“Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”
Ephesians 3:20 (RSV)
After my son’s brain surgery for a skull fracture and brain bleed in 2023, the neurosurgeon told me that however he is around 18 months after the accident, would be how he remains. At that time, Jon didn’t speak at all, wore a diaper, was fed through a stomach tube and was receiving physical therapy to learn to walk.
It has been three years since his motorcycle accident and traumatic brain injury, which is far beyond the 18 months. Jon now walks on his own (with a limp), feeds himself, speaks clearly once in a while and recently started using the toilet. His right arm is still paralyzed but he puts slippers on his feet, and deodorant under his arm, using his left hand. Yesterday he walked over to a nurse assistant and asked, “Can you cut my nails?” The nurse assistant was shocked since Jon seldom says words that are understandable. So he granted his request and cut his nails.
When I visited him the day after, I heard about this and said, “Jon, I heard you got your nails cut”, and he nodded and lifted his hand to show me. His speech and comprehension are still slow but progress is ongoing, which far surpasses his prognosis.
A few years earlier, I met the mother of another resident in his early forties, nearly the same age as Jon. Her son had kidney failure which began as a child, and he was now in dire need of a kidney transplant. He was admitted to receive dialysis treatments, but he refused to stop smoking, so a transplant was not in the near future for him. At the time, my son was unable to walk at all, sitting in a chair, with a feeding tube in his stomach, and a breathing tube in his throat, unable to speak.
As the two of us mothers were chatting during our visit that day, her son had an angry outburst towards another resident. She looked at me and I looked at her, and without a word, we communicated. She knew I felt her embarrassment and frustration about his behavior. We understood each other since we both had adult sons with serious medical problems, far beyond our control. It was as if we shared a bond of understanding which required no further words.
When I left that day, we happened to meet in the parking lot, even though she left a few minutes before me. She asked me if she could pray for Jon, and we held hands and prayed for each other’s sons. After saying goodbye, we never saw each other again, since her son was discharged, a few months later to live in his own.
I’ll never forget that day and our brief connection with a moment of prayer in the parking lot. I pray for her son but never saw him or his mom again. God answered many prayers for Jon, since that day, and I hope He did for her son as well.
God reveals His presence in our lives by bringing certain people together. Sometimes it’s only for a moment of prayer in a parking lot. Other times, He brings people together as friends for a longer time, like the parents of Andy, a man near the same age as Jon. Andy has been in the facility as long as Jon has, and he has also come a long way in the past three years.
God works in mysterious ways, by networking people together, since He fully understands what we are going through. He works in ways, beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.
As scripture tells us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and
his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning.”
(Lamentations 3:22-23)
Lord, thank you for showing us your love us during the difficult times, by bringing special people into our lives. Amen
