Focus on the Family Magazine - April/May 2020

NEW
FROM FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
NO SUCH THING AS CAN’T
Not many doctors have cerebral palsy.
Yet this disability was part of the Great
Physician’s plan for Dr. Tyler Sexton.
Be inspired by Tyler’s remarkable
story of overcoming adversity.
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Tyler is involved with building
affordable housing and operating
the community swimming pool he
bought out of foreclosure. “It’s all
about Jesus,” Tyler says. “Every day
we live, we have a chance to impact
somebody’s life for Christ.”
A true superhero
Chief medical officer Dr. Randy
Roth, medical director of inpatient
physician services at Singing River
Hospital in Pascagoula, Mississippi,
recalls the process of hiring Tyler.
“I’m waiting there [at a restaurant],
thinking, Where’s Dr. Sexton? Then in
came Tyler and his dog. Afterward, I
got into my car, thinking, That’s the
most impressive interview I’ve ever
had. We need to hire him.” Since
then, Roth, a committed believer,
has seen his young chief of pediatrics
applying his faith to his practice.
“I try to emulate the Great
Physician, Jesus, as best I can every
time I report to work as I attempt to
care for people’s spirits and minds as
well as their bodies,” Tyler explains.
“For me, being a servant of the Great
Physician means that when I see
patients hurting, I hurt deep down
with them. Sometimes I pray with
them when they ask me to.”
Tyler’s office resembles an untidy
museum, packed with superhero
figurines, posters and trinkets. Kids
love the superhero memorabilia
and the superhero T-shirts he wears
every day. With his service dog, Tyler
walks hospital hallways, listening to
patients’ concerns. He shares laughs
with his nurse interns.
Even after a long day at work,
Tyler doesn’t stop encouraging and
helping others. On this particular
evening, he dons a sports coat over
his gray Batman T-shirt, readying to
speak at a church. Before that, however,
he’ll make a house call. (Yes, a
house call.) A few miles away, inside
a nondescript, one-story brick house,
lies a teenage boy on a hospital bed
surrounded by monitors, tubes and
an array of medical supplies. His
eyes gaze blankly, his head wobbling
side to side.
Mom and Dad are thrilled to see
Tyler. As if talking to best friends,
their doctor asks and answers questions.
His tone indicates, You’re
important. I’ve got time for you.
The father and Tyler banter over
fantasy football lineups. Time slips
by. Tyler’s speaking engagement
awaits.
“Thanks so much for coming,” the
parents say, waving from the front
door.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Tyler arrives
at Lighthouse Baptist Church’s
women’s group. More than 50 pack
a multipurpose room. His hostess
tells everyone, “It’s just incredible
that Dr. Sexton’s in our area.”
For the next 40 minutes, the
tireless doctor, once mocked mercilessly
and then blocked from
medical schools, now rocks a
church gathering with his story of
faith. “I stand in front of you,” he says,
“as a man with cerebral palsy, not in
shame, [but] because God took tragedy
and turned it into triumph.” •
Joe Maxwell is a former editor for Christianity
Today and World magazines. The author of
numerous biographies, Joe owns and operates
LifeStory Publishing in Jackson, Mississippi.
JENNIE TEWELL
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FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
April / May 2020