Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018025A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:11 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:14 I'm Jill Morikone, 01:15 and I have my husband Greg here with me today. 01:18 Normally, I'm sitting there and he's sitting here, 01:21 but today, we decided to switch it up a bit. 01:23 And we're so excited to bring this special, 01:26 incredible testimony to you at home. 01:29 Many times with the Today programs, 01:31 we feature different ministries. 01:33 We feature what God is doing around the world 01:35 in many different ministries, 01:37 but our guest today 01:38 has an incredible miracle story. 01:41 A miracle of what God is doing in her life, 01:44 especially with health. 01:47 And it's just incredible to see 01:50 what God is doing in people's lives, isn't it? 01:52 Yeah, you know, it is. 01:53 And it's really... 01:54 We are encouraging you to stay tuned 01:56 for the entire program 01:57 because can you imagine being active, 01:59 being, you know, running as in, like marathon type of training, 02:05 and then basically going to paralyzed, 02:08 you would think that's it. 02:09 And then God did an incredible thing 02:11 in her life. 02:12 We're not going to tell the story here 02:14 'cause she's going to share it. 02:15 But God has done some amazing things 02:17 and how God gave her the strength 02:20 through that experience too 02:21 because in that experience you don't always know. 02:24 You know, in Isaiah 43, 02:26 it talks about us going through storms in our lives. 02:29 And in the storm, 02:30 you don't necessarily know how long is that storm, 02:32 what's it going to be on the other side. 02:34 We know that God is with us through the storm, right? 02:36 And He is, 02:38 but we don't always know the outcome 02:39 because we know 02:41 it's always God's will to heal whether it's here in this life, 02:43 like immediately or when He comes 02:45 and our bodies are made perfect again. 02:47 So this is going to be exciting. 02:49 I mean, I'm excited to hear this story myself. 02:50 That's right. 02:51 We don't want to waste anymore time. 02:53 We want to introduce our special guest to you 02:55 and that's Loretta Spivey. 02:56 And, Loretta, we're so delighted 02:58 to have you here at 3ABN. 02:59 I can assure you 03:00 that I'm more excited than you are. 03:02 I'd love to tell the story. Amen. 03:04 And why do you... 03:05 Why are you excited to tell the story? 03:08 I want this earth, I think, for one reason now, 03:11 and that is so that people know there's a God, 03:14 and that that God is still 03:15 in the miracle-working business. 03:17 Praise the Lord. 03:18 And if you, if after you hear the story, 03:20 you don't believe that there's a God, 03:22 and you don't believe 03:23 that He is still in the miracle working business, 03:24 I don't know what else would make you believe it. 03:27 This is why I think it's good to hear these stories 03:29 because a lot of times we read in the Bible, 03:31 you know, the Old Testament or, 03:33 you know, and the gospel is about God healing people, 03:35 or how God worked just miraculously, 03:37 you think it was then, not now, 03:40 but you are living testimony to that. 03:42 And He still does it right now today. 03:44 And so many people are hopeless and feel like, "Yeah, that's... 03:48 It's the Bible and it's old, 03:49 and that's what God did back then." 03:51 But I'm here to say 03:53 that's what God does right here, right now. 03:55 Amen. So I'm excited. 03:57 I'm excited too. 03:58 We're so excited to have you here. 04:00 And if the name Loretta Spivey is familiar to you at all, 04:03 I was thinking, "I know this woman," 04:06 because I used to read years ago. 04:08 I used to read her columns in the Adventist Review. 04:11 She's a fabulous author. 04:13 You and your sister-in-law, was it your sister-in-law? 04:15 My sister-in-law, my sister-in-law Gina, 04:17 and as we all know, we took two sides of an issue, 04:21 and we always know 04:22 that I was the one that was right, 04:24 she was the one that was not. 04:26 So, yeah, I'm sure 04:27 that's how you remember the story. 04:28 That is exactly how I remembered your story... 04:30 That's very good. That's good. 04:31 But it was like, always to get 04:32 the two different sides of the issue, I love that. 04:34 Absolutely. It was awesome. 04:35 Now, you used to be New York, Northeastern Conference, 04:37 all of that stuff, New York, and then where do you live now? 04:39 I live in Connecticut, up there in Northeastern. 04:42 And then I moved to Pennsylvania 04:44 where most of this story took place, 04:46 and now I live in North Carolina. 04:47 Okay. 04:49 So before we go to our music, 04:50 let's just take back before you became ill 04:53 and before you had all those health challenges, 04:55 so what was your life like then? 04:57 Before I had all those health challenges, 04:59 I went to the doctor once a year, like we do. 05:02 It's good, get your, like, yearly checkup. 05:04 My yearly checkup. 05:05 And it was always fine, 05:06 no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no issues at all. 05:09 I have five children, 05:12 and so I was actively taking care of them. 05:14 I did mission trips 05:16 with Maranatha Volunteers International, several. 05:17 Oh, yeah. That's a great ministry. 05:19 One or two year. And I was a runner. 05:23 My big races up to that point were 10Ks and half marathons. 05:28 Wow! And that's really... 05:29 And, of course, I was active in church, 05:31 and that's really how I spent my time. 05:34 So let me ask about then your training then so too, 05:36 you know, 'cause you don't just go out 05:38 and run a half marathon or a 10K, 05:39 so you probably have a pretty strict 05:42 exercise regimen every week? 05:43 I had. 05:45 Well, let's call it relatively strict 05:47 since people who know my training may be watching. 05:50 Okay, so tell what you mean. I want to tell the truth. 05:52 We want the truth. 05:54 I want to be honest, so I trained... 05:57 I was not a super athlete, 06:00 and I just mentioned all the other things 06:02 that I did. 06:03 So I didn't want to go out though 06:05 and just try to run something without training, so I trained. 06:08 I also tried to eat well. Good. 06:11 And be healthy. 06:12 Sometimes I would take someone to soccer practice 06:14 and get a little exercise in while 06:16 they were doing practice. 06:17 Oh, yeah. 06:19 Or, you know, while I was waiting 06:20 for someone at piano lessons, 06:21 I would, you know, go and hit the street there. 06:23 So, yes, but it absolutely takes training to run a 10K 06:28 and absolutely a half marathon at 13.1 miles. 06:31 Oh, yeah. So, yeah. 06:33 And I was very active, and it was great. 06:37 Absolutely. 06:38 Now I think we have a photo 06:39 of whom we wanted to do put this up. 06:41 This is of a baptism, is that right? 06:42 The photo of the baptism 06:45 was in Ecuador for a mission trip 06:48 with Maranatha Volunteers International. 06:50 And the funny thing about that baptism 06:53 is that we camped right near that river. 06:56 Okay. 06:57 And that was a trip called Ultimate Workout, 06:59 so it was for teenagers, 14 to 18. 