Relationship
In late 2015, I started to experience weakness in my upper arms. Over time, it deteriorated so much that household chores became increasingly difficult. Doing simple things such as putting a pot of water to boil, carrying groceries, or even hanging laundry was slow and took so much effort. The weakness gradually evolved to numbness on both sides of my face and periodic breathlessness. I was hospitalized several times because of suspected heart attack or stroke. For the next 18 months, I went from specialist to specialist trying to get a diagnosis. Despite a myriad of visits, scans, and tests, the results were always the same – inconclusive. In August 2017, I was finally diagnosed with bilateral neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). My vascular specialist gave two options for treatment: surgery to remove the first rib or daily, intensive, and painful physiotherapy. Among other risks and complications, there was a very real possibility that surgery would kink a nerve, leading to a loss of sensation in my fingers and arms. My condition was so rare that the vascular specialist only performed this kind of procedure once every 1-2 years. Surgery was the option of a last resort, something that should be considered if intensive physical therapy didn’t alleviate the condition. With that, I immediately started a four-month physical therapy regimen. The commitment was high and there were no rest days. The sessions were painful and grueling. As they pulled and stretched and jabbed into my body, it felt like I was constantly being stabbed by knives. The mental and physical fatigue was taking a huge toll on my physical and mental well-being. I could no longer manage therapy, work, and ministry, and had to be put on hospitalization leave for almost two months so that I could get enough rest after each session. All this time, I prayed for God’s divine intervention. Years ago, He healed me of a nerve problem. I know so well that God was Jehovah Rapha – “the God who heals.” I only needed a touch from heaven to be spared from the endless cycle of therapy and rehabilitation. Yet after six weeks of daily sessions, the principal physiotherapist noted that progress was very slow. Deep down, my disappointment grew. Surgery seemed inescapable. I felt completely incapacitated and utterly useless, frustrated that all of my efforts in recovery were going nowhere. According to her, she spent the last hour praying and watching my body contort in all sorts of directions. My arms were rotating up and down, side to side. She kept her distance, watching God’s divine work upon my body. My left shoulder and arm felt lighter and less stiff. I continued to press on, trusting in God for complete healing. At the following month’s DEW session, I fell into another deep sleep where the gentle hands of God stretched and twisted the right side of my body. Again, my DEW counselor spent the hour praying and watching my body and arms twisting and turning on its own. When I was awoken, I felt a marked difference in my right shoulder and arm. Through God’s divine physiotherapy sessions, my TOS had been healed! I scaled back on physical therapy until they said I no longer needed them. In October 2018, I visited my vascular specialist for a follow-up consultation. As he performed an elevated arm stress test, a big smile crossed his face. He was so excited when he could feel pulses from both sides of my arms! The vascular specialist immediately knew that my TOS was gone. He told me that I did not need any MRI, follow-up consultations, treatments, or surgery. I was overjoyed. Indeed when God intervenes, His healing is complete!