Lofgren, Eric
From MissioWiki
Contents |
Lofgren, Eric Paul, M.D., M.S.
- b. 3/19/1919, Killeberg, Sweden
- d. 12/6/2010. Rochester, MN, USA
Spouse/Family
- Wife: Dorothy Katherine (Schneider), b. 12/23/1923, Detroit, MI, USA; m. 5/24/1947
- Children: Elisabeth ("Lisa") Katherine, b. 1/13/1960 (adopted March 1960); Paul Hokan, b. 4/1/1961 (adopted April 1961)
Service
| Dates of Service | Field | Call Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| 1955-1958 | Nigeria | Medical Missionary |
Biographical Summary
Eric Paul Lofgren, son of Hokan and Tekla Lofgren, was born in Killeberg, Sweden on March 19, 1919. When he was nine years old, his parents, with their children, immigrated to the United States and settled in Rockford, IL. After receiving his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, he attended and was graduated from the University of Illinois Medical School in 1945 with an MD degree. He then interned at the United States Marine Hospital (United States Public Health Service) in Detroit, MI, where he met, and later married, Dorothy, who was secretary to the Medical Officer in Charge. Following discharge from the U.S.P.H.S., he practiced medicine as a family doctor in Rockford, IL. In 1951 he was accepted for a residency in General Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He completed his residency in May, 1955 and received his Master of Surgery degree.
Earlier in 1955 the Lofgrens received a copy of the Lutheran Medical Mission's periodical "The Cross and the Caduceus." It contained a notice that a physician was urgently needed at Emmanuel Lutheran Hospital in Eket, Nigeria for a term of three years — or the hospital might have to be closed. Since he had wanted to be a missionary as a child, he and his wife Dorothy agreed that they could and would fill that need. Their contact with the Lutheran Synodical Conference Missionary Board led to their flying to Nigeria in May, 1955.
At the first hospital Board of Directors' meeting after their arrival, Missionary Richard Krugler, who was chairman of the Board of Directors at the time, asked Dr. Lofgren how he saw the role of the hospital in the overall work of the mission. Without hesitation, Dr. Lofgren responded: "The role of this hospital in the overall work of the mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ while at the same time providing the patients with the best medical care possible. If the hospital were to care only for the physical needs of the patients, the government could do the job just as well." He fulfilled this view of the dual role of the hospital by initiating and conducting a chapel service for the people waiting to be examined and treated at the outpatient clinic. He prepared the messages of Christ's healing to touch their hearts and to assure them of God's love for them in Christ. Some patients had traveled many miles to receive medical help to restore physical health to their bodies and they all received the added bonus of hearing about a much more important healing, the healing Jesus accomplished when He earned forgiveness for all their sin. After the chapel service ended, the work of examining and treating the sick and ailing commenced.
Prior to Dr. Lofgren's term of service, chapel services were conducted every Sunday by a Nigerian Lutheran pastor in the large ward, who also conducted daily evening services there for the patients and staff.
Dorothy Lofgren, who had worked at the Mayo Clinic as a medical secretary, used her skills by voluntarily serving as office manager and record keeper at the Mission Hospital in Eket, Nigeria. On outpatient clinic days she filled out the admission forms for new patients and maintained the files for all the patients. When Dr. Lofgren made his rounds to check on the patients' progress and to discharge those who were ready to leave the hospital, Dorothy accompanied him so that she could make the requested entries on the patient's record. Surgical days, which alternated with outpatient clinic days, found her in the operating room, ready to record any information in that patient's file as dictated by the doctor. In addition to these duties, she often was called on to do a variety of other tasks, such as driving somewhere to pick up needed supplies or to transport certain released patients to their distant homes. Occasionally Dr. Lofgren was called on to perform an autopsy. Dorothy was on hand to fill out the report as Dr. Lofgren dictated his physical findings.
As part of the original construction of the hospital, a well was dug and a water tower constructed to provide running water to the hospital. However, it regularly failed to do what it was constructed to do. This necessitated Dr. Lofgren to serve as plumber also, working to correct the malfunctioning part, which often required him to be lowered into the well to make repairs. When the well and pump were not providing the necessary water, water from the river had to be hauled to the hospital. The water that was to be used in treating patients or feeding them had to be sterilized and filtered before it could be used.
When additional buildings were needed for housing additional staff or for hospital purposes, Dr. Lofgren had to supervise the construction to make sure that the building was constructed properly. It was at such times that his familiarity with the use of a theolodite came in handy. An example of why this was necessary is the time when the Mission hired a local contractor to build a large classroom building for one of its schools. When Mission Superintendent Schweppe visited the site after construction had started, it didn't look right to him. He asked the contractor for a long tape measure, measured the building diagonally from corner to corner and found that the building was four feet off square! Overriding the contractors objects, Supt. Schweppe insisted that the contractor take down the four tiers of cement blocks and start over, making sure this time that the building was rectangular.
