True Story of Healing

How God Healed Me

Less than a year ago, On December 17th 2008, I woke up one morning with global amnesia. My wife noticed that my speech was slurred and I had difficulty walking. She called our pastor who helped get me to the emergency room right away. No one knew it, but I was unaware of anything although I interacted as people talked with me. After testing negatively for stroke, I was admitted. Within a few hours, I was unable to talk, couldn't walk, had tremors of the upper extremities and couldn't remember what people told me. According to reports, Nurses couldn't keep me in bed so I had to be tied down by four-point restraint and every chance I got prior to this, I was combative and hit anyone within reach. My children came to visit and cried when I didn't recognize them.

After extensive testing, the doctors had no idea what was wrong with me other than the fact that my vitamin B-1 level was mildly low. After four days of hospitalization, I was finally give B-1 injection. Within 15 minutes, the haze began to lift and the doctors were shocked that I began to respond to them. They told my wife that my symptoms and response to the vitamin was only seen in alcoholics. She assured them that I didn't drink. It was only later that they determined that I had a vitamin deficiency due to weight-loss surgery that I had 8 months previously.

I remember finally breaking out of the amnesia early one morning. I didn't know where I was, but it looked like a hospital room. A man came into my room and I asked him where I was. He informed my that I was in the hospital. I also asked who he was. He told me that he was my doctor. Finally I asked what was wrong with me. He simply said, "I don't know". Even though I was responding, my speech was still affected, I had sever tremors of the upper extremities, I walked like I was drunk and I had difficulties with short term memory. Through all of this, my wife remained strong, standing on her faith in Christ. She had informed our church, our friends and others had in turn told other people of my illness. Literally, hundreds of people were praying for me.

After about a week, I was able to go home, just in time for Christmas. I remember what a blessing that was for me to be home with my wife, kids and their spouses and all the grand kids for the celebration of Christ's birth.

Weeks after being released from the hospital, I was diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsarkoff's Syndrome, an alcoholic syndrome now being exhibited in a rare number of bariatric patients. In fact, I was one of 45 patients out of 200,000 procedures to get this syndrome. The next nine months were spent in speech therapy, traumatic brain injury group, occupational therapy and physical therapy. I had three relapses where I had to be readmitted to the hospital because one of my doctors took me off of vitamin B-1 in favor of B Complex which was a huge mistake. Little by little I progressed from using a wheel chair, a walker and now a cane. I continue to have persistent vertigo and have not driven a car in a year.

I have made lots of progress. My brain function isn't perfect, but it has markedly improved. I learned that the losses could have been permanent. My speech is almost problem free and the tremors have totally disappeared. Short-term memory and speech problems are hardly noticeable. For someone who has made a living in ministry and has had to talk and think for a living this has been a huge blessing. How have I been healed? It isn't because of any alternative therapy. No one performed Reiki, Healing Touch, or Therapeutic Touch on me. There are three reasons that I have been healed: 1.) because of the faith of my wife, 2.) because people prayed for me using the Biblical method of laying on of hands, 3.) because of persistent obedience to God to stay with my therapy and vitamin programs. God gave me lots of good people to pray for me, stand with me in faith and provide medical treatment.

Folks, God is my healer. He is Jehovah Rapha, "The Lord Our Healer". I had never been seriously ill in my entire life before last December. However, now I know personally the healing touch of the Holy Spirit in a way I have never known it before. If you need healing today, don't turn to alternative sources, turn to God. Just as Jesus healed people during His earthly ministry, He continues to heal the sick today.