07:01 Oh, yeah. 07:02 Did you take any of your kids with you? 07:04 None of my children went on that. 07:05 But all of my children, 07:06 four of my children have been 07:08 on Ultimate Workout for the five. 07:09 And so, I promised the kids 07:10 that I would not ever get in that river 07:13 because I didn't like the way the river looked. 07:15 And I didn't know what else was in the river. 07:17 Yes. 07:18 And so I promised them, I'm not getting in the river. 07:21 I don't care... 07:22 They bathed in the river, 07:23 they went and had fun in the river 07:25 after work every day, 07:26 and I gladly stood on the shore and watched them. 07:28 But then this young lady decides 07:30 she wants to get baptized. 07:32 At first, I thought 07:33 it was just a ploy to get me in the river. 07:37 But it was my honor to get in the river for that reason 07:40 to baptize her. 07:41 Yes, amen. 07:43 So this is all before your major health challenge, 07:45 you know, you're involved with mission trips. 07:47 It sounds like on yearly basis you'd go on one trip... 07:48 Yes, yes. A trip or two a year. 07:51 Okay. Absolutely. 07:52 Okay, and you're exercising, taking care of your family, 07:55 involved in your church, 07:57 I think we should just hit on the mission thing too. 07:58 So when did you get interested in missions 08:00 'cause for you to go there 08:01 and do this once or twice a year, 08:03 you're baptizing this young lady, 08:04 you're involved. 08:06 So somehow, missions 08:07 has a special place in your heart. 08:08 Missions has a very special place 08:10 in my heart. 08:11 I was the first Adventist in my family. 08:12 Oh, wow! 08:14 When I was nine years old, I went to camp meeting. 08:17 And my joy of camp meeting was the ABC 08:20 they called it back in those days. 08:21 Yes. Oh, yeah. The Book and the Bible House. 08:22 The Book and the Bible House, that's what they called it. 08:24 That's right. 08:25 Now it's the Adventist Book Center. 08:26 And when I went to the Book 08:28 and Bible House, I got two books. 08:30 And I read one of them between Mount Vernon, Ohio 08:35 and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania where I lived at the time. 08:37 I literally finished the book 08:38 as we were pulling up at nine years old. 08:39 What was the book? Do you remember? 08:41 Mighty Mary. 08:42 One was called Mighty Mary and one was called Dr. Rabbit. 08:45 Both of them were about missionaries. 08:47 Dr. Rabbit would be Eric B. Hare. 08:49 Dr. Rabbit would be Eric B. Hare. 08:51 Yes, okay. Yeah. Exactly. 08:52 And Mighty Mary had a very difficult early life. 08:58 Yes. 08:59 That I wouldn't say was exactly like mine, 09:01 but I could relate, 09:03 and I literally pulled up in front of my house, 09:06 closed the book and said, "I'm going to do that." 09:08 At nine years old? Oh, wow! 09:10 Nine years old. 09:11 And so, I just always... 09:12 I didn't announce it to anyone. 09:14 It was just always in the back of my mind 09:16 that that was going to happen. 09:17 So when I went to Oakwood, 09:19 I spent a year as a student missionary. 09:20 Oh, amen. 09:21 In Indonesia and Korea, 09:23 and then the opportunity didn't present itself. 09:25 I didn't know about Maranatha, 09:26 I didn't know, and I waited and waited. 09:28 And then I was a youth leader in my church in Connecticut. 09:31 And I wanted to take them on a mission trip. 09:34 And there was Ultimate Workout, 09:36 and I was able to go and be staff. 09:38 That was 2003, it was Ultimate Workout 13. 09:42 And Ultimate Workout 28 is coming up, 09:46 and I've literally missed two. 09:47 Wow. Oh, wow! 09:49 One because of what we're going to talk about 09:50 and one because 09:52 of this little 11-year-old named Jordan 09:56 that prevented me from going on a mission trip. 09:59 So I love Ultimate Workout, I love Maranatha, 10:02 and it's what I'm supposed to do. 10:04 And so, I don't want to go ahead 10:06 but that's why this other thing was a problem. 10:09 Yeah, you know what's exciting, Loretta? 10:10 What's that? 10:11 I'm just thinking what God put in your heart as a child, 10:13 in the dream, the vision to say, 10:15 "I want to do that. 10:17 I want to go help people. 10:18 I want to, you know, spend my life doing that." 10:20 And yet, it took a few years, 10:22 but God brought that dream back 10:24 where you can still do that and go overseas, 10:26 where we want to get 10:28 to the main point of this testimony 10:30 about what happened with your health, 10:31 how you became paralyzed and the miracle got performed, 10:34 but first, we're going to go to some music. 10:37 Right now, we have Pastor John Lomacang with us. 10:40 And the song he will be ministering is 10:42 "Be Still And Know". 11:04 Be still and know that He is God 11:12 Be still and know 11:14 That He is holy 11:20 Be still oh, restless soul of mine 11:25 Bow before the Prince of Peace 11:29 Let the noise and clamor cease 11:36 Be still and know 11:38 That He is God 11:44 Be still and know 11:46 That He is faithful 11:52 Consider all that He has done 11:57 Stand in awe and be amazed 12:00 And know that He will never change 12:07 Be still 12:15 Be still 12:19 And know that He is God 12:23 Be still 12:27 And know that He is God 12:30 Be still 12:35 And know that He is God 12:39 Be still 12:43 Be speechless 12:49 Be still and know 12:51 That He is God 12:57 Be still and know 12:59 He is our Father 13:05 Come rest your head 13:08 Upon His breast 13:10 Listen to the rhythm of 13:14 His unfailing heart of love 13:18 Beating for His little ones 13:22 Calling each of us to come 13:30 Be still 13:40 Be still 14:01 Amen. 14:02 Thank you Pastor John, "Be Still And Know". 14:04 You know, I think there's something 14:06 beset for that, isn't there to be sitting and listening. 14:09 I know God wants to hear us talk to Him, but at times, 14:12 I know He wants me to be still and to realize that He is God, 14:15 and that He wants to speak to me. 14:17 Praise the Lord. 14:18 Thank you for ministering to us, Pastor. 14:20 In case, you're just joining us, 14:21 we have with us Loretta Spivey, 14:22 and it is an incredible testimony 14:24 of what God has done 14:26 and is continuing to do in her life. 14:29 She had a very active life 14:31 with mission work, with her family, her church. 14:34 She was into running, doing half marathons, 10Ks. 14:38 And that's what we just talked about 14:39 in the first what, 10 minutes or so. 14:40 Now we're getting 14:42 to actually talk about her major health challenge 14:43 and how God helped her through that. 14:45 So, Loretta, tell us how did you first know 14:47 you had any physical problem or any issue? 14:51 So this thing really snuck up on me. 14:53 Because I told you I had, quiz time, 14:55 how many children do I have? 14:56 Five. Five. 14:57 Five children. Shoo! A plus. 14:59 And we passed the quiz now. 15:00 Four... You get an A plus. 15:02 Four of those children were still at home. 15:04 Okay. 15:06 One was a senior in high school, 15:08 and this is for another program, 15:09 one was in first grade. 15:11 Okay. 15:12 And so, what mother dealing with that wouldn't be tired? 15:15 Right. Of course. 15:16 So I felt really tired, just really run down. 15:20 A friend reminded me yesterday that I was going up my stairs, 15:23 and I had to stop and rest midway my stairs. 15:26 You know, a regular house, 15, 16 stairs... 