“Mom, we’re at the ER. Something’s wrong with Vince.” That’s the abbreviated version of the phone call I got from my oldest daughter on Monday evening.
You know that stomach dropping sensation that hits when a person is plopped down in the unknown? Well, that’s where I was on Monday night and Tuesday morning. But by Tuesday afternoon, the unknown had a name: Transverse Myelitis. An uncommon, debilitating but treatable neurological condition that requires accurate and efficient diagnosis. Thank God, the doctors in charge of Vince (my 13 year old grandson) were able to make the diagnosis quickly.
It’s hard to see a loved one struggle to walk, to do things that most of us take so for granted. I was with him at the hospital today during his physical therapy. At one point I thought I would faint. (I have a Master’s Degree in the Fine Art of Swooning.) I wanted to make it all better. I wanted God to touch him and make him whole again, make him able to run again. I wanted my daughter not to have to worry about her son, to not have to face the months of therapy ahead. But I have learned that more often than not, God chooses to walk us through the hard times rather than to take us out of them.
As soon as I was off the phone on Monday night, I put out calls for prayer to my Christian email groups, and I posted small tidbits to my Twitter and Facebook pages over the following days. I was careful not to mention specifics until I remembered to ask my daughter for permission to do so. Today she said it was fine, and so here I am, sharing some of the specifics.
I cannot tell you how much the prayers of the Saints have meant to me and to us this week. How do unbelievers make it through the rough patches in life without Jesus and other Christians to stand in the gap for them? I haven’t a clue. I’m just glad that I can cling to Jesus, that I can trust Him with my family and our future. And I’m glad I have so many Bible believing readers of this blog and of my Twitter tweets and of my Facebook page who will continue to remember Vince and his family (mom Micki, stepdad John, sister Shayla) in their prayers. And me too. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. May God bless you a hundred times over.
~rlh~
