It was 12:30am. We were sound asleep after an exciting night of July 4th fireworks. The telephone rang. “Let it ring”, I was thinking. It is probably a wrong number. But then again, it may be an emergency. So Lisa and I jumped out of bed to answer the phone. It was my sister. Mom and Dad were just in a car accident”, she said. “They are both here at the hospital. Dad is having problems. He may have serious internal injuries, so they are flying him to Allegheny General Hospital by helicopter.” I was so shocked. I didn’t know what to say or do. “Should we come out?” I asked. “Do whatever you need to do”, my sister replied. My mind was racing in all directions. Driving back home to my parents meant a 9 to 10 hour drive all night with no sleep. Lisa and I looked at each other, and knew right away what we had to do. We couldn’t just stay here in Indiana, 400 miles away. Mom and Dad needed us. “We’re coming home right now,” I told her. “See you when we get there.”
After I hung up the phone, we quickly threw together some clothes, got our 4 year old daughter out of bed, and hopped into the van. We were on our way.
As we were traveling, it seemed to take forever to get there. Not only because of a lack of sleep, but because of anxiety and worry for my parents. How are they doing right now? Are they going to be OK when we get there? Will I get to see my Dad again? I was really causing myself to be a total wreck. Of course we prayed too. Not as much as we should have, but we did say a few prayers along the way. Prayer should have been first in my mind, but all of my emotions were taking control. So my rational thinking was not kicking in.
When we were 7 hours into the trip, 8am, we stopped and called my Aunt to check on Mom and Dad. My Aunt said that Dad was in surgery. His ribs were broken on both sides and he had internal bleeding from his spleen, which was damaged from the accident. So the doctors were operating to remove his spleen. “What a relief,” I thought. No damage to his lungs or heart. After this operation, he’s going to be all right.” But the news to come next was worse. My Aunt said that the person who caused the accident was a drunk driver. I did not need to hear that. “A drunk driver, a careless drunk nearly killed my Mom and Dad”, I was thinking. All of the sad and worried emotions, which I was experiencing so far were quickly replaced with fiery anger.
The rest of the drive to the hospital in Pittsburgh would be the longest yet. My imagination was beginning to get the best of me. I began getting very bitter thoughts. No longer was I sad or worried. Subconsciously, I knew with Dad in surgery, he was now in good hands. He will be OK now, and so will Mom. So I allowed myself to be angry, which of course was not the right thing to be doing right now.
At 10am, we arrived at the Allegheny General Hospital trauma unit, where my Dad was. There in the waiting room was my sister, brother in-law and Uncle waiting to go in to see my Dad after his operation. When I saw them, all the anger I had stored up inside left me. Now there was only sadness.
Soon it was time to see my Dad. My sister and I went in first. I was not prepared for what I was about to see. He was on a breathing machine, and had lots of tubes coming from him. The nurse said, “He is doing good for what he has gone through.” All I could think was, ” This does not look like he is doing good.” He was slightly awake and in a tremendous amount of pain. He couldn’t speak, because of the breathing equipment, but I could tell from his face the amount of pain he was in. It was tearing me up inside to see him like this. I realized right then and there, now is not the time to be angry about the cause of Mom and Dad’s accident. Now is the time to really love my Dad and Mom and help them the best way that I possibly can. I had to focus all of my energy on their recovery and on their healing. Nothing else matters right now except them. And that is just what I did. As soon as our 20 minute visiting time was up, I headed for the chapel to pray. I prayed and prayed for Jesus to heal my Dad and Mom. When I wasn’t sleeping or eating I was praying. I was praying every Moment that I could. Even when we went in to visit Dad, I would take my prayers in with me. When we all prayed together, I could tell he was relaxed and peaceful. He even fell asleep while we were praying. Everytime we went in to see him, we said these prayers together out loud. I would not give up, I knew the Lord was hearing me.
After being there two days, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I never realized praying and visiting in the hospital would tire me out so much. Along with fatigue, I was also becoming discouraged. Dad was not improving. He was still on the breathing machine, and still in terrible pain. The pain medicine was not helping him much. It was beginning to look like he wasn’t going to get better. I was starting to think all this praying wasn’t doing any good. The thought of putting off praying even entered my mind.
Just about the time I was at my lowest point, a light bulb came on in my head. A little voice inside me said, “You have to approach God on your knees. You have to be humble.” I thought to myself, “What have I been doing wrong? What do I have to change? Maybe I should pray for other people who need prayers along with praying for Dad. Maybe that’s it.”
During our visits at the hospital, we became aquainted with another family in the visiting room. The Miller’s also had a loved one in the trauma unit. This young man, named Dan, was involved in a motorcycle accident. He had been in a coma for the last 2 weeks, with no signs of consciousness.