15:28 Oh, wow. 15:29 And then I had to stop and rest. 15:31 Now as a person who runs a half marathon, 15:32 you can run up 15:34 a flight of stairs with no problem. 15:35 Of course, yeah. 15:36 And I said, "This is really weird, 15:38 like I had to rest on my stairs. 15:39 Something is wrong." 15:40 And I said to Gina, 15:42 "Listen, if I'm not better tomorrow, 15:44 I'm going to the doctor." 15:47 That was Monday. 15:49 Tuesday, I woke up and my hands were tingling. 15:55 And they had been tingling a little 15:57 but I had a little carpal tunnel, 15:58 you know, all the typing. 15:59 And so I didn't pay a lot of attention. 16:01 But my feet were also tingling. 16:04 And I thought, "This is really strange." 16:06 Yeah. Then my tongue was tingling. 16:09 Your tongue? My tongue. 16:10 Oh, wow! 16:11 Now that's what I said, 16:13 because I can handle the feet tingling, 16:14 and I can handle the hands tingling... 16:15 Something's wrong. But something's wrong. 16:17 And I like to talk, you see that already, 16:18 and so, I said, with the tongue tingling, 16:20 I'm calling the doctor. 16:22 So I called the doctor, and when things tingle, 16:23 they immediately think stroke. 16:25 But I told you, no high blood pressure, 16:27 no former problems. 16:28 I knew, I didn't know what it was, 16:30 but I knew I was not having a stroke. 16:31 My blood pressure at that time was generally 96 over 54. 16:35 Yeah. But you were a runner. I was a runner, right?. 16:37 To me, you're a picture of health. 16:38 Yeah, low hear rate, so no problems, 16:41 but I went to the doctor, and I live... 16:43 At that time in a little small town, 16:46 Corners, no... 16:48 Allison Park, Pennsylvania. Okay. 16:49 And so, we had a little small community hospital. 16:52 So I went to the hospital, and they were changing shifts, 16:54 and they apologized. 16:56 People in big cities will laugh, 16:57 they apologized because I had to wait 15 whole minutes, 17:00 15 whole minutes to get to the back. 17:03 I got to the back, I waited a couple more minutes 17:05 and a little older, vested, 17:09 three-jacket doctor came in, glasses. 17:12 And he talked to me, and literally, 17:14 in another 10 or 15 minutes, he had diagnosed me. 17:17 Wow! 17:18 This is a little country hospital? 17:19 This is a little, small town, suburban hospital. 17:22 Yeah. 17:23 And I didn't know 17:24 how significant that was at the time. 17:26 So he says, "I know what this is. 17:28 You have..." 17:30 And he called it Guillain-Barre syndrome. 17:33 And so what is Guillain-Barre syndrome? 17:35 Well, first of all, what do you do in this age 17:37 when somebody says Guillain-Barre syndrome, 17:38 yes, that's what I did. 17:40 You whipped out your cell phone, 17:41 and you try to Google that real quick. 17:42 I whipped out my cell phone, 17:44 and I didn't know how to spell it, 17:45 but I figured it out, he told me. 17:47 And when I looked at it, I looked at him, 17:53 and I looked at it, and I turned off my phone. 17:55 And I said, "I really shouldn't have 17:57 even looked at it." 17:58 Because... It was scary. 17:59 It was scary, I saw intubation, 18:02 pair of paralysis, and death. 18:05 And so, I thought, 18:06 "Okay, let's just take this slow roll. 18:08 Let's just take our time. 18:09 And so, obviously I had to be admitted 18:12 into the hospital. 18:13 So I was admitted, and they did... 18:16 I won't go through the names of the treatment. 18:18 I don't know that they're all that important, 18:19 but I did a round of treatments. 18:22 And then I did a week of physical therapy, 18:24 and I went home. 18:25 Were your symptoms the same? 18:27 The tongue tingling, the fingers and the toes, 18:28 and that was it or had they progressed? 18:31 The other symptom was that I felt very weak. 18:34 Okay. And very tired. 18:36 But what mother of five doesn't feel weak and tired. 18:38 So I... 18:40 And I kept telling him in the hospital like, 18:41 "I feel weak. 18:43 I feel weak." 18:44 And they were doing the tests, 18:46 but I was passing all of the tests. 18:47 And so, they were thinking, 18:48 "Okay, she's not failing these tests. 18:50 These physical test, she can, 18:51 you know, push my hand down and push her leg out." 18:54 And so, they said, 18:55 "We caught this, you should so grateful, 18:57 you saw what it's on the internet. 18:59 This could be terrible, but we caught it in time. 19:01 You're in good shape. 19:02 Go home with a walker but just use it, 19:05 just in case you need it. 19:06 You won't need it all the time 19:08 but just if you need it, use it." 19:09 So, okay... 19:11 Go ahead. Sure, sure. 19:12 This actually is at the emergency room 19:14 'cause you went to the emergency room, right? 19:15 I went to the emergency room. 19:16 Yes, so then this doctor diagnoses 19:18 which to me is a miracle because like you were saying, 19:19 usually this should take a while. 19:21 I mean, you go in, and they're saying, 19:22 "Well, we're not sure, run some tests, and then, 19:24 oh, we're not sure and run some more tests." 19:26 But this was diagnosed, you said, in 15 minutes? 19:28 This was diagnosed in 15 minutes, 19:30 but here's the thing, at this time... 19:31 It's amazing. 19:32 I still didn't know that that was a big miracle 19:35 because I didn't how rare it was. 19:37 I didn't know how hard it was to pinpoint. 19:39 Okay, so this is hard to pinpoint. 19:40 So it's hard to pinpoint, 19:42 but he just named it so quickly that at that point, 19:45 I still didn't realize 19:47 that that was miracle number one. 19:48 It's incredible 19:49 'cause now they're saying they caught it soon enough. 19:51 They're saying they caught it soon enough. 19:52 And so, and I am borderline complaining 19:57 about being in the hospital for two weeks. 19:59 Right. That's a long time. 20:00 That is a long time. Right? 20:02 And so after two weeks, I come out of the hospital, 20:04 and like I say, just with the walker, 20:06 but just in case, 20:07 you know, we know you don't really want to use it 20:09 but just in case. 20:10 You've done well in physical therapy. 20:13 The personality of this "disease", 20:16 syndrome is that you go down, and then you steadily climb up. 20:22 That's the personality of the disease, right? 20:24 So they're telling me, "When you get home, 20:26 you will continue to get stronger, 20:28 and stronger, and stronger. 20:30 So I get home... 20:32 Well, that's encouraging. Very encouraging. 20:34 I get home not needing to really use the walker 20:37 but being careful, right? 20:40 And then I realized that I'm not getting better, 20:43 I'm not getting stronger, I'm getting weaker. 20:45 Oh, wow. 20:46 So I get home, and I'm able to slowly 20:48 but carefully walk without my walker 20:51 from my room to my bathroom. 20:54 Wow! 20:55 Well, day two, I need to use 20:57 my walker to get to my bathroom. 20:59 Okay, this is a problem. 21:01 Day three, I really need to use my walker to get 21:04 to the bathroom. 21:05 Oh, wow. 21:07 Day three, in the evening, I have a fever of 103 or 104, 21:10 crazy. 21:12 It's day four, I am literally... 21:15 You know, you teach children to slide down the stairs 21:17 on their behind? 