If I Stay –

Please Heal Me

 

By Rose Forrest

Written on September 19, 2007

 

 

Whenever I read about the healings of Jesus I was always so excited. I was amazed how it happened and thought about how mighty the power of the Lord is. I never thought I would receive a healing from the Lord but read on.

 

I was having severe back pain in 2000 and after all the treatments were tried and no relief I went to the emergency room at the local hospital (San Ramon Regional). They took all the scans and X-rays and blood work and found I needed surgery. I was admitted to the hospital and was told an orthopedist would do a consult with me.

 

The Orthopedist (Dr. Joseph Grant) came and had all the test results with him and explained my lower back had collapsed and I would need a spinal fusion. The words we never want to hear!

 

He explained all the procedure and said he would leave me for awhile to think about any questions etc.. I prayed and prayed to God and when the doctor returned he asked if I had any questions and I said yes that I had one. He was surprised but I asked the question and it was this "Are you a Christian?" He smiled and said yes I am. I told him the prayers I asked God was to send me a Christian doctor and he did.

 

The doctor was able to arrange a surgery the following day. It took six hours for the fusion and I did very well and was up the next morning. We all were happy but we did not know what was to follow.

 

I was home about 2 weeks when I began to have stomach pain and was unable to eat and started to lose weight. I lost 21 pounds in two weeks and was again admitted to the hospital and again went through all the tests to try to find the cause of my pain and weight loss. Another specialist was called in and I was still losing weight. Finally they put a feeding tube into my chest and tried chemical food to have me gain weight. No luck there. Another test was done and showed I had a paralyzed stomach (1) and there is no cure for that . It has to just release on its own. I was still not eating and still not gaining any weight and I was sent home to try to drink liquids. I was not able to drink much and got weaker each day. By now I was not able to walk or to get out of bed without help. I was losing the battle.

 

One day I was so sad to see my family looking at me with tears in their eyes and fear that I was going to die. My daughter had to leave to pick up her children and would be gone for about 30 minutes. After she left and I was alone I began to pray . This was my prayer. God if you are going to have me stay here on earth please heal me but if you want to take me home please do it now. I kept saying this over and over for about 25 minutes when suddenly a shock like electricity ran through my body and the bed and I shook! I was sure it was an earthquake and suddenly it stopped.

 

I just was lying there trying to figure out what happened when I realized my stomach pain was gone!!! I sat up and finally tried to get out of bed and with much hope I did. I said to myself I feel hungry so I will try to walk into my kitchen (I suppose I was putting God through a test) and I will eat some cereal and if I can do it I know God healed me. I ate the cereal and felt so good but weak so I went back to bed and sat up and thanked God for the miracle of healing he just did. I knew he answered my prayer. It took a few months before I got to start to gain weight but the doctors just could not be happier for me to be healed.

 

Remember if you believe God will heal you he will in his time and in his way. Never doubt our Lord . I did not and will praise him forever. God is love and love wins.

 

Many thanks to my small group who was with me every day and anointing me and praying over me. Also Mark Howard and the deacons. Thank you for caring.

 

Sharing this healing and the second was a wake up call for me and I share it with sick and depressed people when it is the right time.  I only want to share it so people can know the love of God and when we are filled with the holy spirit and believe, God does his miracle.  Sometimes healing is the final healing and in my humble opinion that is the greatest healing as we then see the face of God which Christians look forward to their entire life isn't it!!!!!!

 

I did not mention the other doctor’s name because he let me down the second time I was facing a similar problem and I had to find another doctor in the midst of my distress and my dear daughter took me to the office of a doctor I had never seen before and he admitted me to a hospital... Gods work again.  That is another story...

 

The Other Story Follows

 

In 2005 I became ill again with similar symptoms as before, loss of weight, not able to eat and pain.  I was tested for a paralyzed stomach (1) again and the test was negative.  The doctor who first treated me examined me and could not find out the problem once again but the loss of weight became dangerous.  Tests were done once again and I was tested for all bacteria known to man!!  Well time went by and I was so thin and weak I was admitted to the hospital and my potassium was extremely low and I was put on a heart monitor and an IV inserted to fill me with potassium.  This time I spent about 30 days total in the hospital and finally they diagnosed me with E. coli. (2)  This was a week after another surgery on my back that the symptoms started!  Sounds familiar doesn't it.

 

I really had time alone with the Lord as I was in a private room and no one was in the room most of the day except the nurses and the technician who monitored my potassium and the deacons who were faithful with visits and prayers.  When I saw the looks on their faces I knew I was in trouble..However I did not lose faith and I also did not fear death.  I just talked to our Father and he assured me he would be near.

 

During this period Mark Howard visited her at the hospital, October 18 & 25, 2005, prayed and anointed her with oil, and continued to pray and contact her, as others did.

 

After much struggle I was told I needed to be on a very heavy dose of antibiotics and my body was so weak I would have to remain in the hospital for 10 days and take pills every four hours and they would cause stomach pain.  Imagine that more pain.  Oh well, by now I was used to it and I prayed that I make it [through this process] and go home soon.  God does not tell us things that are not true, nor does he leave us when we suffer pain and I know he felt the pain that I felt.  God is patient and filled with grace.  I did get through the episode of IVs and antibiotics and finally went home weak, and tired.  It took a long time for me to be able to eat and to gain weight. 

 

Everywhere I went women would ask me "How did you lose the weight and I want the plan” My answer was “You do not want to go through what I did and be happy the way God made you.”

 

These hospital stays made me a better, more patient person and I now spend time feeding the homeless, and washing their feet.  Didn't Jesus do that? If you want to please God get out of your comfort zone and do something to glorify God.  Do not put your faith in material stuff; it does not improve your spiritual walk.  Remember God is love and love wins.....

 

My favorite scripture is John 3:16.  It says it all and that is what I focused on during all these trials and still do daily.

 

John 3:16-18 (The Message)

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

 

 

Notes:

1.            Gastroparesis means paralysis of the muscles of the stomach. Gastroparesis results in delayed emptying of food from the stomach into the small intestine.

 

The stomach is a hollow organ composed primarily of muscle that serves as a storage container for food. Food in the stomach is ground into tiny pieces by the constant churning that is generated by the contractions of the stomach's muscles. Once the food has been adequately ground, it slowly is emptied from the stomach into the intestine in a metered fashion. Only food ground into small particles can be emptied from the stomach in a normal fashion, and smaller particles are digested better in the intestine. Moreover, the metering process allows the emptied food to be well-mixed with the digestive juices of the intestine, pancreas, and liver (bile) and to be absorbed well from the intestine.

 

When the stomach's muscles are paralyzed, food is not thoroughly ground and does not empty into the intestine normally. Since the muscular mechanisms whereby ground, solid food and liquid food are emptied from the stomach are different, there may be delayed emptying of solid food (most common), solid and liquid food (less common), or liquid food alone (least common).

 

2.         E. coli is short for Escherichia coli -- a bacteria (germ) that causes severe cramps and diarrhea. E. coli is a leading cause of bloody diarrhea. The symptoms are worse in children and older people, and especially in people who have another illness. E. coli infection is more common during the summer months and in northern states.