospital lifted the veil of a horrid nightmare.