21:18 I'm literally sliding down the stairs on my behind 21:21 because I can't walk. 21:23 This is four days after coming home? 21:24 Four days after coming home. 21:26 And they're saying you should be going up? 21:27 I should be coming up, not down. 21:29 I get to the bottom of the stairs, 21:30 and I still can't walk 30 feet to my car. 21:34 So my husband picks me up and takes me to the car 21:37 and takes me back to the emergency room. 21:39 Good. Okay. 21:40 Okay, we get back to the emergency room, 21:42 and they say, 21:43 "Yeah, something's definitely wrong here. 21:44 You should not be... 21:46 You're going in the wrong direction." 21:47 Right. 21:48 So now there's more tests and the vampires, 21:52 you know, more blood and more blood. 21:54 One time, the lady came in 21:55 and took my blood, and she said, "Wow! 21:58 I've never taken this much blood before." 22:01 That makes me feel really good, thank you so much. 22:04 That's real good bedside manners at that moment. 22:05 Thank you so much. 22:07 And then the next day, they came and said, 22:08 "Oh, your blood count's really low. 22:10 We have to take..." 22:11 "Oh! My blood count's low? Really? 22:13 You just took four 15 vials of blood from me. 22:15 You think it's low?" 22:17 But more tests and more tests, and they said, 22:19 "Yes, you do have this thing. 22:21 You do have Guillain-Barre. 22:23 We need to approach it more aggressively." 22:27 By the time... 22:28 And now I'm still going down. Yeah? 22:29 Wow. 22:31 By the time they decided 22:32 to approach it more aggressively, 22:34 I can't even stand up to use the little, 22:37 I'm going to use the term porta potty 22:39 that's in the room three steps from my bed. 22:41 I can't get up to do that. 22:43 A question for you, so this would be now what, 22:44 three weeks 22:46 since you originally went to the emergency room? 22:47 Exactly. 22:49 Let me ask you something right, you know, okay. 22:50 Sure, sure. 22:51 So in your mind, 22:53 how are you dealing with this mentally, 22:54 your family, 22:55 because there's somebody at home right now 22:57 that could be just exactly where you are, 22:58 maybe not with that disease, but it was something else. 22:59 So you, again, active in church, 23:03 active mom, a runner, 23:05 mission trips, now you're using the walker, 23:07 now you can't even really use the walker, 23:08 you can barely make it 23:10 to the little thing by your bed, 23:11 what is going through your mind mentally? 23:14 I'm not going to give you the answer you want yet 23:16 because at this point, my mind is thinking, 23:18 "Man, this is going to be an awesome story." 23:21 Okay, so you still had courage then in your heart. 23:23 Oh, yeah. Are you kidding me? 23:24 At this point, I'm thinking, 23:26 "This is going to be a cool story, 23:27 like I can't wait to see 23:29 how this thing really shapes out 23:30 in another one or two weeks." 23:32 That's what I'm thinking. Okay. 23:33 This is going to be 23:34 an amazing testimony honestly... 23:36 So your outlook still really... 23:37 My outlook is amazing. 23:38 At this point, I'm not even trying 23:40 to have a positive outlook. 23:41 I just know like this is going to be a great story. 23:43 I'm going to be fine. They caught this thing. 23:45 Yup. We're having a little... 23:46 There's a little hiccup, but it's going to be fine. 23:49 And so, at this point, this is what I'm thinking. 23:51 Okay. Okay, yeah. 23:52 Next thing I know, we had a good friend 23:54 who lived in Pittsburg 23:55 who was a pediatric neuro, something or other, 23:59 I can't remember. 24:00 Sorry, I can't remember your official title. 24:02 And she said to my husband, 24:04 you know, when they go out in the hallway and talk, 24:05 there's always something. 24:06 There's an issue. 24:08 She says, "You need to get her to the main hospital, 24:10 and you need to do that quickly." 24:12 I'm still at the community hospital. 24:13 And you need to do that quickly. 24:15 So now, my husband's like, 24:16 "Oh, man, how am I going to tell 24:18 these people like, we need to move." 24:20 Well, when my husband went and talked to the doctor, 24:22 guess what he said? 24:23 "You're right". 24:25 He said, "You're absolutely right. 24:27 We need to get her over there. We need to get her there now." 24:29 So they did the paperwork and immediately shift me 24:31 over to the main teaching hospital. 24:35 I get there 24:37 and the doctor comes in the room, I'm in bed. 24:38 The doctor comes in the room, and the doctor says to me, 24:41 he looks me over, and he says, 24:43 "Hi, Loretta, can you give me a thumbs up?" 24:48 And I literally could not give the doctor a thumbs up. 24:51 Oh, wow. 24:52 You couldn't even move your hand, so... 24:54 I could not move my hands 24:56 enough to give the doctor a thumbs up. 25:00 Wow! 25:02 So I looked at my hand, and I looked at the doctor, 25:05 and I looked at my hand, and I said, 25:07 "I can give you smile, 25:08 but I can't give you a thumbs up. 25:10 I can't do it." Oh, wow. 25:12 And so, and I understood later 25:15 that that's kind of the last thing. 25:17 You know, after the thumbs up, 25:18 they're asking, "Can you blink your eyes." 25:20 You know, I mean, but he knew I could blink 25:22 because I was able to talk and communicate. 25:24 And so, he then started from the beginning. 25:27 We don't what this is. 25:28 Let's start from the beginning 25:30 with testing and getting it all figured out. 25:32 And so, they tested, and they said, 25:36 "Yeah, it's that what it is. 25:37 We just have to treat it more aggressively." 25:39 And this doctor, you know, I would say, 25:42 he was a bit of a hotshot, you know, and kind of... 25:44 I guess you have to be a little confident 25:46 to be a neuro... 25:51 Not a neurosurgeon, a neurological doctor. 25:52 Neurologist. 25:53 Neurologist, thank you, thank you, thank you, 25:55 to be a neurologist. 25:56 And so, he was a little cocky and a little confident, 25:58 and so he was like, "We got this. 25:59 You know, this is what we're going to do." 26:01 And so, they started a different treatment 26:05 which was every other day for me, for five days. 26:08 And we did that, and they said, "You're getting better." 26:12 You know, I could do this a little, 26:14 and I could... 26:17 I think we have a picture. Okay. 26:18 So go to that... I think we have a picture. 26:19 Of you in the hospital there? Of me in the hospital. 26:21 I don't like this picture. Oh, wow! 26:23 Yeah, somebody put my arm up there. 26:27 I didn't put it there, right. 26:28 So you couldn't even move your arm? 26:29 I couldn't move it at all. 26:31 Just barely moved your thumb against your forefinger. 26:34 Barely moved my thumb against my forefinger, 26:36 so I asked someone to, 26:37 you know, plop it there so that I could, 26:39 you know, rest. 26:41 And so, they did the treatments, 26:43 I got stronger, I was able to move a little. 26:45 And they said, "You're ready for physical therapy." 26:47 That's a good sign. 26:49 Now mind you, it's a good sign, and I was active, right? 26:53 Seriously, I went to physical therapy like Rambo, 26:57 like I was ready. 26:59 I mean literally when they were wheeling me 27:01 in to the physical therapy place... 27:03 Now I wasn't doing all this, but when they wheeled me in, 27:06 I was talking... 27:07 Going past talking to the people saying, 27:09 "I'm going to be your star. 27:10 You're going to have my picture up. 27:12 I am going to take this physical therapy thing, 27:14 and I'm going to run out of this place." 