Big miracles DO still happen:
On July 12, 2009 I took our 4 year old daughter Natalie into the emergency room around 7 PM, I thought for some simple antibiotics and a doctor telling me I was an over worried mother. By 10 PM my husband, Eric, had joined us at Zeeland Hospital and we were getting ready to transfer Natalie to DeVos Children's hospital. Natalie had undergone a CAT scan and one round of antibiotics, the doctors were telling us that she had a cyst that needed to be drained, serious but not a big deal. By midnight she was in surgery with our ENT at DeVos Children's hospital and Eric and I were sitting in the waiting room in disbelief. How did we get there? The ENT had told us a lot of different things that it could be, but over all she was a very sick little girl. I wanted to go back in time in my life. I just kept telling God, "You have the wrong kid, Lord. Please, not Natalie."
We had just gotten home from a family cruise with 50 family members, where we had the time of our lives. Now we were sitting in a waiting room in the middle of the night praying that our little girl would be OK. I still knew God was good and felt safe that He was in control; through all of this I had peace.
During the night I had emailed my small group and EGM to ask for prayers. I didn't have much information for them but I knew that's what they were there for. The next morning we got a little more news on Natalie's condition and the doctors almost totally ruled out cancer. They told us that she would be in the hospital for 3 day
s minimum and she would need at least one more surgery. Her condition was very serious and they kept repeating to us how sick she was. I believe with all the prayers for Natilie that she was able to heal more quickly than the doctors thought she would and she ended up leaving the hospital a day early. Miracle #1 was done! The doctors were impressed by her quick healing. An MRI was scheduled for one month later to see how much the cyst would grow and how to go about finding a doctor that was willing to do her tricky surgery. We were told we would have to travel possibly out of state and maybe even to the other side of the country to find a specialist.
Fast forward to the MRI. By this time the doctors told us she had a fist arch branchial cleft cyst that was up against her skull and wedged between the main facial nerve and a blood vessel. When it was swollen it was closing in her throat and the blood vessel. We were told best case scenario for a surgery to take the cyst out was a blood transfusion because they had nicked a blood vessel and worst case the nerve would be severed leaving her with life altering disabilities. This was a dangerous surgery.
We had asked for 2 prayers over the last month, that God would heal her in a way no man could take credit for and that we could praise God that way, or that we could praise God for working through all the medical doctors we were encountering in trying to heal Natalie. We asked God for nothing in between. I believed all along that God was capable of doing both, but I guess I readied myself for the latter.
Natalie did very well during the MRI and had been feeling good so we didn't know what to expect. The doctor ended up calling us a day early with the results. He said, "I have some good news, there is nothing there. We double checked it all and can find nothing." I'll never forget that phone call; my younest child was sick and crying and I could hardly hear the doctor. I asked him to repeat it. He said that the whole team in the ENT doctor's office reviewed her case and can't figure out what happened, not something doctors like to say. He also said the cyst hadn't just collapsed and not filled up again, they can't even find the casing for the cyst. It was truely a miracle! The doctor said that he has never seen anything like it. I told him about our prayers and told him that this was a miracle. The doctors wanted to follow up with Natalie; they were concerned that she would be sick again. I just told him our church, small group, family, friends, people we barely knew, and even some we didn't know had been praying for her. This was a miracle. She will not be sick again from this; that was not our prayer, of this I have NO doubt. This is something that God gave to her and something we will never let her forget. We were left just as amazed as the doctors, maybe even more in awe of God than amazed. The kind of awe that levels you to your face right then and there and brings tears of thanksgiving to your eyes. It still does!
She now carries the tiniest scar behind her right ear and she knows what it means. It means God loves her. No matter where she is in her faith she knows that at one point in her life a huge amout of God's people came together and prayed to our heavenly Father for a miracle and He gave it to her. That is HUGE! As her parents, we can't thank everyone enough. We wanted to share this, to tell everyone that BIG miracles like total healing do still happen. God didn't reserve those for just biblical times; He hears our cries and heals. Our humble hearts rejoice daily with this and we hope that our story brings you not only a smile but also a deeper trust in the Lord for your worries. Send your worries to Him and He will listen.
Natalie will return to the ENT in November for a recheck appointment. I hope that she can be a witness to God's love and healing power to all the doctors and nurses we have talked to. Our God is victorious!
