I know that God is a healer. I have seen him give sight to the blind. I have seen him deliver people's bodies of cancer. He has healed my body many times! He has healed my son's body many times. But, for whatever reason, he has not healed my son of deafness. Madison is not totally deaf, he is Severe Hard of Hearing. He is almost completely deaf in his right ear and his left ear hears fairly well without a hearing aid. But believe me, teachers, friends, & family KNOW when he's forgotten to put on his hearing aids!
Madison got his hearing aids when he was two years old. Because he wasn't talking yet we assumed he was born not hearing. However, a few years ago we ran across an old video tape of the Thanksgiving after Madison's birth, (He would have been around 3 weeks old,) and it certainly appears that he was hearing like a normal newborn. He would "startle" when the silverware drawer opened, which was often since it was Thanksgiving. He would turn to face the voices in the room. He would give his attention to the door when it opened or closed. There were so many indications that he was hearing normally.
As Madison was coming up on his 1st birthday we had a skiing vacation planned. However, Madison came down with a cold & I was concerned about taking him into even colder weather than we have in FL. I decided that I would have the rest of the family go without me and I would join them when Madison was feeling better. We were scheduled to leave early Monday morning. It was a Saturday and the pediatrician's office was closed. To keep from losing my plane ticket I went to the emergency room for the magical "doctor's note", that is suppose to make teachers, employers, & airlines give us a break! The doctor checked Madison out and said he had a low-grade fever. He wasn't concerned because there was a virus going around. He looked in Madison's ears and said they "might be a little pink", but certainly not infected. He told me to take the trip, Madison would be fine. So I took the trip along with everybody else.
Monday night Madison's temperature skyrocketed to a scary 104. I had a baby sister die of spinal meningitis; a fever TOTALLY freaks me out due to my experience with her. Believe me, I was not a little fearful - I was crazy afraid! Nothing brought his fever down; cold compresses, Tylenol... I honestly can't remember everything we tried, I just remember nothing worked. I was praying and praying for him. I would hold him and walk the hall praying for him. I would lay on the bed with him and pray. I fell asleep while rocking him and praying. God was well aware of me all that night and late into the morning on Tuesday.
Where we were vacationing was not in a luxurious resort; we were out in the boonies! It was a 30 minute drive to the closest store, & that was a tiny convenience store. It was over an hour drive to the nearest pharmacy, which was the Clarion, PA, Wal-Mart Pharmacy. So, after my very scary night I decided to call his pediatrician and see if he would prescribe some antibiotics. But just as I was about to call him my mother piped up with a good idea: "Go ahead and get the phone number for the Clarion Wal-Mart Pharmacy so you can give it to the doctor."
Brilliant! I picked up the old, rotary telephone and dialed three numbers; 4-1-1. It was a rotary phone, I didn't slip and punch more numbers . I didn't dial an area code. There's not a doubt in my mind that I dialed 4-1-1.
The phone rang... and rang... and rang longer than it usually does when you call information. When a woman finally answered the phone she said, "Clarion Wal-Mart Pharmacy."
I was in shock! I knew I was calling 4-1-1 TO GET Clarion Wal-Mart Pharmacy. I wasn't sure what was going on so I asked, "Where did I call?" She repeated, "Clarion Wal-Mart Pharmacy." I couldn't believe it! I knew this was a sign from God that he might not be handling things the way I wanted him to, but HE WAS IN CONTROL! I said quickly, "Can you please give me your number!" Not know that she was a part of an amazing act of God she very busily rattled off the number. I got off the phone shaking my head. I went and told everyone in the house. Then I remembered to call Madison's doctor who did indeed prescribe antibiotics.
After watching that video of Madison's first Thanksgiving I am convinced that Madison lost his hearing due to that severe ear infection. I don't know why God didn't heal him then. I don't know why God doesn't heal him now. But God showed me from the very beginning of Madison's hearing loss that HE WAS IN CONTROL.
He's been in control ever since! Madison's hearing aids can cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500. He's gone through 3 sets of hearing aids; we've not paid for a single hearing aid yet! God has made a way EVERY time! I can't count how many times he's lost his hearing aids. (I mean, he IS a hyper, little boy!) Every time I go to look for them, (in a completely freaked out state,) I pray, "God, you've either got to heal that boy or show me those hearing aids because you know I can't afford to replace them." I find them every time!
...and Madison's speech is GREAT for a kid that can't hear! He gets along well with his friends who all hear normally! I could go on and on telling you the big and small things God has done to show that he is in control of this situation.
Can God heal Madison's deafness? Absolutely! Will he? I don't know... I fast and pray, but I always reiterate, "You know what's best for Madison."
I'm so thankful to serve a loving, compassionate, IN CONTROL God.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
AMEN! It is so awesome to know God in times like that and to know that we can trust Him. On a side note - I spent part of my growing up years each year in Clarion, Pa! We had family who lived there and we were in Lancaster, but we would drive there and watch deer and mountain lions come through the yard! How cool!
ReplyDelete