27:16 You really took the bull by the horns. 27:18 I took the bull by the horns. I was ready. 27:20 And I went in there, 27:21 and you know, they do some test, 27:23 and I was like, "What you got? 27:24 Like, let's do it." You know, they said, "Do five?" 27:26 I'm going to do seven, 27:27 like I'm taking this thing by the horns. 27:30 But something strange happened. 27:33 Day two or three in physical therapy, 27:35 instead of getting stronger, 27:38 I'm getting weaker. 27:42 And so, you know, one day in physical therapy, 27:45 I could do five, 27:47 the next day in physical therapy, 27:49 I could barely do anything. 27:50 And I said to them, 27:52 "I'm getting weaker, I'm getting weaker." 27:54 The first time this happened, 27:55 and they didn't really believe me, they said, 27:57 "Oh, let's give it a day or so and see what happens." 27:59 And so, in a day or so, 28:01 I was back to barely being able to give a thumbs up. 28:05 In a day or so, 28:06 I was barely able to feed myself. 28:07 In a day or so, you see I like to talk, 28:09 I could barely even hold my little iPhone 28:13 to talk on the phone. 28:15 So they said, "No more physical therapy, 28:16 back to the hospital you go. 28:19 We got to get this thing figured out." 28:21 So now, I'm back in the hospital, 28:24 I'm back getting another treatment 28:26 and trying to figure out. 28:27 So they're saying 28:28 you don't have Guillain-Barre at this point? 28:30 No, no, no, no. This time they still have... 28:31 They're still thinking it, okay. 28:33 They're still thinking it. 28:34 They're just thinking they can't... 28:35 It's a tough case, 28:37 and they can't really wrestle it down. 28:38 They have to figure out exactly which treatment. 28:39 So we go back... 28:41 Let me just ask you again, 28:42 how far then after your original diagnosis 28:44 in the emergency room 28:45 with the little doctor that was there? 28:46 You're talking maybe a month now 28:48 all this has taken place with going... 28:49 This is to... 28:50 I went to physical therapy right after Thanksgiving. 28:55 Okay, so maybe a month or so. 28:57 It's a month 'cause I went in, October 26, 28:58 that day I remember. 28:59 That's amazing. 29:01 Well, it's a lot to take place in a month. 29:02 It's a lot to take place in a month, so. 29:03 Okay, so they're saying, 29:05 "Now we need to treat it with something else." 29:06 "We need to really go after this thing." 29:08 So we're back in the hospital now, 29:10 and we're going after it, and I'm reading your mind, 29:12 and you want to know what I was thinking, and... 29:15 Very good. 29:16 I want to know what you're thinking 29:18 because that's a lot to process. 29:19 It is, yeah. It's a lot to process. 29:20 But I'm a little crazy. 29:22 So what I was thinking was, 29:23 "Boy, this is really going to be a good story. 29:25 I mean, I didn't know you had all this mind, God. 29:26 This is really shaping up to be a good story." 29:29 So you still had a positive outlook? 29:31 Still had a positive outlook. Yeah. 29:34 That's a testimony to your faith in God. 29:35 It is. You know, that really is. 29:37 No. It's not? 29:39 That's a testimony to God's keeping power. 29:41 Amen. 29:43 That's not a testimony to anything 29:44 that has to do with me. 29:45 That's good. 29:47 Nothing, nothing at all that has to do with me 29:49 because we have to understand that, 29:51 in these situations, 29:53 we're sometimes trying so hard to get better 29:56 and trying so hard to be positive 29:58 and sometimes, the song said, 30:01 we really have to be still 30:03 and know and be still and let God be God. 30:07 And so, it had nothing to do with my great attitude. 30:11 It just had everything to do with God. 30:13 Maybe God said, 30:14 "I have these imaginations in my mind, 30:16 maybe God said, "You know, we can... 30:19 Devil, you can mess with her body, 30:21 but you can't have her mind." 30:22 I don't know. I don't know... 30:23 Like a Job experience. Like a Job experience. 30:25 Maybe, I do not in any way compare myself to Job, 30:28 just want to say that. 30:29 Right. 30:31 But at this point, I was still positive. 30:33 So now, what happens now 30:37 is that this back 30:41 and forth happens four times. 30:43 Wow. 30:45 So we get stronger in the hospital... 30:46 You think you're getting better? 30:47 And we go to physical therapy. And then you get weaker? 30:49 And then we get weaker. 30:51 And then you go back to the hospital? 30:52 And then we go back to the hospital. 30:53 And we go to... And every time I go... 30:56 Now I'm getting to know the people in rehab, right? 30:57 Yeah. 30:59 Because I'm going back to the same rehab. 31:01 And this is an awesome rehab. 31:03 The people literally come from all over the United States 31:06 and the world to go to this rehab. 31:07 Oh, wow. Top-notch. 31:09 And so... Top-notch. 31:10 And so, I come back, and they're like, 31:12 "Oh, great, you know, you're back. 31:13 This is awesome." 31:14 And then they're like, 31:16 "Oh, great, you're sick, you're going back." 31:18 The fourth time this happened, okay, time number four, 31:24 I go back to the hospital, and they say, 31:25 "We need to rethink some things. 31:28 We need to really look at exactly 31:31 what's happening here." 31:32 And so they do more test 31:35 and they do this nerve and muscle biopsy, 31:38 and take a chunk of nerve 31:39 and a chunk of muscle out of my leg. 31:43 I'll tell you something funny. 31:45 You see how your face is like ooh. 31:48 That's what I'm thinking, ooh. That doesn't sound pleasant. 31:51 The scar for this thing is about this big. 31:54 It's a little small skinny scar. 31:58 And when I came out of surgery, 32:00 there was a little band-aid on my leg, down there. 32:03 But my leg hurt, like my whole body hurt. 32:06 I'm sure. 32:07 It was so painful, and I said to them, 32:08 "Listen, I need a bandage that commiserate 32:12 with the size of this pain that's going on." 32:14 Not a band-aid. I don't need a band-aid. 32:16 I need people to walk in this room 32:18 and feel some kind of way... 32:19 Feel like, "Oh, Loretta's really gone 32:21 through a lot of stuff. 32:22 Loretta's really hurt." Yes. 32:23 I need something to show what's going on here. 32:26 So all through this, I said... 32:28 I'm laughing, I'm in good humor, God is... 32:33 So now though... 32:36 Oh, I skipped something really important. 32:37 It's fine. Let's go back to that. 32:39 Really important. Let's go back. 32:40 When I was home for those four days, 32:43 you know, I was starting to feel weak and tired. 32:44 Yes. Literally God spoke to me. 32:48 And God said to me, 32:50 "This isn't over, but you're going to be okay." 32:54 Oh, wow. Okay. 32:56 So now though, it's... 32:59 I went in October, 33:01 short stint at home in November, 33:04 back and forth, December, January, 33:08 now we're into February. 33:10 Wow. Okay, several months now. 33:11 So now we're into some months... 33:13 Yes, you are. 33:14 Did they come up with the diagnosis 33:15 after they did this nerve... 33:17 They took this piece of nerve out 33:18 in that big surgery? 