To provide better medical treatment for the patients, both Eric and Dorothy corresponded with numerous supporters, many of whom provided funds for medical equipment and supplies to supplement the funds allocated by the Missionary Board. In this way a washer and dryer for the hospital laundry were donated by members of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Rockford, IL, USA, where the Lofgrens had been members. Donated funds also were used to purchase a generator to provide electricity for the hospital and its equipment. When Dr. Lofgren learned through his brother, Dr. Karl Lofgren, who was on the staff of Mayo Clinic, that one of Mayo Clinic's hospitals was planning to renovate its operating rooms and to upgrade the equipment, he expressed an interest in an operating table and an operating room ceiling light fixture to place above the operating room table. Dr. Karl Lofgren paid for those two items and the Fellowship Group of Trinity Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN, where Eric and Dorothy were members, paid the packing and shipping charges. This table replaced the simple examining room table that had been used as an operating table since the hospital opened a few years earlier. The ceiling light fixture replaced the pressure kerosene lamps that had been used during surgeries. Another important addition came when the Wheatridge Foundation funded the purchase of an X-ray machine, which was installed by Dr. Lofgren, and which led to the construction of a Tuberculosis Ward.
At the end of their three-year term of service in 1958, Dr. Eric and Dorothy Lofgren returned to Rockford, IL, where Dr. Lofgren prepared himself to be accepted as a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons in the year 1960. He then was asked to join the staff at Mayo Clinic as a vascular surgeon. From 1964 until his retirement in 1984 he became a Professor of Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, MN. During this time he specialized in the study of the treatment of varicose veins, publishing his findings in medical journals and speaking at medical conventions and conferences both in this country and abroad. In 1979 he was appointed head of varicose vein surgery at the Mayo Clinic and also served as Professor of Surgery at the Mayo Medical College in Rochester, MN. In 1980 a pharmaceutical company produced a film of Dr. Lofgren performing and explaining his method of surgically treating varicose veins, titling it "The Surgical Treatment of Varicose Veins," so that doctors worldwide could benefit from his expertise.
During his retirement he became legally blind, related to a diagnosis of Macular Degeneration and Cardiovascular accidents. In addition, he has suffered a Brain Stem stroke and many small strokes. When Dorothy could no longer adequately care for him, he was admitted to the Supportive Nursing Care Facility of the Charter House in Rochester, MN.
Nota Bene
Dr. Lofgren served on the Religious Affairs Committee of the American Medical Association. In 1975 he coauthored a handbook for hospital chaplains, entitled "Religious Aspects of Medical Care: A Handbook of Religious Practices of All Faiths." As a result of his exploratory work on the surgical treatment of varicose veins, he produced a number of medical papers which were published in medical journals.
Phase 2 Information
Biggest missiological issue faced?
Working in primitive conditions was exacerbated by infrastructure that frequently failed, necessitating supervising the repairs or doing them yourself.
Most significant contribution during missionary service?
Dr. Lofgren successfully accomplished his vision of the role of a mission hospital in the overall mission of the church, that of providing the best possible medical care while at the same time proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who came seeking physical healing. In addition to conducting pre-clinic devotional services and arranging for a local Lutheran pastor to conduct regular church services in a large ward, which provided room for patients from other wards to attend also, Eric and Dorothy demonstrated the Christian faith by the way they lived and how they related to their patients and local staff members. Their way of life proclaimed that they had come to Nigeria to serve their Lord and the people for whom He had died. "The evening service, held on work days when the sun was setting, was a special blessing of peace for those present," Dorothy commented.
Connection to today’s mission?
After returning to Rochester, MN following their service in Nigeria, Dr. Lofgren and Dorothy both promoted the cause of missions whenever possible, especially in Trinity Lutheran Church, in which they are members. When Dr. Lofgren served as president of the congregation, the congregation provided financial support for a mission in Malabar. And currently the congregation is sponsoring an evangelistic missionary in Uganda.
Lessons Learned
In any given culture the people must adapt to their environment. Life in the village of Eket was a challenge. There was a well established social and political structure in place before mission work began there, and we must all learn to respect the cultures in which we are working. Our main focus is to proclaim the Gospel message in whatever way possible.
Best Practices
1. Health care workers should learn to listen carefully to the medical history of the patient, as told by the patient. 2. Be approachable by all. 3. The medical team should work as a team to provide the best care to every patient every day. 4. Write "Thank You" letters to donors and sponsoring congregations or organizations for their support and for supplying items for hospital use.
Phase 3 Information
Inspiration for entering foreign missions?
From early childhood Eric's parents taught him the importance of mission work and the need to support it. This instilled in him a desire to be a missionary, a desire which he retained into adulthood. See the story below for details.
