February 2, 2022
My beloved brothers in Christ Jesus and friends: May the Almighty and Eternal God bless and keep you!
It has been one year since my son Alex suffered a gunshot wound that went through his head (entering through his face next to his nose and exiting through the back damaging part of his brain). That day the doctors told me that he only had a few hours left lo live (or maybe even minutes!). Exactly a year ago, the God I serve, the Almighty, turned what could have been a great tragedy into a great and wonderful miracle! God heard my prayers and brought my son back to life after a cardiac arrest -when his heart did not beat for 20 long minutes! HALLELUJAH!!! GLORY BE TO GOD!
This past year has been one of great trials, a year of many physical and spiritual struggles, but in each one of them we have seen the powerful hand of the Lord acting in Alex's life and in ours. The Lord has been there in every trial, in every step, in every sleeplessness night and fatigue, in each one of the surgeries (during this past year Alex has already undergone five surgeries on his head), we have witnessed so many miracles that God has done! His love, amazing grace and mercy are infinite...
BELIEVE GOD AND PLACE YOURSELF COMPLETELY IN HIS HANDS!
When God spoke to my heart that day and told me: "YOUR SON WILL BE FINE!", I believed Him no matter what my eyes saw and what the doctors told me. In every moment when everything seemed contrary, I continued to believe in the Giver of Life, knowing that He was in control of everything and that my son would be fine, because only one word from Him is enough for it to be done (Matthew 8:8). Now, of course God could have completely healed Alex instantly or in a short period of time, because for God all things are possible (Mark 10:27). But if He had done so, where would be the learning for Alex? Where would be all the things God wanted to show him? Things Alex didn't exactly know before such as patience, humility, gratefulness, faith, etc.
One of the most difficult moments during this past year was in June when Alex had the surgery to put the flap bone back in his head. By then he had already been without the bone in his right part of the skull for four months - which had to be removed due to the swelling in his brain from the bullet impact. For five months, Alex had to wear a helmet whenever he wasn't lying in bed. He and all of us were more than happy waiting for the big day! However, things did not go as expected. A week after the surgery he had to be hospitalized in an emergency for a head infection. They had to remove the bone they had just put in him and discard it because he was all infected. It was such a big and dangerous infection that he had to be on antibiotics for more than three consecutive months.
This was a hard blow to take, and back then I did not understand why it had happened that way. At some point I felt like it was a setback in his recovery. But even with all that, I did not stop believing and praising God; I told Him that even though I did not understand what He was doing, I accepted it knowing that He was in control of everything! But God, in His loving care and compassion, made me understand later why things had happened this way. Alex needed to go through a process, if God had healed him too soon, perhaps my son would have gone back to his old life, making wrong decisions, and not really getting to know the Almighty God who saved him. The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, delayed his recovery a bit so that Alex could continue to heal not only physically, but also spiritually -being with us at home, and to get to know Him more and more each day. Because faith comes from hearing, and hearing the Word of the Lord (Romans 10:17).
It took another seven months for the bone to be put back in Alex's head (this time the bone was customized for him, made of a special material used in neurosurgery and other surgical procedures). We had been constantly praying to the Lord, putting everything in His hands and asking Him to guide the hands of the doctors. And finally, on January 21st, the surgery that we had been waiting for so long was taking place! By then, it had already been almost a year that Alex didn't have that bone in his head, thus having to use a helmet all the time.
That day, Alex and I arrived at the hospital at 5:00am; while they prepared him for the surgery, I was talking with the nurse, Angelica, testifying of the wonderful things that God was doing in Alex's life. Before they came to take him to the operating room, Alex and I prayed and put everything in the Lord's hands again. I reminded my son of the verse from Joshua 1:9 where God tells us: BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISMAYED, FOR THE LORD, YOUR GOD, WILL BE WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. At 7:00am they took him to the operating room, he was very calm and trusting God completely…They told me the surgery could take up to six hours. So, I went back to the waiting room where I stayed all morning and part of the afternoon. I prayed for the doctors, anesthesiologists, assistants, and nurses - asking God to guide their hands and decisions. I prayed and praised the Lord and could feel His presence around me. Later in the afternoon, Angelica, the nurse that I had been talking to earlier that morning, came to find me at the waiting area to hear more about the amazing miracles of the Lord. That is how God is already touching lives with Alex's testimony!