33:20 Well, after they took the piece of nerve out, 33:21 they were still counseling with each other 33:22 and trying to get it all figured out. 33:27 But in the meantime, I'm having some questions now, 33:30 and I'm talking to God now... 33:33 'Cause this has been like four months now. 33:34 Yes, and I wanted to know, 33:36 my main question is, I have a few, 33:38 but my main question is what does okay really mean, 33:42 because you said, God... 33:43 He had said you'd be okay. You said it's not over. 33:47 But you'll be okay. But you're going to be okay. 33:49 So, you know, when people die, you say they're resting now. 33:51 They're in a better place, they're okay, they're resting. 33:55 And so I'm like, well, let's go back, 33:56 maybe I misunderstood this thing, 33:58 like what exactly is okay. 34:00 I don't know if you're familiar with Joni Eareckson Tada. 34:01 Oh, yeah. Yes, we are. 34:03 Absolutely. 34:04 Okay, so now I'm trying to rethink this thing 34:06 and think that I missed the message 34:07 because okay, for me, 34:09 meant I was going to be back at my regular life. 34:12 So I'm asking God, you know, when am I going 34:13 to be able to be a wife to my husband, 34:17 when am I going to be able to be a mother to my children. 34:19 That's right. 34:21 My oldest is getting ready to get married in May, 34:25 it's February. 34:26 And I can't pick up the cell phone, 34:27 I can't go and shop for dresses 34:31 and party favors and... 34:35 My youngest is in first grade. 34:37 He's learning to read without me, like when. 34:40 So I'm asking God these questions, 34:42 and God says to me, 34:44 "No, no, no, no, no, 34:45 we need to back up a little bit. 34:46 Let me ask you a question." 34:48 Now I got scared 34:49 'cause, you know, I know the story of Job, 34:52 but God was merciful, 34:53 and He only asked me one question, 34:55 and that question 34:56 was not when are you going to get well, 34:58 not what does okay mean, 34:59 not are you going to be telling of my love from a wheelchair, 35:03 the question is, "Loretta, do you trust me?" 35:06 That's deep. 35:09 That's the question, and I want to tell you 35:10 because I already told I was a Christian, 35:12 I already told you I was going on mission trips... 35:13 Oh, yeah. 35:15 I already told you I was active in my church. 35:16 That's right. Yeah. 35:18 So what I want to tell you now is that God said, 35:19 "Do you trust me?" 35:20 And I said, "Yes, Lord, I absolutely trust you." 35:24 But that's not what happened. 35:26 Yeah. And... 35:30 It's easy to generally trust God. 35:33 It is. I would agree with you. Right. 35:34 It's very easy. 35:36 If I ask anybody, anybody in the audience, 35:38 do you trust God? 35:40 You'd say, "Yeah, I do." 35:42 But, you see, when God says, "Do you trust me?" 35:45 And you look over there and you see what you want. 35:47 You see. 35:48 But you look over there... And see what's reality. 35:51 And see what could be the reality. 35:53 It's not so easy to then... 35:56 "Yes, God, I trust you." That's right. 35:59 So it took about two weeks. 36:02 And I couldn't have the conversation with everyone 36:05 because I had been so positive. 36:09 And it wasn't that I was negative, 36:10 but I had to have some real, 36:12 honest what does this really mean. 36:17 Oh, yeah. That's right. 36:18 What could this really look like, 36:20 and if I say, "Yes, God, I trust you." 36:23 And I get that over there, whatever that over there is, 36:27 I'm going to have to be good with it. 36:28 Yeah, am I okay with that? Am I okay with that? 36:30 And I'm not going to lie. I'm going to... 36:32 Took a couple of weeks 36:35 and finally I said, "God, I'm yours, I trust you." 36:39 Amen. Amen. 36:43 It's going to be what it's going to be, 36:45 and we're in this thing together. 36:46 You know, a lot of... I'm sorry, go head, sweety. 36:48 I was just going to say I think, Loretta, 36:50 that's pivotal in the whole story. 36:51 To me, you know, you reach a point in that, 36:54 and I didn't go through that, 36:56 I'm just walking through the journey with you, 36:57 I got goosebumps just sitting here, 36:59 you know, as you told the story because I think 37:01 that's the place the Lord Jesus wants to bring each one of us, 37:04 to that point of do we trust Him, 37:07 not in a general sense of do we trust God, 37:09 but do we trust Him with our lives, 37:11 do we trust Him in the midst of God 37:14 is the reality of my life going to be something painful, 37:17 can I still trust you in the midst of that. 37:20 That's powerful. Yeah. 37:23 And I think that... 37:26 Just to divert for a quick second, 37:28 I think that 37:30 that's the question that God asks all of us. 37:35 It may not be in health situation, 37:39 it could be in a health situation, 37:41 but it could be in a marriage situation. 37:42 That's right. 37:44 It could be in a financial situation. 37:45 With your kids. 37:46 With your kids, 37:49 with a wayward child, whatever it is, 37:52 you know, God doesn't want us to generally say, 37:54 "Oh, yes, God, I trust you." 37:56 He wants us to... 37:57 Look over there 37:58 and look at the worst-case scenario and say, 38:00 "Yeah, if that happens, I'll trust you." 38:04 And honestly, I think anybody that does that just like 38:08 that is not being honest. 38:09 You're not processing it fully, you know. 38:11 You're not processing fully, at least for me. 38:13 Maybe I shouldn't put that on everybody. 38:14 It took me a while... 38:16 Yeah, that makes sense. To get to that. 38:17 Because remember, from the beginning, 38:18 this is going to be a testimony. 38:20 Oh, yeah. 38:21 And so, here's another little truth 38:24 in telling the story moment. 38:27 Many times, during the experience, 38:29 I felt like I was in a life time movie. 38:32 And I anytime expected to wake up 38:34 and hear the director say, 38:35 "Okay, cut, go to commercial, you know, new thing." 38:38 And so honestly, when I told God, 38:41 "Yes, I trust You," 38:43 deep in the recesses of my mind, 38:45 something was supposed to happen. 38:47 Yup. 38:48 You think, "Okay, He's going to do a miracle. 38:50 Something's going to happen. Something's going to come out." 38:52 And soon, it's God waiting for the surrender, right? 38:54 God's waiting for me to say, "Yes, God, I trust You." 38:57 Now He can work in my life. Bingo! 38:59 But what if that doesn't happen. 39:00 Absolutely. It was Abraham. 39:02 You know, he was ready, right? Right. 39:04 And God provided the ram in the thicket. 39:05 God provided that ram in the thicket. 39:08 Yeah. 39:09 Said, "Dude, like I got this." Right? 39:11 And so, God probably didn't say dude, 39:13 but anyway, you got my point. 39:14 And so... 39:15 But the thing is Abraham was obeying, wasn't he? 39:17 He was obeying. Right. 39:18 To what God asked even though it didn't make sense. 39:20 And he was in full trust mode. 39:22 I would say 100%, 39:24 "God, I got this, and I'll do it." 39:26 And God said, "You don't have to do it." 39:27 "Yup, that's far enough." 39:29 So deep in my mind, 39:30 after I said, "Yes, God, I trust you." 39:33 Then I was supposed to take up my bed and walk. 39:38 Did that happen? No. 39:40 What happened was that... 39:45 the doctors came in. 39:47 You know when they all come, it's not good, right? 39:49 I mean, it's never good when they all show up. 39:53 And so they came in and my reward for saying 39:57 "Yes, God, I trust you" 39:59 was one, we have a new diagnosis, and again, 40:04 I don't know, the first word in the diagnosis is chronic. 