On July 12, 2009 I took our 4 year old daughter Natalie into the emergency room around 7 PM, I thought for some simple antibiotics and a doctor telling me I was an over worried mother. By 10 PM my husband, Eric, had joined us at Zeeland Hospital and we were getting ready to transfer Natalie to DeVos Children's hospital. Natalie had undergone a CAT scan and one round of antibiotics, the doctors were telling us that she had a cyst that needed to be drained, serious but not a big deal. By midnight she was in surgery with our ENT at DeVos Children's hospital and Eric and I were sitting in the waiting room in disbelief. How did we get there? The ENT had told us a lot of different things that it could be, but over all she was a very sick little girl. I wanted to go back in time in my life. I just kept telling God, "You have the wrong kid, Lord. Please, not Natalie."
We had just gotten home from a family cruise with 50 family members, where we had the time of our lives. Now we were sitting in a waiting room in the middle of the night praying that our little girl would be OK. I still knew God was good and felt safe that He was in control; through all of this I had peace.
During the night I had emailed my small group and EGM to ask for prayers. I didn't have much information for them but I knew that's what they were there for. The next morning we got a little more news on Natalie's condition and the doctors almost totally ruled out cancer. They told us that she would be in the hospital for 3 day
s minimum and she would need at least one more surgery. Her condition was very serious and they kept repeating to us how sick she was. I believe with all the prayers for Natilie that she was able to heal more quickly than the doctors thought she would and she ended up leaving the hospital a day early. Miracle #1 was done! The doctors were impressed by her quick healing. An MRI was scheduled for one month later to see how much the cyst would grow and how to go about finding a doctor that was willing to do her tricky surgery. We were told we would have to travel possibly out of state and maybe even to the other side of the country to find a specialist.Fast forward to the MRI. By this time the doctors told us she had a fist arch branchial cleft cyst that was up against her skull and wedged between the main facial nerve and a blood vessel. When it was swollen it was closing in her throat and the blood vessel. We were told best case scenario for a surgery to take the cyst out was a blood transfusion because they had nicked a blood vessel and worst case the nerve would be severed leaving her with life altering disabilities. This was a dangerous surgery.
We had asked for 2 prayers over the last month, that God would heal her in a way no man could take credit for and that we could praise God that way, or that we could praise God for working through all the medical doctors we were encountering in trying to heal Natalie. We asked God for nothing in between. I believed all along that God was capable of doing both, but I guess I readied myself for the latter.
Natalie did very well during the MRI and had been feeling good so we didn't know what to expect. The doctor ended up calling us a day early with the results. He said, "I have some good news, there is nothing there. We double checked it all and can find nothing." I'll never forget that phone call; my younest child was sick and crying and I could hardly hear the doctor. I asked him to repeat it. He said that the whole team in the ENT doctor's office reviewed her case and can't figure out what happened, not something doctors like to say. He also said the cyst hadn't just collapsed and not filled up again, they can't even find the casing for the cyst. It was truely a miracle! The doctor said that he has never seen anything like it. I told him about our prayers and told him that this was a miracle. The doctors wanted to follow up with Natalie; they were concerned that she would be sick again. I just told him our church, small group, family, friends, people we barely knew, and even some we didn't know had been praying for her. This was a miracle. She will not be sick again from this; that was not our prayer, of this I have NO doubt. This is something that God gave to her and something we will never let her forget. We were left just as amazed as the doctors, maybe even more in awe of God than amazed. The kind of awe that levels you to your face right then and there and brings tears of thanksgiving to your eyes. It still does!
She now carries the tiniest scar behind her right ear and she knows what it means. It means God loves her. No matter where she is in her faith she knows that at one point in her life a huge amout of God's people came together and prayed to our heavenly Father for a miracle and He gave it to her. That is HUGE! As her parents, we can't thank everyone enough. We wanted to share this, to tell everyone that BIG miracles like total healing do still happen. God didn't reserve those for just biblical times; He hears our cries and heals. Our humble hearts rejoice daily with this and we hope that our story brings you not only a smile but also a deeper trust in the Lord for your worries. Send your worries to Him and He will listen.
Natalie will return to the ENT in November for a recheck appointment. I hope that she can be a witness to God's love and healing power to all the doctors and nurses we have talked to. Our God is victorious!
