by Becky West
When a neurosurgeon told artist Becky West her right hand was in critical condition from carpal tunnel syndrome, she did the obvious thing. She created this drawing to thank him in advance for saving her hands. (The left one is scheduled for surgery next.)
Becky is the artist who painted the gorgeous cover for my novel, Rose Hill Cottage. Her drawings and paintings amaze me, and I can’t imagine the physical pain nor the emotions she has endured. But, I can understand a little about her faith. She describes what the surgeon told her about the recent surgery:
“When he cut the tendons and saw the nerve he said it was compressed flat like a ribbon instead of being round, but when he cut and made room for the nerve it immediately began to heal! It became round and he even saw new capillaries beginning to form! Isn’t God good? Surgeons can use use their skill and do amazing things but it only takes God seconds to start the healing process and make new capillaries!”
One of the most amazing things about miracles, though, is when people cooperate with them and turn them into something even grander. I told Becky how much I loved her “Hands” picture and asked if I could share it with my readers. She is a generous soul and immediately gave me permission. Then, as Paul Harvey used to say, she told me the rest of the story.
“Most of my drawings are done by using multiple layers of flat tones that are gradually blended together. I decided to try to fill in some backround areas of a drawing with my left hand the day after my surgery. I was amazed that by the end of the 1st day I actually had a lot of control and I could do some detail. Then I decided to tackle a left-handed drawing, so I did most of the “pianist hand” drawing with my left hand. By the end of the week my right hand was feeling better, and I could do some of the detail (like my signature) with my right hand.”
Here is the pianist hand Becky did with her left hand. The one she doesn’t use to draw with on a normal basis.
I know! If it makes you feel any better artistically-challenged-Reader-friends, Becky admits she could not brush her hair or her teeth with her left hand after surgery. I was glad to hear she is human.
So, here’s to art and all its healing powers, and to surgeons who know which nerves to cut and which ones to leave. And here’s to the Creator of the Universe who can create new capillaries in seconds. May He do so in all the places where you feel the lifeblood being sucked out of you today!
(Note: if you are interested in purchasing or comissioning art from Becky, I’ll put you in touch.)