40:09 Boy, that doesn't sound good. No. 40:12 When I think of that, 40:13 the rest of your life basically I think. 40:14 That's the rest of your life. 40:16 Okay, so that's the first problem. 40:19 The second problem is that not only is it chronic, 40:24 there are chronic conditions that you can be okay with. 40:26 You can function with. Sure. 40:28 They said, "So what we want to do 40:29 is we want to start setting you up 40:32 to live 40:36 from a wheelchair. 40:38 We want to start setting you up to live 40:42 like you are now." 40:46 This is definitely a problem. Oh, yeah. 40:48 This is not the way it... 40:50 This is not the way the story is supposed to go. 40:52 I'm supposed to say, "Yes, God, I trust You." 40:54 And He said, "Loretta, you're going to be okay." 40:56 And He already said, 40:57 "Loretta, you're going to be okay." 40:59 Now you're thinking, "Wow! What does this mean?" 41:00 So this is the time in the story... 41:01 And now they come and say, "Chronic and wheelchair." 41:03 Now they're saying chronic and wheelchair forever. 41:06 So if you know anything about the way that insurance 41:10 and medical things work, 41:12 you know that getting a wheelchair 41:15 is not like getting a car. 41:16 You get a car, and you go, 41:17 and you say, "I want everything." 41:19 Well, the wheelchair features, 41:21 you get the features depending upon what you need, 41:24 depending upon how bad off you are. 41:28 So one other thing 41:30 that happened is that they started bringing people 41:32 to my room and bringing pamphlets 41:34 to my room about getting my home set up 41:37 to be handicapped accessible. 41:39 About getting my car set up, so possibly I could drive it. 41:43 About this super-duper power wheelchair 41:48 that had every feature under the sun. 41:51 That thing raised up and down, so that if you go to a counter, 41:54 you know, you could raise it up or lower it down. 41:57 That thing swiveled at 360. Nice. 42:01 It had a joystick, you know, there's just a little joystick. 42:03 So you could control it with your finger. 42:04 So you could control it with your fingers. 42:06 It even flipped back so that the weight could be 42:09 on your back instead of on your bottom, 42:12 so that you wouldn't get sores. 42:13 I mean, it had all... 42:15 This is a state-of-the-art wheelchair. 42:16 This is a state-of-the-art... 42:17 It had all terrain wheels 42:19 so that you didn't just have to have a smooth surface, 42:21 you could... 42:22 Go through the yard. 42:23 You could go through the yard and, 42:25 you know, go on the beach and... 42:26 But you're thinking this is serious. 42:27 I'm thinking, "This is serious." 42:29 And let's not forget, it came in 18 colors. 42:33 I just want to jump in a moment here 42:35 because I'm looking at our time, 42:36 and if we don't accelerate the story, 42:38 we're not going to get to the end of it too. 42:39 Okay, let's get to the due part. 42:41 Yeah, absolutely. So let's... 42:42 I think we have a video of you doing arm exercises. 42:47 Is this around that time? Can we look at that video? 42:50 No, we can skip that video and get to the good part. 42:53 Okay, let's go to the good part. 42:54 Okay, so I'm struggling now, 42:58 do I let them measure me for the wheelchair, or do I... 43:03 I'm still trying to talk faith and walk faith. 43:05 But I decided to let them measure me 43:07 for the wheelchair. 43:08 One of the worst days 43:09 of my entire life in the hospital. 43:11 They measure me for the wheelchair. 43:13 I'm not given to drama, but honestly, if I could have, 43:15 I would have jumped up and ran out of the room. 43:18 Couldn't wipe my tears, couldn't jump, couldn't run, 43:20 so I sat there. 43:22 I told the wheelchair rep, this is all great. 43:24 I'm really happy, you're happy about this. 43:26 I don't care that it comes in 18 colors. 43:28 At the end of the day, it's a wheelchair. 43:30 Yeah. 43:31 Right? Absolutely. 43:32 Now the treatments are working, I'm getting stronger. 43:36 I'm not strong enough to be at home... 43:38 Okay. 43:40 I'm not sick enough to be in the hospital. 43:41 So where'd they put you? 43:43 Quiz question, where do you go then? 43:44 Nursing home. You go to the nursing home. 43:46 That's where you went? Cals 40 something. 43:49 Remember, runner, mission trips, 43:51 so here I land now in a nursing home. 43:55 And so, now I want to go back to your question. 43:59 Now I want to go back to your question 44:00 about what was I thinking? 44:01 Yup, absolutely. Yeah. 44:03 What was happening in my head? Yes. 44:04 And they're still trying to convince me 44:07 that I'm going to be in this wheelchair. 44:10 Everybody knows 44:12 that you don't get the best physical therapy 44:13 in a nursing home, right? 44:14 That's correct. 44:16 And so, now I'm really struggling like, 44:19 I want them to still treat me like I want to learn 44:21 how to walk, I want them to give it all to me. 44:23 People are saying, "Go into physical therapy gym, 44:26 no matter what and just keep working." 44:29 But somebody forgot to tell Mary, 44:31 the physical therapist there, 44:33 that she wasn't supposed 44:34 to give me good physical therapy. 44:36 Somebody forgot to tell her that she was just supposed 44:39 to be just kind of biding my time. 44:42 So Mary said, "You want to walk, let's do it. 44:45 I know where you came from, 44:46 I know they have all this equipment." 44:48 That's great. Oh, this is you. 44:50 This is it right here. 44:51 And Mary said... 44:53 There was so much that happened before this. 44:54 You're trying to get out of the wheelchair. 44:55 Mary knocked me around on my knees, 44:57 Mary put me on my knees, 44:58 and said, "You have to learn to crawl before you walk." 45:01 But eventually, we get to this point. 45:05 Wow! So this is a big day? 45:06 This is a huge day. 45:09 Same time. This is a huge day. 45:11 So you're working all you can and praying all you can. 45:15 Let me tell you something. 45:16 You have to work like 45:19 there is no God and pray like there is no you. 45:22 That's good. Absolutely. 45:25 'Cause you had to really work at that physical therapy. 45:27 They're all the way through my arms. 45:28 My legs aren't doing anything. 45:30 Yeah, yeah. Wow. 45:32 My legs aren't doing anything. Wow. 45:33 You were a runner, what, a year before that? 45:35 Yeah. Yeah. 45:36 Yeah. Yeah. 45:38 And we get to this. 45:39 So you're obviously not in a wheelchair. 45:41 Now we're watching you here in physical therapy, you're not... 45:44 So something has happened, and I think that's what you... 45:45 And the pastor came 45:47 and prayed for you, is that right? 45:48 Let's jump ahead to that. Yeah, let's go to that. 45:50 Okay. 45:51 This happens and... 45:56 I needed to know that I go home in a wheelchair. 46:00 Yeah. Okay, I go home in a chair. 46:04 There was a pastor named Pastor George Williams, 46:08 and my best friend would have him call me 46:11 ever so often and pray with me. 46:13 So he called while I was home. 46:15 I couldn't even go to my bed, I was in the office. 46:18 Yeah. 46:19 In the hospital room that was set up in my office. 46:23 And he called one day, and he prayed with me. 46:25 He said, "You should walk 46:26 around your house giving God praise." 