To : Regional Presidents, National Messiahs, National Leaders
From : Unification Church World Mission Headquarters
Date : 7.13 by the Heavenly Calendar (August 30, 2012)
Re. : Message from the International Vice-President
May God and True Parents’ blessings and love be with all regions, mission nations and providential organizations.
Below is a message from Dr. Joon Ho Seuk, the International Vice-President. Please share this with your members in the regions and mission nations.
True Father’s providential course of fighting his illness
Beloved members throughout the world! Let us eternally praise and congratulate Heaven’s glory and True Parents’ victory. True Parents appeared for the first and last time in human history and governs as the True Parents for eternity. They are our messiah, savior and king of peace.
Brothers and sisters,
True Father has been in an intense fight with an illness since August 3, 2012. After returning from the United States on July 16, he had a persistent cough stemming from a serious cold. Yet without concerning himself with his ailment, True Father visited the mission field, personally leading and directing providence beginning with early morning hoondokhae each day. In the course of pushing himself beyond his limits without attending to his physical body, True Father fell ill with pneumonia.
True Father is in his advanced years, and is 93 years old by Korean counting. Despite his aging body, True Father drove his body hard without evening resting for a single day. How could his physical body that reached its limits not be vulnerable to such illness? True Father is unwavering with his principles of living life in a way so that he would never need to make use of the services of a hospital. This has been his guiding principle, thus he was not overly eager to go to the hospital this time. However, he finally resolved to go after True Mother’s fervent appeal. Beginning with a house call by Dr. Hoo Geun Chun, the Director of the Cancer Institute of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, whom True Father trusted and requested treatment since his time in the United States, True Father was finally admitted into the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital.
In this way True Father was admitted into the St. Mary’s Hospital on August 3. For the next ten days he received all the necessary inspections including X-rays, MRI and other examinations. In the end, it was determined that he had pneumonia. His condition was quite serious, and it was discovered that there was water in his lungs due to blood poisoning and respiratory failure. The doctor warned that True Father had to be kept ‘absolutely at rest.’ However, True Father strongly instructed that he had to go to Cheon Jeong Gung and so on August 12, he returned to Cheon Jeong Gung. After returning, he went around each and every place of Cheon Jeong Gung, caressing the things there as if he were saying goodbye. True Father also gave a serious prayer with True Mother as if it were his last prayer. True Father was seen putting things in their place and saying “I have completed everything!” four times during the day. During this time True Father was saying “thank you” to True Mother whenever he had the chance while clasping her hand.
In this way, True Father spent the entire night without any sleep at Cheon Jeong Gung at times in prayer and at times giving guidance. On August 13 the next day, he said that he wanted to take a car to go around the Cheongpyeong complex. The staff drove him to the front of the Cheongshim Middle and High School. Yet, his condition remained serious; an ordinary person in his state would not have even been able to stand up. The mental strength he showed that day was beyond imagination. However, in the afternoon, True Father’s strength started to decline rapidly. True Mother was the first to sense this change. In tears, True Mother begged Father to go to the hospital with her. In ordinary times, Father would have flatly refused but on this day he willingly accepted True Mother’s advice saying “Yes, mother. Thank you” and headed for the Cheongshim International Medical Center.
During the few hours that True Father stayed at the Cheongshim International Medical Center while undergoing treatment, his conditioned worsened. Seeing True Father cough severely and struggling in pain, True Mother immediately obtained True Father’s approval and instructed to have him transferred to the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, a general hospital in Seoul. Given the urgency of the circumstances, they seated True Father in the SUV that he usually rode, and with two nurses from the Cheongshim Hospital at his side and two tanks of oxygen, they continued to supply True Father with oxygen on the way. What usually was an hour’s drive, must have felt like a thousand years in a dreadful and desperate battle. With twenty minutes left to the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, True Father’s respiration became extremely rough and it seemed that he could not hold out anymore. At that point, everybody in the car, from the driver and to the nurses, felt that the world was about to end. Overcome with emotion, they sped with their life and were able to safely bring True Father to the hospital.