Finally, at 1:30pm or so, the surgeon came to tell me that they had just finished the surgery and that everything had gone well! BLESSED AND PRAISED BE THE ETERNAL GOD FOREVER!!! When the doctor left, I knelt down where I was to pray and thank the Lord, and to praise Him. After praying, I asked God to speak to me through His Word, I opened my Bible and the Lord took me right to these verses from Proverbs 3:1-8.
My son, do not forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days, and years of life, and peace, will be added to you.
Do not let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. And you will find favor and good opinion in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.
As soon as I started reading these verses, I knew that this was a message for Alex and that I had to read it to him as soon as they let me see him, and so I did. The Lord was exhorting my son to be obedient, to always trust Him and recognize Him in all his ways, with the promise that He will straighten his paths. The Lord was telling Alex that He is his medicine (both, physical and spiritual). God is good and wonderful, and He always knows exactly what we need to hear at every moment.
Alex was discharged from Hospital two days after surgery; we brought him straight home, where the Lord has been glorifying Himself in his recovery. We have witnessed the significant improvement that Alex has had after the surgery; he has greatly improved his balance, his strength in legs and hands, his language, etc. He is walking better with the help of the walker. And something that I will never forget was the day that, for the first time, I saw him stand up from the wheelchair by himself, turn around using the rails of the bed and then let go to stand alone without holding on to anything or anyone! PRAISE BE TO GOD! And that was just five days after his surgery. Then, a couple of days later, the therapists helped him cook mac’and cheese as part of his therapy. Alex is part of a program called Rehab Without Walls and they come to our house to give him therapy. This program has been part of the many blessing the Lord has provided us with. All therapists were surprised at how much Alex has improved after the surgery! They are all very professional and knowledgeable in what they do, but now they also get to see miracles! HOW WONDERFUL AND POWERFUL IS THE LORD I SERVE!
I know that more remains to be done in Alex's recovery, but I am certain of what I hope for in the Lord, and I have the conviction that He will carry out His plans in my son's life -all in His time and in the right moment. Meanwhile, He will continue to heal him physically and spiritually, because whomever God calls, God prepares; and I have no doubt that my son has a calling from the Lord to continue expanding the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth -for the salvation of souls, before He comes back for His church.
I also want to testify, for the glory and honor of God, that about three weeks ago, we went to see a Neuro Ophthalmologist, Dr. Andrew Lee, here in Houston. Dr. Lee was really amazed and surprised by Alex's medical history, to read everything that had happened to him and to see how he is doing now. He wrote the word miracle a couple of times in his medical report, and at the end of it, he wrote: THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT ALEX IS A MIRACLE!!! Of course, we already knew this, but it is wonderful to see that a doctor has not only recognized it (as many others have), but has also put it in writing as part of his evaluation in his medical report. My heart was filled with joy because this is to glorify the Lord! HALLELUJAH!
To finish, I'd like to mention that a few days ago, as the one-year mark was approaching, I was asking myself the following: What can a mother do to thank the Almighty God for all the miracles in the life of her son? And the truth is that I could write a lot more about this, but I will summarize it in these three important things:
Continue to believe that the Almighty God will fulfill His promises, no matter how long it takes, and no matter what trials and spiritual struggles we might go through.
Walk in obedience hand in hand with the Lord, keeping His commandments and doing His will.
Glorify the only wise God, testifying of His amazing grace and miracles – because only He deserves glory and honor forever!
And precisely because of what is written above, is that I wanted to share this testimony. May the Lord bless you, keep you and make His face shine upon each one of you – in the powerful name of Jesus Christ! AMEN!!!
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P.S. My eternal thanks -of course to the Almighty God first and foremost-, but I also want to thank with all my heart my husband Huber, my sister Celene and my sister-in-law Ade -they have all helped me, in one way or another, to take care of Alex at home during this past year. Many thanks as well to everyone that has been praying for my son. Last but not least, my deepest gratitude to each of the surgeons, doctors, anesthesiologists, assistants, nurses, therapists, and each person that God has utilized to heal and bless Alex's life. May the Almighty God bless you all and fulfill you with His grace and love - in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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