46:28 And I said, "Well, if I could, I would." 46:30 Right. And he was... 46:32 This is important. He used to be... 46:33 He's an Adventist pastor, 46:34 but he used to not be an Adventist pastor, 46:36 and he said, "The thing about us 46:38 is that we have the truth, 46:39 but we don't believe in the gift of feeling." 46:41 So he prays for me. 46:44 The next day I feel 46:45 this strange sensation in my body. 46:47 Oh, wow. 46:48 Not bad, not good, just different. 46:51 The next day, I wake up, 46:53 and I'm telling you as sure as I'm talking to you, 46:56 I know that I can walk. 46:59 Let's be clear, God did not speak to me, 47:00 God did not tell me, "Loretta, it's time to walk." 47:03 I just knew that I can walk. 47:05 And so, what do you do when you know you can walk? 47:07 You get out of bed. I threw my legs around. 47:10 I pushed my wheelchair, I pushed the walker, 47:12 I pushed all that stuff. 47:14 And there it is. Who's that? Oh, wow. 47:16 My house is in disarray 47:18 'cause we're getting ready to move. 47:19 That's no stress. How long is... 47:20 When was this video taken after the... 47:22 June. Wow. 47:23 Oh, June. 47:24 So you first went 47:26 in on October 26, and this is June. 47:27 October. 47:29 When did we see the video 47:30 just a little minute or two ago of you... 47:31 In the wheelchair? 47:33 What's the timeframe between the two? 47:34 Two months. Oh, wow. 47:35 And so I walked that circle. 47:37 And I was like, "That was cool, so I did it again." 47:40 Well, you haven't walked in a few months. 47:42 I haven't walked in forever. 47:44 And every day from that day, I could do a little bit more. 47:48 You got stronger. I got stronger and stronger. 47:52 I was able to drive a month after that. 47:55 I was able to go to Walmart and use the little cart, 47:57 then go to Walmart and walk, 47:59 then carry one bag of groceries, 48:01 then carry two bags of groceries. 48:04 Every day, God just did a little more, 48:06 and a little more, and a little more. 48:08 That pastor called and he prayed and literally... 48:12 God performed a miracle. The rest is history. 48:15 It was an absolute miracle. 48:17 I walked into my physical therapy place, and they cried. 48:19 I'm sure. 48:21 The social worker there told me, 48:22 "I couldn't even go see you the last day." 48:23 She said, "I was hiding on purpose." 48:25 She said, "I know you came to my office." 48:26 She said, "I couldn't see you go 48:28 to the nursing home. 48:30 So I just hid in my office." Literally they cried. 48:33 Literally. 48:35 So tell me, Loretta, what if someone... 48:37 This is a huge miracle. It is. 48:39 But what if someone says, 48:41 "I prayed for healing and someone prayed for me, 48:43 and I'm still struggling with my health," 48:45 what do we do with that? 48:48 What I learned from this experience 48:50 is that God is trustworthy. 48:51 That's good. 48:53 And I am so blessed 48:56 that my story ended as it continues, 48:59 the way that it does, but I'm not perfect either. 49:02 I tell people I'm probably about 85% or so, 49:05 but I'm really in a good place. 49:08 But God is absolutely trustworthy. 49:10 I'm going to not look at you and look here. 49:12 God is absolutely, positively trustworthy, 49:16 and whether He heals us now or whether He enables us, 49:19 allows us, causes us, whatever you want to call it, 49:22 to stay in that thing, 49:24 He is a God that is to be trusted. 49:27 And in the end, He will do what is best, 49:30 not only for our earthly good, 49:33 but for our heavenly and eternal good. 49:35 Amen. Amen. Thank you. 49:39 So we want to fast forward, you did a marathon again. 49:43 Tell us about that? Not again. 49:45 Before that I had only done a half marathon. 49:48 Thank you. That's right. Okay. Okay, I had never... 49:51 13.1, I had never done a full marathon. 49:54 Three years to the day, God just worked that out. 49:56 It wasn't on purpose. 49:58 Three years to the day... October 26. 49:59 October 26, 50:01 I did a full 50:03 26.2 mile-marathon. 50:07 That's at the 26-mile mark. 50:10 I want to say I could not have done 50:11 that without my husband. 50:12 That marathon has a time limit, 50:14 and he came on the course and said, 50:16 "You're not going to finish, come on." 50:19 And he basically, probably did a half marathon 50:21 with me to make sure that I finished it, 50:23 which is what he did the whole time. 50:25 He pushed, I'm surprised he still had a job. 50:27 He worked, he set up his office in my hospital room. 50:33 Back to another question, how did I make it? 50:36 Show the picture of my family now. 50:37 Oh, yes. Show those people. 50:39 I want to see your family. What a beautiful family. 50:41 I made it because of those people. 50:45 Those people right there, that's why I made it. 50:48 I made it because my husband... 50:50 When they were trying to get my house 50:51 to be handicapped accessible... 50:53 Beautiful family. 50:54 I told them... Thank you. 50:56 I told him, "You have to talk to them." 50:57 He said, "I'm not talking to them. 50:58 You talk to them." 51:00 He's like, "I'm with you. 51:01 If you're saying we're sticking with the healing, 51:02 we're sticking with the faith." 51:04 They thought we were crazy really 51:06 'cause we wouldn't talk to them. 51:07 And so, those people right there, 51:11 they made it happen. 51:12 That's why I didn't lose my mind. 51:14 Amen. Amen. 51:15 God and then my family. Amen. 51:16 We are running out of time, 51:18 and what I want to just say here 51:19 is that because I'm thinking about, 51:20 you know, 'cause your family, 51:22 what a beautiful family you have. 51:23 Yes. Thank you. They're awesome. 51:25 You know, so they're dealing 51:26 with this whole thing with you too. 51:27 What's wrong with mom? 51:29 What we have instead of an address roll, 51:30 we actually have what we call a lower third 51:31 with your phone number, 51:33 and you're willing for people to contact you 51:34 'cause I know there's questions 51:35 'cause we weren't able to get to all of them right here. 51:37 We need probably another hour to get... 51:38 We do. We absolutely do. 51:40 So what is your email address? 51:41 My email address is... And full name. 51:42 It should go up, it's lorettaspivey@outlook.com, 51:46 lorettaspivey@outlook.com. 51:49 And then your phone number? 51:51 My phone number should be there as well, area code, 51:53 860-989-5007. 51:56 I have no magic, I only have God. 51:58 People call me and ask me, so if God doesn't work for you, 52:03 don't call me because all I have is God. 52:06 I don't have anything else. Yes. Yes. Yes. 52:08 So don't call me and say, 52:09 "Oh, well, I was hoping for something else." 52:10 A magic cure or something. 52:12 There's nothing else. It's God and hard work. 52:13 Amen. Amen. 52:15 Well, we want to encourage you 52:16 at home to make sure that you contact Loretta 52:18 if you need encouragement, or a prayer, 52:21 or have more questions, or if you'd like her to come 52:23 and speak and share 52:25 this incredible testimony at your church or your area, 52:27 we want to encourage you to do that. 52:29 You can always contact us at 3ABN, 52:30 and we can put you in touch with her. 52:32 We're going to our newsbreak now, 52:34 and we'll be back with some closing thoughts. |
Revised 2018-04-09