True Father was admitted into room 207 at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, and immediately began receiving emergency treatment. Though it was nighttime, there were five to six doctors and seven to eight nurses who were paged at short notice, and all types of equipment for emergency treatment were brought in.
It was an hour-long battle reminiscent of a war field. We were praying and beseeching to heaven; we were trembling in fear and anxiety, unable to shed tears or even breathe easily even when we closed our eyes. Finally, the emergency measures came to an end, and it was only after midnight that True Father could be moved to the intensive care unit on the fifth floor. It was the longest day of my life. It was way past one in the morning when Dr. Chun emerged from the intensive care unit after completing the setup. He said “If you were even thirty minutes later in bringing Father from the Cheongshim Hospital to this hospital, something serious might have happened today,” expressing his amazement in True Mother’s wise and prompt decision and action.
This is how True Father began his fight against his illness in the intensive care unit. Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital is one of the five largest hospitals in the Republic of Korea. The medical technology of Korea is not in any way inferior to that of any other nation of the world. The top medical team and most advanced medical care in the world were mobilized and they are investing themselves completely for True Father’s recovery, which I am confirming each day. I also have unending appreciation to Dr. Chun, the main doctor, for his dedication and hard work. True Father’s condition is being monitored without error twenty-four hours a day. All the necessary equipment and injections for treatment are being flawlessly employed.
Dear beloved members!
According to the principle of creation, human beings are born with a physical body, and everyone without exception will conclude their earthly life and move on to the spirit world which is the world of eternal life. Through True Father’s teachings, we are more than aware of this principle. At the same time, it is what makes us human that prevents us from neglecting or leaving an ill person unattended. It is the duty and proper way of being human to do our best in taking care of our parents, family members, or relatives around us if they fall ill and then fight their illness. This is because we live in the same era and environment as they live, and we build all manner of bonds and relationships as we go about our earthly life.
If that is so, what do you think True Mother and True Children are going through as they watch over and nurse True Father who is battling his illness each day? It is not that they do not understand the principle that human beings with physical bodies go through three stages of life. Indeed with True Mother, we are grasping Heaven and fervently praying for a miracle. True Father is the one and only messiah in human history. He is the one and only savior who will be recorded and attended to eternally as the True Parent. No couple other than the True Parents would ever become the True Parents of Humankind. The seven billion people of this world should stay up a ll night in prayer wishing for the recovery of True Father, who is so precious and dear to all of us, as he fights against his illness in the intensive care unit. We should appeal to Heaven for True Father to remain with us for at least another day before he departs if not for the sake of the pitiable souls on earth.
Beloved brothers and sisters!
However, it seems that Heaven’s providence does not always move according to human will. For a while it appeared that True Father’s condition was improving; however, during the last few days, the doctors reported that he has entered an irreversible stage of his condition. With a grieved and sorrowful heart, True Mother and the rest of us who looked after True Father at the hospital, conferred with the doctors at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and the Seoul National University Hospital.
However, like a bolt of lightning from a blue sky, we unexpectedly received the following warning. The top doctors in the field of respiratory systems at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Seoul National University Hospital reached the conclusion that given the level of modern medical practice, they could no longer promise the recovery of True Father’s pulmonary function. I wept bitterly in the face of this shocking reality that the probability of True Father recovering his pulmonary function was virtually nonexistent. This was August 28. Seeing True Mother enter her room alone and endlessly crying, my heart was torn and I wailed in sorrow. In that we have reached the point at which this stark reality cannot be reversed, we have to take steps towards the next stage in providence.