Quotation by/about or brief story:
Once upon a time, far away and long ago, in Skane, which is a province in the southern-most part of Sweden, there lived a little boy named Per. Per lived with his Papa, whose name was Hokan, his Mama, whose name was Tekla, his sister Anna Maja, and his two brothers Karl and Sven. Per was the youngest in the family.
Every Sunday Per and his family walked to church to worship God and learn about God's love. After the service Per, Anna Maja, Karl and Sven went to Sunday School classes for children to learn about God's Son Jesus. Mama and Papa went to Bible Study class for grown-ups.
Sometimes there were special services on weekday evenings and Mama and Papa brought the family to church on these nights also. Per, being the youngest, had trouble keeping up with the family as they walked through the snow to church, and he would become especially tired on the way home after the late evening services. When Per was especially tired, Papa would lift Per up and let him ride on Papa's strong shoulders, or Papa would carry Per in his arms. Per would sleepily remember all that he had heard and learned at church and in Sunday School.
In Sunday School the pastor sometimes told stories of missionaries working on the far dark continent of Africa. He said the missionaries would travel to Africa to live and to teach the people there all about Jesus. Money would be collected on mission Sundays to help these missionaries with their work.
To teach Per the joy of giving to others, Papa would give Per some coins to put into the offering box to be sent to the missionaries. Per was delighted to do this, because it meant that he could put the money in the special mission offering box. The special mission offering box had a little boy with black-colored skin sitting on top of the box. Whenever a coin was dropped into this special box, the little boy would bow his head, like he was saying "Thank you." Per left Sweden when he was nine years old.
While Per was growing up in America, he never forgot the special mission offering box, with the little black boy sitting on the top, even after his family moved from Sweden to America. When Per grew up, got married and became a doctor, he still remembered that special mission offering box and all it stood for.
One day Per learned that a Lutheran hospital in Africa badly needed a doctor. Per and his wife Dorothy talked it over and decided that they would go to Africa as missionaries to help the people who lived there learn about Jesus and what He had done for everyone. Per thought he might even meet a little black boy like the one who sat on the special mission offering box that was in the church he had gone to in Sweden.
Per and Dorothy went to Africa and stayed there for three years helping the people. There were other people like Per and Dorothy from many countries who had come to Africa to help the people there. There were people from churches in all these countries who sent medicine, food and clothing to Per and Dorothy and the other missionaries to give to the Africans, just like when Per was a little boy.
Per got to meet lots of little black boys and girls and he gave them food, clothing and medicine. Per helped them to build a hospital and taught them about Jesus. Per made many friends in Africa. Per and Dorothy worked very hard, and they had lots of wonderful memories of the people they met and of the people they helped.
Per always remembered the special mission offering box with the little black boy who sat on the top. Per felt that this memory was of great importance in the shaping of his life and his world-view. Per wished that all children had the same loving, caring parents like his Mama and Papa who brought their families to church and Sunday School to learn about Jesus.
When Per and Dorothy, brother Karl and Karl's wife Jean, and sister Anna Maja became older, they traveled to visit the village in Sweden where they had lived as children. While they were there, they went to the church where Papa and Mama had taken them as children. What do you think they found there? The special mission offering box was still there and the little black boy still sat on the top, and when Per put a coin in the box, the little boy bowed his head as if to say "Thank you."
When Per's children were little, Per would tell them Per stories at night. These stories were strongly based in fact and were sometimes about a bad boy who learned a lesson. Therefore, the name of the main character had been changed to Per. Per's children did figure out that Per was their father Eric. This is only one of those stories.
Interview Questions:
- Full name, date and place of birth
- Date and place of death, if interviewing a family member of a deceased missionary
- Spouse or spouses’ name, date and place of birth, date of marriage, date of death if applicable
- Children’s full names, including any married names, and years of birth (and death, if applicable)
- Dates of service, field, assignment(s) during service
- Biographical summary of mission work (focusing on time spent in mission, although other relevant biographical details are encouraged)
- Nota bene: publications, special service
- What was the biggest issue - the biggest problem, or the issue you encountered most often - while you were serving in foreign missions?
- What was your most significant contribution (to the people served, other missionaries, the mission field, mission work as a whole, etc.) during your time in missions?
- What is the connection between your mission and today’s mission? Are there structures, publications or practices that you helped found or maintain that remain today? How did your work help to create or maintain ties between the mission field (or independent national church) and the LCMS? Did your work influence mission work today beyond the field to which you were called, and how?
- What were the most important lessons you learned during your foreign mission service?
- What were some of your best practices - the things you and others did that “worked” for your mission of spreading the Gospel and caring for God’s people? What should be emulated by missionaries to come?
- How were you inspired or called to enter foreign missions?
- Any particular quotations or anecdotes you would like to share from your time in missions. Any important, poignant or funny stories that should be shared. Spouses can share quotations about each other, or children about their parents.
