My Healing Testimony

“We were in a pandemic, and my symptoms resembled Covid…”

I turned 72 on March 8, 2021, and I was admitted to St Mary’s hospital in Waterbury on May 10th (the day after Mother’s Day) for viral pneumonia. I went from the ER up to the telemetry floor where my heart was monitored, and I was treated with antibiotics. We were in a pandemic, and my symptoms resembled Covid. They tested me several times, but it was always negative and my lungs continued to worsen. The pulmonologist told me the only thing they could do was to bring me to intensive care for intubation. He said my chances were 50/50 of pulling through. I told my family I loved them and explained what I expected of them if I didn’t make it. I was put under for 5 days. By the grace of God, I did pull through and was eventually transferred back to the telemetry floor.

I was discharged from St Mary’s on May 25th and transferred to New Britain Hospital for Special Care, where I began a month-long road to rehabilitation. The ambulance ride there was bumpy, and my first week started with severe muscle spasms in my back that lasted about a week. My breathing was labored, and I was kept on 3 liters of oxygen. Physical therapy twice a day went on for the rest of my stay there. My condition seemed to improve, but X-rays and cat scans didn’t show any change. My wife managed to find someone every day to bring her to see me. I remember when Pastor Chris from Word of Life Family Church in Middlebury came to visit. He told me how Jesus was right beside me, helping me through this whole discouraging process. I remember tears filling my eyes as I felt Christ’s loving supportive arm around my shoulders. My diagnosis was officially called interstitial lung disease.

I was discharged a month later and returned home under the care of a nursing service. I still needed 3 liters of oxygen, and just walking to the bathroom caused my O2 saturation level to drop drastically low. My children worked together to see that we were cared for at home (my wife is disabled also.) My family doctor did not want to treat me saying that he didn’t have any luck with other patients who had the same thing I did. He got me the head pulmonologist from St Mary’s hospital who was familiar with my stay when I was there. He treated the lung damage with prednisone, starting with a high dose and gradually tapering down. Pastors Chris and Christen from WOL offered prayers and parishioners prayed for me and kept in touch. I was encouraged to pray for healing and listened daily to healing sermons by Keith Moore and that’s when the real recovery began. A link to that web page is provided below.

I learned that it is always God’s will to heal. With all the latest advancements that science has to offer, doctors can do marvelous things, but the actual healing process begins with the grace of God. Our part is to receive it through faith. Even though my condition was still poor, I thanked God for his healing every day in my prayers. I did whatever chores at home I could manage carrying around my O2 tank. The first thing I noticed was that my fingernails healed. I had a painful fungus for at least a couple years. I tried medication and even saw a specialist, but nothing seemed to work. Around the 2^nd time my nurse came, she noticed right away and said “WOW, look…your fingernails are pink!” I just couldn’t stop staring at them. My first cat scan, after returning home, showed significant improvement in a side-by-side comparison. The last one I had when I left rehab looked like my lungs were filled with cobwebs and the latest one was much clearer. I began playing my guitar again but found it too difficult to sing. I went to healing services at Word of Life Family Church whenever I could. I prayed to God to let me once again praise Him in song, and then it happened…I was able to sing every song without losing my breath.

My pulmonologist said that some patients respond more favorably to prednisone than others, but when I pressed him on my recovery compared to others with the same problem, he did admit that mine was the best he saw. My last cat scan and lung test showed enough improvement to return my O2 tanks. Looking back at the whole ordeal, I thank God for His healing and answers to prayer. I hope that this testimony will encourage others to reach out to Him in their need and receive His healing grace. I now assist with my wife’s care. which she needs 24/7. Leaving the house is difficult because she can’t be left alone, but my children still work together to see that we have whatever we need. I can see the Lord’s hand working thru them. I look forward to whatever plans the Holy Spirit has for my future.