My dad had a heart attack in mid of 2001. After being warded in the hospital, tests revealed 80% of his arteries and veins were blocked. The consultant surgeon briefed me on 2 options. One was to do nothing at all and the other was to opt for triple bypass heart surgery. The risks were high as my dad was diabetic and advanced in age at 70.
When my wife and I prayed for him, we knew in our spirit that God would heal him this time to hear the gospel and make the decision to accept Jesus as his personal Savior and Lord.
My wife shared with him the Good News and assured him that God would heal him. But she added that whatever was the outcome of the surgery, which he had already decided to go for it, it was a wise decision to make peace with the one true God who is the Creator of this Universe right away. He readily agreed to receive Jesus into his life. And I sought the help of a pastor then to baptize him immediately.
The triple bypass surgery was not exactly smooth sailing. The surgeon told me later that he could not find a good vein at all. As he had to take a vein at the back of his rib cage, another surgical procedure had to be done. And he could only do the bypass for 2 of the arteries as the vein was short.
The surgeon was very experienced as he had done over 300 bypass surgeries and he told me that my dad’s case was the most challenging so far.
Over the next few days recuperating, the skin graft to close up the gaping hole in my dad’s chest was not healing at all and another skin graft had to be done. Yet again, it failed because of his diabetic condition. The surgeon told us to expect the worst as infection would set in. Meanwhile, there was the constant fear of other organ failure due to his diabetic condition.
The surgeon later suggested trying a revolutionary idea of running antibiotic solution over the wound all the time to see if it would heal by itself. There was hardly any more skin on his arms or legs for further skin graft.
We prayed and we knew God would heal him.
Then the amazing divine act of God’s providence happened. Skin started growing little by little, millimeter by millimeter, from 3 corners as the gaping hole was triangular in shape. It took another two or three months in the high dependency ward before the hole was closed up. Hallelujah ! Praise the Lord for answering our prayer then ! My dad had another 2 and a half years of quality life till the next heart attack on Christmas Day of 2004. The church pastor and several brothers and sisters, of the church I was attending then, were able to pray with him one after another before he went to the Lord that very day. He was conscious all the time till his heart just stopped. The next day, the massive earthquake and tsunami happened near Aceh, Indonesia.
My 89 year old father-in-law who witnessed this divine act of God’s providence was also ripe in his heart to accept Jesus into his life. Praise the Lord. The Lord is good.