A week and a half ago, Pastor Greg (my Co-Lead Pastor at New Life Bible Fellowship) and his family went through a harrowing 72 hours with their eldest son, Levi. What follows is Greg’s testament to our miracle-working God. I pray it speaks hope and fills your soul with gratitude for the kind God we serve.
-John
I have experienced many of what I call “small miracles” in my life. Each was a gift from God, so I do not use the term “small” to diminish the glory of God in any way. They were extraordinary “coincidences” that could only be arranged by an all-knowing God. They were healings that followed prayer so particularly that it made all who knew smile. Funds have arrived out of nowhere just as a bill had to be paid. Jesus has calmed storms of oppression so clearly I could almost hear him say, “Peace be still.” But my soul is still awed from a miracle we witnessed last Friday.
I will back up. Levi, our firstborn, is in large measure a miracle child. He has a genetic anomaly and we almost lost him in two surgeries before he was eighteen months old. He is autistic, fights mental health battles against depression and being bipolar, and lives in a group home. Last Wednesday his staff found him around noon unconscious and unresponsive on his bedroom floor.
He was rushed to the hospital. His oxygen was critically low, his brain had significant swelling, and his blood was toxic. He was immediately put on a respirator for life support. He had no brain stem reflexes, did not respond to pain, and failed the apnea test as part of the process to be diagnosed as brain dead. By Wednesday night the head doctor asked us if we were ready to remove life support. He said Levi had essentially no chance of waking up and that if he did, he would have such significant brain damage that his quality of life would be zero.
Debra and I were in shock. All of us were. But we were not ready to remove life support. Levi was in a coma. All through Wednesday night, Thursday, and into Friday doctors did further testing to establish if there was any hint of brain activity. We saw three possible outcomes: Levi could wake up, Levi could wake up partially, with significant brain damage, or Levi could remain in a coma and we would eventually face the dreadful decision to remove life support.
We prepared ourselves in the truth that God would be equally present in each outcome. Going to heaven is a good thing. There is goodness in the gift of suffering. Life with significant handicaps is no less valuable than a life unscathed. But we were preparing ourselves to say goodbye to Levi in this world. Every reasonable indication was that we had lost him. We prayed, cried, and held each other from Wednesday night through Friday. After a few more days of testing, the expectation was we would say goodbye.
Then, early Friday evening, Levi woke up. He just popped awake and began pulling on his respirator hose to get it out. By Saturday afternoon we Facetimed him and he spoke in full sentences and asked us a question that showed his memory was fine.
He has since been discharged from the ICU to the psychiatric care center to process what has happened and further test any long-term damage. We talk to him a few times a day now, and he seems very much like Levi. If you ask me how we are doing, I will probably respond with a quiet smile. My soul is still a bit rattled. Deep inside me I am in awe at the miracle I witnessed. There is no earthly explanation to describe what happened. It was a miracle, a big miracle. Levi is … a living miracle. He has been given another gift of life. I am blessed to know him and to love him.
I read this to Levi this morning – He praised God and shared how thankful he is for the staff at his group home. If they did not act so quickly in getting him to the hospital he may not be here now. He thanked his roommates. They have been amazing. He also thanked everyone who prayed for him, especially everyone at New Life who loves him so much. “Thank you!”