A few weeks ago Gerson spent 24 hours in the hospital due to
a back injury. This experience ended up being a great reminder for me about
following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, the power of prayer, and the power
of priesthood blessings.
We got up one Sunday morning to get ready for Church, and
Gerson’s back seized up on him. I suggested that he go back to bed and lay
straight on his back, because that has helped me in the past when I’ve had back
pain. I was really frustrated because I had taken a shower, was dressed and had
eaten breakfast before his back seized up. We have 8:30 am Church, and when my
alarm went off at 7am, I asked Gerson if we were going to make it that day;
because if we weren’t going I wanted to go back to sleep. Gerson didn’t answer
me, but I had a feeling to get up and get ready for the day. At that moment I
didn’t understand why I had felt inspired to get ready for the day when
Gerson’s back was keeping us home.
When Gerson woke up two hours later, his back had worsened
and he couldn’t move at all. After several attempts to see if Gerson could move
(walking with support, rolling, crawling, etc.), we decided that he needed to
go to the hospital.
Gerson is a very private person and doesn’t like other
people to “know our business” (which makes this blog ironic, but he supports me
blogging as long as I what I write about isn’t too personal). However, as we
drove to the hospital I knew we needed spiritual help, so I texted Gerson’s family
and posted in our ward’s Facebook page and asked people to pray for Gerson. I
didn’t tell Gerson right away because I didn’t want him to stop me. I told him
once we were situated in the ER, and he was very grateful.
I know that the prayers being said for my family were heard,
and I felt them. I nursed Luna at 8:45 that morning, and didn’t nurse her again
until 2 or 3pm. In between those two feedings she was very happy to be
entertained by my parents. I held her off for so long because we thought Gerson
would be going home any minute. The ER staff kept giving Gerson different
medications, and after the 10-30 minutes it was supposed to take to work we
would try to get him in a wheel chair so we could go home and he could heal
with prescription meds. I know that Luna lasting that long without getting
cranky was due to divine help. Once it became obvious that we would be at the
hospital for a while I went back to feeding Luna regularly.
Another way the prayers helped was that I was able to stay
calm the entire day. I did shed a few tears, but for the most part I was calm
and collected. These kind of situations usually send me into crazy imaginations
and paranoia. It was really hard to see Gerson in such a vulnerable position,
but I had a feeling that everything was going to be okay.
I was, however, frustrated with the ER doctor, because I
could tell he didn’t believe that Gerson was in as much pain as he was
describing. When he tried to force Gerson into a wheel chair, Gerson’s body
seized up and he started shaking. At this point, the doctor finally started taking
Gerson’s situation seriously, and ordered a CT-Scan. The results showed nothing
of “significant concern”, but they had tried about 5 medications and Gerson
still couldn’t move, so 8 hours after we first got to the ER they admitted
Gerson overnight for observation in the main part of the hospital.
Once Gerson was settled, I asked him if I could request a
blessing from some ward members, he said yes and I took the request to our
ward’s Facebook page. Less than a minute after I posted the request, our bishop
called my phone and said that he would be happy to come and give Gerson a
blessing. It turns out that he had been getting ready for bed when he had a
feeling to check the ward page. He got on Facebook, saw my post, and called us.
I know that he had received a prompting from the Holy Ghost.
I really wanted to spend the night in the hospital with
Gerson. There was no way I could sleep in our bed alone and worried. My mom
agreed to stay with my kids at our apartment so I could stay at the hospital
with Gerson. I told her to call me whenever Luna woke up and I would come home
and nurse her. Another blessing happened with that: Luna slept through the
whole night. I even woke up the next morning, drove home, and took a shower
before she woke up.
When I got back to the hospital with Luna, Gerson was able
to sit up! He was discharged about an hour later. I truly believe that a
mixture of the pain medication, prayers, and priesthood blessing healed Gerson
and gave me strength to take care of him and the kids.
The blessings didn’t end once we got home from the hospital.
For the next three days both Benjamin and Luna slept through the whole night
and slept in until 9am! Also, I had to take the kids to Church by myself for
the next couple weeks. It was my first time taking them to Church by myself. I
was nervous, and fully expected to come home after a disastrous Sacrament
Meeting. I was very blessed to have a much different experience. Both kids did
wonderful, and many kind ward members helped out by entertaining Benjamin
during Sacrament Meeting, watching Luna while I took Benjamin to nursery, and
helping me get my kids out of my car and into my home after Church.
Gerson is now doing much better. He was able to go back to
work after a week. He went to physical therapy for 2 or 3 weeks, and he was
given some good exercises and stretches to help strengthen his back. He went
back at Church on Easter Sunday.
This experience wasn’t a big life changing moment. It’s not
like I didn’t believe in any of this stuff and now do. I have always believed
in the Holy Ghost and the power of prayer. Rather, it was a great reminder
about following promptings, and a testament to what prayer can truly do for us.
Having experienced others praying for my family, I know with a stronger
reassurance that my prayers will work when I pray for others. The Holy Ghost is
real, and his promptings are very important to follow. Prayer works, and when
we allow others to pray for us and help us, we will be blessed, and they will
also be blessed. Although it started out stressful and dramatic, I’m grateful
to have had this experience.
