He’s That Close.

By Misty S.

My son, Noah, is about to graduate from high school. Daily, I’m reminded of how much of a miracle he is. His story is an I Made Lemonade story.

On September 8, 1997, my third son, Noah, was born. My husband and I were young and living in California, happy but struggling to make ends meet.

Noah was born prematurely and needed to remain at the ICU for some time after his birth due to some normal preemie complications. After a couple of weeks, he was released from the hospital.

The day we brought him home, we knew something wasn’t right. He was unable to keep any food down due to reflux, his skin was so dry and rough, and his eyes looked like the life was draining from him.

We took him back to the hospital after only a few hours of having him home. They looked at him and said he was fine and released him back to us. We took him home and noticed no change in his health. We rushed him back to the hospital where, this time, they ran more tests.

These tests revealed he had a collapsed lung, pneumonia, and his lungs were full of fluid. The first miracle is that we were able to get him help before it was too late. I firmly believe he would have passed away that night had we not taken him in.

Due to his size and health, the doctors were unable to do many of the procedures they would have liked to do. I stayed with Noah for 3 months in the hospital, day in and day out, while the doctors searched to find what was wrong with him.

Those were very difficult days. I couldn’t be with my two older children. My husband was called back to work. My child was fighting for his life, and I couldn’t hold him to comfort him. I look back now and think of all the treasures I had hidden in my heart from that time.

I remember a doctor telling me she knew Noah was a genius. He had this way of raising his hand anytime he liked something he heard. I thought she was probably just being nice, but I know now that she really meant it. Also, I went to a nearby store one day and found a children’s book about Noah’s Ark. My Noah would raise his little hand as I read it to him. I knew he loved that book.

At 3 months, the doctors were finally able to remove some of the fluid from his lungs. They discovered that due to his severe reflux, he had food inside his lungs. At this time, they gave us the devastating news that they could not remove the liquid from his lungs. We were told to prepare ourselves as they explained how they were going to assist him breathing for a week and then take him off the machines to see if he could breathe on his own. They told us that if he was unable to breathe on his own, at that point, that they had no choice but to let him pass away.

I believe God spared us from fully realizing the situation we were in.

Soon, after we were left alone with this news, my husband saw a man he recognized from high school. It was the most random thing, seeing how we were in ICU and even our family members couldn’t come in to visit. This man recognized my husband’s name on a chart and came to see us. We explained the news we had just received.

That’s when he asked if he could pray over us and our son.

At this time, my husband and I were Christians but were very young and naive in our faith. We were not walking with God or seeking Him daily. We didn’t attend a church or really have any fellowship with other Christians. When he asked to pray, we thanked him and said yes. I don’t think either of us understood the power of prayer. I, honestly, couldn’t even tell you which words he used to pray with us. He left that same day, and we never saw this man again.

We were back to reality, and my son was dying.

The next morning, the doctors came in after looking at Noah. What they had to say still brings me to tears. They said that they couldn’t explain it and had no reasoning for it, but that my son was completely healed and that we could take him home that day.

That day.

We explained to the doctor about my husband’s friend. To this they replied that it absolutely was a miracle that Noah was healed. They went on to further explain that they had no hope of him surviving. They had planned on him dying at the end of the week. Yet there we were.

After that moment, my husband and I completely gave our lives over to God. We believed in His power.

Again, it has taken years for me to fully understand what happened 18 years ago. From the day we took Noah home, he was the happiest baby. He continued to love books and animals. He’s now preparing to head to college to study animals. He’s worked at the San Antonio Zoo for years. He’s one of the smartest people I have ever met. His grades are astounding. He still has the brightest smile.

Best of all, he has been as healthy as any child since he was 1 year old when we were able to take him off all medicines.

God is good, and there is power in prayer.

In one moment, through a stranger, God just came in off the street. And He made it all better. With one prayer. He’s that close.