That evening, after visiting hours were over, I mentioned to them that I had been writing prayers in the chapel prayer book for my Dad and Mom. I told them that I would say a prayer for their son. They thanked me, and said good night. So on the way out, I stopped at the chapel to pray, as I had been doing each night. I prayed for Mom, Dad, and for Dan Miller. I then went up to the prayer book, which was kept on the chapel alter. I began writing quite a lengthy inspirational prayer for Dad and Mom, trying to cover everything. When I was ready to write a prayer for Dan, only one clear thought came to mind. This is what it said.
Dear Lord, “Open his eyes.” Your friend always, Ken.
It was plain and simple. No other thoughts or petitions came to mind. It was as if someone else was guiding my hand to help me with the words. I put the book back on the altar, and we left to visit Mom.
The next day we arrived at our usual time to visit Dad. As we waited to go in, we spoke with the Miller family. I mentioned that I prayed for their son last night, and I wrote a prayer for him in the chapel prayer book. I told them that it was strange, but all I could think of to write was ‘Open his eyes’. Dan’s father was astonished. His eyes became widened, and amazement shined acrossed his face. “You won’t believe this,” he said. The doctor told us this morning that our son opened his eyes for the first time last night!” His words nearly knocked me over. My knees turned to rubber, and I almost couldn’t stand. We both began laughing, as I ran over to give him a big hug. “Jesus does hear our prayers!” I said. “He sure does.” said Dan’s Dad. “He sure does.”
We went in to visit my Dad. He was still mostly the same. The nurse mentioned that he might get off the breathing machine in a day or so. But no promises. That was still discouraging. We said some prayers together, and soon visiting time as over again. The afternoon visit was the same. This time one of my Uncles came to see how Dad was doing. It was pretty hard on him to see his brother in that condition. “I had no idea”, said my Uncle. “This is the worst I had ever seen him.”
Evening came. More of our family came to visit. I tried to prepare them before they went in to see Dad, so they wouldn’t be as shocked as my Uncle was this afternoon. My sister and Aunt went in together. “We will only be a few minutes, so everyone can get in to visit”, said my Aunt.
5 minutes .. 10 minutes .. 15 minutes went by. I started to get worried. I hope everything is all right. Maybe something is wrong and they had to wait outside of his room. “Do you think he is OK?” I began asking. “Surely they’d let us know”, someone said. Then the door to the trauma unit began opening. It was them! “What happened. What’s wrong with Dad?” I asked. “You won’t believe this”, my sister said. “He’s in his room sitting up in bed, talking, and carrying on! It’s amazing!” “Isn’t he on the breathing machine anymore?!” I asked excitedly. “Not anymore”, said my Aunt. “They said he’s breathing OK without it.” “You’re kidding!”, I exclaimed, and I rushed right in to see him.
There he was, sitting in bed with the biggest smile on his face. “What do you think”, Dad asked me. “I can’t believe it!”, I told him. “You look great! This is a real miracle.” I stayed in there way past the visiting time limit. I was so happy, I didn’t want to leave. I can’t remember ever in my life feeling so good. Being with my Dad at that Moment was the best time of my life.
I finally did say ‘good night’ to Dad, and went back into the visiting room. As soon as I saw everyone, I let out a yell “Isn’t it great!?!” I was glowing and grinning from ear to ear. I hugged everyone that came to visit Dad. “I’m so happy, I feel like hugging everyone in this whole hospital!” I told them. “Jesus has answered my prayers! He has really given us a miracle!”
Jesus chose me to be a channel of His Peace, Love, Mercy, and Healing. It is now 9 months later. Since last summer, the healing has continued. My Dad and Mom are now at home, and trying to get back to normal. Miraculously, they are almost completely healed now from their injuries, and they are now back to enjoying retirement. Dan Miller is now back at home too. He is still has some healing to do, but he has really come a long way. His left arm still has no feeling or movement, and he is somewhat mobile with the use of his cane. I am still praying every day for Dan to have a complete recovery.
Most of all, Dan and his family are now closer to God. Dan and I still keep in touch, and I visit with him and his family as often as possible. We are guiding each other along on our new spiritual journeys. Not only has this miracle experience gotten him on the right path, but it has also greatly strengthened me with my faith in Jesus and in my prayer life. I am now much more open about my faith and spreading the ‘good news’ of Jesus with others. I proudly witness to everyone I can about the miracle healing Jesus has given to Dan and my Dad. I have learned an important lesson. Prayer is a powerful gift given to us from God. We must use it. He wants us to use it. His son, Jesus, has taught how.
Modern day miracles do happen. Believe me, I know.
