A special healing hand: Dr. John Strange
Posted by The Skyliner on November 11th, 2009Jessicah Peters
Staff Writer
(Photo by Daniel Jamison)
From medical rooms to classrooms, Dr. John Strange, on-campus physician, has done a lot to impact lives. Not only does he help patients, but he also helps students understand the amazing biology that God has designed.
He was in a general surgery practice where he did general and peripheral vascular surgery until 2001. During that time, he developed atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat, causing too many problems for him to continue working in that field of practice. Therefore, he began his teaching career at Gardner-Webb University and Wofford College before he came to NGU in 2004.
Strange received his undergraduate degree from Mississippi State University and his Doctor of Medicine from University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson, Miss. He also did his general surgery internship and residency at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center and the Medical University of South Carolina.
Not only does Strange teach Human Biology at NGU, he also works in the Tuttle Clinic on campus.
“I enjoy taking care of the acute health needs of the students, faculty and staff, and I enjoy teaching biology. God’s creation is truly marvelous, and to have an understanding of biology is to have a better understanding of His character and who He is,” Strange said.
He also gave the reference to Romans 1:20, which says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”
Strange is always giving funny stories to his students about medical surgeries and things that have happened over the years as a doctor. One of his favorites includes a law enforcement officer who was shot in the abdomen. That one gunshot wound caused several life-threatening injuries that could have taken his life. Strange was the surgeon on call and quickly took him immediately to the operating room, where he spent several hours repairing the injuries. This man survived and returned to law enforcement.
Along with many favorite stories of the operating rooms, he said that his favorite operation had to be vascular surgery, which is surgery on blood vessels, because it was very delicate.
“There is nothing that can compare to [saving a life]. A surgical patient places their lives in the hands of the surgeon and any time you save an individual from a life-threatening injury or illness it is a good feeling to which nothing can compare. It is indeed very rewarding,” Strange said. “I sometimes miss using my hands in that way, but God, for now, has seen fit to place me here at NGU – and for that I am grateful!”
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 9