“It’s time that you know …,” Dr. Ulild sighed, leaning against the wall.

Know what? I wondered as I sat on his examining table. He broke eye contact with me.

“Janet, I was in on your first surgery. Dr. Allgood cut your bone wrong, diagonally, cutting ligaments and causing instability. The rest of your surgeries were to try to fix this mistake.”

Immediately my stomach drew up into knots, and I wept uncontrollably. How could my doctors have done this to me? Through 10 surgeries, I had trusted them! They were my heroes!

In a flash my childlike faith and trust in people had been shaken to the core. I had been wheelchair-bound due to a doctor’s negligence and had been told for 15 years that my right knee problems were due to a congenital complication, “the way God made me.” My doctors had lied … and had the nerve to blame God!

I was angry. The thought of living the rest of my life with the consequences of someone else’s secrets, mistakes and lies made my stomach churn with fury! Ulild hadn’t even said he was sorry. Yet Scripture told me that as a Christian I was to forgive. I soon learned that forgiveness is an act of obedience to God and needs to begin with the decision to forgive.

I chose to do so, but my rage still seethed. I thought that once I “forgave,” my soul would be at rest. Instead, my emotions rode a roller coaster: How could any of this be part of God’s plan for my life? What good can God create out of this mess? Despite my shock and anger, I knew that Ulild’s confession was no surprise to God.

I paid a visit to Norman Wright, marriage and family counselor and co-author of Good Women Get Angry. “It’s not a sin to experience anger,” he said. “What happened to you was wrong! But you can’t allow your anger to lead to bitterness and resentment.

“The experience of anger is normal and natural. As part of being made in God’s image, humans have emotions, and anger is one of them. Like all of God’s gifts, anger has tremendous potential for good. We can choose to express our anger in ways that help or in ways that hinder, in ways that build or in ways that destroy. Janet, it’s your choice.”

I wrestled with my convictions. What should Christians do when they learn that they’ve been victimized by medical fraud? Or when they discover that their doctors have injured many others — and some have even died?

Through godly counsel I concluded that I had a responsibility to take a closer look at my medical history. I discovered that my medical records had been tampered with, some even destroyed. I wished I had kept my own set of records, even my medical chart.

I was also stunned to learn that our laws don’t require doctors to “own up,” “tell the truth” or “inform a patient” of the real cause of his or her condition. I had no idea that medical malpractice is the eighth most common cause of death in America and that these preventable deaths exceed the deaths attributed to car accidents, breast cancer or AIDS!

I researched information pertaining to my doctors. Even though they were in “good standing” with the Medical Board of California, court records showed that they had been sued 50 times! I doubt that the patients/plaintiffs knew the odds — one out of every four orthopedic surgeons has cut, or will operate on, the wrong limb at some point in his or her career. In 1998, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons launched a “Sign Your Site” campaign, encouraging surgeons to sign their names directly on the patient’s skin, marking the spot intended for surgery. In the future, I’d be the patient my doctor would never forget. I’d hand my doctor a pen!

My research uncovered alarming facts that put my entire community at risk: For 25 years, Allgood had been practicing medicine and performing surgeries without carrying malpractice insurance.

I chose to stand up for truth and godly principles, vowing to “live out my faith” by doing everything possible to prevent my doctors from injuring anyone else. Despite the twists and turns of an eight-year legal battle, I determined that giving up was not an option. I reminded myself more than once that God’s power is not limited by the lack of fair play. From state to appellate to federal courts, God was faithful.

After winning my legal battles, I contacted the California medical board but discovered that only “occurrences” that had taken place within the last seven years could be investigated. The statute of limitations held no provision for cases in which fraud and/or concealment were involved and therefore shielded my doctors from accountability or investigation.

I wrote to California assemblyman Bill Campbell, sharing my story and the inadequacies I saw in existing state law regarding the medical board. He subsequently introduced legislation born out of my medical disaster: Assembly Bill AB2571 was my hope for changing the future for others.

Within six months, the bill unanimously passed the California Assembly and Senate, and on Aug. 31, 2000, it was signed into law! No longer can California doctors change medical records or conceal medical information and rely on the statute of limitations to exonerate them from investigation by the board.

I am reminded that God cares immensely about each of us. I am in awe of the way He answered my cries: How can any of this be part of God’s plan for my life? What good can God create out of this mess? I have great peace in knowing that I walked a road I was destined to walk. How richly blessed I am that God trusted me with pain!

One of the greatest lessons I learned is that it “just takes one”: one set of hands, one letter written, one person willing to say, “Yes, I will. I will take a stand.” One life can be used to bless and change the lives of many. My life is one that has been used, and blessed.