In accordance with True Mother’s instructions, we held an emergency meeting in the afternoon of August 28. A solemn meeting was held with True Mother and eight participants—Rev. Young Hwi Kim, Dr. Bo Hi Pak, Rev. Jae Seok Lee, Dr. Joon Ho Seuk, Hoon-Mo Nim, Rev. Hyo Yul Kim, and Kook Jin Nim and Hyung Jin Nim representing the True Family. In light of the serious reality that we faced, all of us seriously contemplated and discussed what we could do to have True Father remain on the earth a little bit more and how to keep him comfortable before his eventual departure. True Mother’s will was stronger than ever. She stated “No matter what happens, we must protect True Father’s sacred body.”
Medically speaking, there is no mistake that the intensive care unit of a general hospital is strictly protected and under tight management. However, the spiritual atmosphere and environment was very inadequate and unclean. Several people die each day and during visiting hours, the ward is bustling with people like a stop at a train station. Being in a critical condition, True Father’s level of immunity had fallen to being close to zero. He is placed in a situation where there is no knowing when a stray bacteria or virus could invade True Father’s system. It is also deeply regrettable that True Father’s condition requires that he be kept ‘absolutely at rest.’ Thus, True Mother and the True Children were limited to two visits a day, allowing for only two people to enter for twenty minutes at a time. As a result, there were even some members of the True Family who were unable to see True Father for some days at a time.
In these unfortunate circumstances, the decision that was reached by True Mother and all the participants of the emergency meeting was to transfer True Father from the intensive care unit at the St. Mary’s Hospital to a special room (reserved for True Parents’ exclusive use) at the Cheongshim International Medical Center in Cheongpyeong where he can continue to receive treatment. All the medical equipment and treatment that True Father received at the intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital will be transferred as well so that True Father’s treatment can continue uninterrupted. The process of transferring True Father from the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital to the Cheongshim International Medical Center will be carried out under the responsibility of Dr. Chun, Father’s main doctor, and Dr. Kim who is the supervising doctor of patients with respiratory disorders at the intensive care unit of the St. Mary’s Hospital. Both doctors will be with True Father in the ambulance that will take True Father to the Cheongshim International Medical Center. These doctors will continue to visit True Father frequently and do their utmost for True Father’s treatment. Furthermore, we invited a doctor from Japan who specializes in dealing with the respiratory systems to be exclusively responsible for watching over True Father and overseeing his treatment twenty-four hours a day. The veteran nurses who were placed in exclusive charge over True Father at the intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital will also accompany True Father when he is relocated to the Cheongshim Hospital and will remain there to nurse him. An intensive care unit will be fully prepared, placing True Father in a spacious room without having to share it with other patients. There he will be under the care of True Mother and other members of the True Family twenty-four hours a day. It is my wish that a miracle from Heaven occurs in relation to True Father’s condition amid the prayers and holy songs of our many members.
Although True Father is in the intensive care unit at a general hospital, in reality he is currently sustaining his life with the assistance of various machines. More than fifteen days have passed since he was admitted into an intensive care unit for pneumonia. Symptoms of complications have continued to arise. True Father’s kidneys have ceased to function, and the function of his liver is deteriorating rapidly. Furthermore, True Father’s circulation has reached the point where he can no longer sustain his life without the supply of oxygen artificially produced by a machine. In these circumstances, the officials at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital informed us that “There is no longer any way to improve True Father’s condition through modern medical technology.” Thus, True Mother, the True Children and all those who participated in the emergency meeting, reached the conclusion that having True Father receive professional treatment at the Cheongshim International Medical Center established by True Parents within the estate of Cheongpyeong, a location designated as a holy ground for all people, would have greater providential significance. Soon True Father will be transferred, while receiving care by the doctors from the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, to the Cheongpyeong area where True Parents’ Cheon Jeong Palace is located.
Beloved brothers and sisters!
We should ask Heaven for a miracle through our continuous prayers and jeongseong. Let us pray with a fervent heart for True Father to completely restore his health by Foundation Day so that he can personally preside and oversee the historic and providential Foundation Day celebrations. I believe that miracles will occur if our prayers and jeongseong reach Heaven.
Dr. Joon Ho Seuk
International Vice-President
Unification Church
President of the Korean Church
