Dr. Paul Brand - The Hand Man

Scary Visitors

Paul Brand was born in 1914, in the remote Kollis hill country in India . His parents lived there because they loved God and the hill people, and they wanted to help them and to bring healing medicine. Life was generally fun, but one day brought fear into Paul's mind.

Local people were always welcome at the Brand household, but when three strangers came up the mountain one day, they received a different reception. Their skin was marked with strange patches of white, their fingers were just stumps and one of them had no toes at all.

Paul watched in amazement as his father put on gloves, before he washed their feet, put some ointment on their sores and bandaged their feet. His mother brought out a basket of food for them, but kept well away from the men.

When they had gone, Paul went to pick up the basket. 'No!' - his mother's voice made him instantly draw back. He then watched in astonishment as the basket was burnt and his father scrubbed his hands with hot water and strong soap, and then changed all his clothes.

'Why are you doing all this?' asked Paul. 'Because those men are lepers,' explained his father. A shiver ran down Paul's spine. He had heard about lepers in Bible stories, they were something bad, no one would go near them, except Jesus, who healed them.

Leprosy was the disease that everyone dreaded. People with leprosy lost the use of their hands and feet, and their faces were often disfigured. They were not able to work, and were disowned by their families. They became lonely, hopeless people, and yet there were more than 10 million of these sufferers throughout the world.