Here is My Hope: A Book of Healing and Prayer: Inspirational Stories of Johns Hopkins Hospital

Baltimore Sun writer Randi Henderson teamed up with author Richard Marek to offer Here Is My Hope, an outstanding collection of true stories of healing and faith based on the patients of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The writers focus their stories around the 10-foot statue of Christ in the main rotunda of the hospital. With its reassuring eyes and outstretched arms, the statue seems to exude the compassion that the ill and their loved ones yearn for when they enter the unknown territory of a hospital. Rather than being a religious icon, though, it has served to represent a place for people of all faiths and backgrounds to lay their hopes and prayers for healing.

In the first chapter we meet Grayson Gilbert, a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a usually fatal disease. With grace and eloquence, the authors tell of Grayson's unusual lethargy that led to the discovery of a cancerous mass in his abdomen and a rushed admission into Johns Hopkins. While he was hospitalized he befriended some of the small children in his ward. Still uncertain of his recovery, he left this note beside the statue, "Dear Jesus, This is Grayson. If you could just heal the other kids, please. Thank you very much." Ultimately Grayson did survive, as do many others who leave their hopes at the feet of this benefactor. Even with all the impressive scientific research that's been recently published on the link between faith and healing, this collection of stories stands as one of the most exquisite and convincing testaments. --Gail Hudson