Dale and I always said that we would continually tell our story to be a testimony to those around us. So, on this special anniversary, I feel so blessed to be able to tell an amazing and miraculous story of our precious Felicity’s life!
Seven years ago, today, Dale and I rushed a very sick Felicity to the hospital; we never thought that this trip would lead to one month in the hospital, nearly losing her and 7 years of health struggle. On July 15, 2004, Felicity had already been sick for 3 days; by this point she couldn’t even keep water down. Baptist Hospital immediately admitted her and there our long road began. We were told that Felicity had an infection in her intestines and needed to be admitted and put on antibiotics. After a week at Baptist, Felicity only got worse and, by this time, could no longer talk, walk or use the bathroom and she was so swollen that she gained 11 pounds and hadn’t eaten in 2 weeks. The hospital’s only option was to send her to Children’s where they dealt specifically with children; here she was rushed to a room and hooked up to all kinds of things. Within hours she was taken to surgery where she was given a platelet and blood transfusion to ensure she didn’t bleed to death. They inserted a catheter into her abdomen to try to pull fluid out of her from failing kidneys. By this point the infection had run so rampant throughout her body that her kidneys had stopped working and her blood was destroyed as the infection attacked her body. After 24 hours of this particular type of dialysis, the docs determined that it wasn’t working and she needed surgery again; this time to insert a different type of catheter. After surgery they immediately took her for dialysis. Dale went with her and I went to her room to rest because we knew it would be a long night. After 3 hours, for what should have been 2 hours, they brought Felicity back where they proceeded to tell me that Felicity had coded and had to be resuscitated; I nearly lost my mind and couldn’t imagine being Dale, who watched it all happen. A few days later, her potassium got so high that her heart began to shut down again; we were awakened to a room full of machines and doctors trying to make sure we didn’t lose her again. After a couple of weeks of watching our precious angel be sick and no sight of her getting well, our doctors told us the worst news we have ever heard…”call your friends and family in to say goodbye, we can’t do anything else to save her”. Completely numb, we watched as everyone who loved Felicity came in to say their “good-byes”…I sat and just prayed that God would wake me up from this nightmare. The very next day another doctor came into her room and said that he thought of something we could try, but that the top risk was death; at this point, we had nothing to lose…she was going to die if we didn’t try it, so we started plasma exchange. Within 2 days Felicity began to wake up; within 4 days she could talk and by 6 days she could sit up in bed, walk and use the bathroom! Then came physical therapy; we had to teach our 7 year old how to walk, talk and, yes, we even had to potty train her again! On August 13, 2004 we got an answer to prayer when we were told we could go home. We left with her still hooked up to a “pic line” for nutrition, but we didn’t care…it was home! The words the doctor’s said haunted us though as he told us that she would never have 100% kidney function again and would be on medication for the rest of her life.
For the last 7 years, we have fought for answers; we knew that something wasn’t quite right, but couldn’t put our finger on it. We have prayed that God would heal her and stood in faith, knowing that someday Felicity would be whole and healed…the Word of God said so! After countless trips to countless doctors and more tests than Felicity cares to remember…we got an answer, she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. BUT, this is certainly not where this story ends! Remember the docs who told us Felicity would “never have 100% kidney function and be on meds forever”?! In May 2011, we received the miraculous news that Felicity’s kidneys are at 100%! This month we began the process of taking her off her medication and by Christmas she will only have her asthma inhaler on her medication list! We are told that Celiac is a forever disease, but we also know that God has already performed countless miracles in her life; so, we sit patiently and wait on God as we know, without a doubt in our minds, that Felicity will see her body 100% disease free! God has already saved her from death (twice), healed completely damaged kidneys and caused her body to function properly without medication! We know that our God is so much bigger than these things and is certainly bigger than Celiac Disease.
When Felicity was 3 years old, someone prophesied that she would be in the ministry someday! In the last 7 miraculous years of her life she has led a little girl to Christ on the school bus, showed an example of what it is to persevere, stood in faith even when it looked impossible and can tell you, without an ounce of doubt in her mind, that God has called her to be a Missionary Pediatrician! This, my friends, is the God we serve!
We don’t share this story for sympathy or to get attention; we share it to encourage others to continue to stand in faith for whatever they are believing for. We tell it to show others that God is still 100% in the miracle business and, lastly, to show others that God can use anyone and any situation to bring Him glory… that satan may try to wipe out God’s chosen ones, but God is so much stronger than that! It is our desire that you pass this story along to others that they may find hope when things look impossible!
Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NET) “’For I know what I have planned for you, ‘ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, I will make myself available to you,’ says the Lord.”
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