We've had a
surprise.
Liberty has been complaining for years of acid reflux and painful eating, and we've changed her diet and tried medication, and nothing seems to work. It just keeps getting worse and worse to the point that she has stopped eating and drinking altogether for as long as she can handle it because food, liquid, and even the tiny acid reducer pills are getting stuck in her esophagus and causing extreme pain. Since August of this year we've been seeing our physician for it, and last week we finally got referred to a specialist. The first one we called near home could not fit us in until January 6, 2022. But Liberty's condition has gotten so bad, that I felt in my bones we shouldn't wait that long. So we prayed together for a miracle, and then I called a children's hospital a few hours away. They had an opening with Dr. C in six days, November 3, 2021 (which was yesterday). The scheduler sounded surprised over this and told me how unusual this is, because Dr. C is usually booked out into next year. We were delighted at God's answer to our prayer.
We knew the process was supposed to be:
Step 1 - meet the doctor to talk about the problem; doctor sends us out for various tests.
Step 2 - tests take weeks or months to get scheduled; results get sent back to doctor.
Step 3 - meeting with doctor takes weeks to schedule; finally meet him again to discuss next steps and possible solutions; schedule appointment for whatever procedure will resolve the issue
Step 4 - procedure takes weeks or months to schedule; finally fix the problem
All of this could take three to six months or so based on how booked I have been told these doctors' schedules are, I explained to Liberty when she cheered over the miraculous specialist appointment. But again, I felt an urgency inside that I couldn't explain. We began praying for speed from God.
Yesterday morning at 7:40 a.m. we met with Dr. C, the specialist. He completed step 1 of the process, and recommended we go for three different tests to pinpoint the issue. He figured we would be called in about a week to get them scheduled. Without describing my urgency to him, I asked if he could possibly call the department within this children's hospital responsible for these tests and see if they could fit us in today. He told us they definitely couldn't fit us in today since they were slammed until next year. The nurse came in to discharge us and told us she would put his order in for the tests. We could expect a call to get them scheduled within the week. I asked her as well if she wouldn't mind calling downstairs to see if they had any unexpected cancelations, and she snorted. They won't have any. They NEVER have any. And even if they did, Liberty couldn't be seen by them because she would have had to have been fasting the past twelve hours in preparation for the tests. Liberty and I looked at each other and grinned. We had felt a significant calling from God last night and that morning to fast in preparation for tests that He would orchestrate. When I told the nurse that Liberty had been fasting, she shook her head and said she would try. She carried zero hope in her voice.
A few minutes later she practically bounced into our room, her voice full of joy and wonder. They had an opening! Right now! Their entire morning was completely clear! The scheduler in Radiology couldn't believe it when they had realized this on the phone. The scheduler felt like a mistake must have been made in the system for an entire blank morning to have been overlooked by the scheduling department. "It wasn't overlooked," Liberty told Dr. C's nurse, "God did that for us!" The nurse nodded, "He must have, because this is an impossibility!" Her voice sounded so joyful, she almost seemed on the verge of laughter. We left with huge smiles on our faces, not really surprised but definitely thankful for the surprise God had given that nurse and the scheduler.
We took the elevator down and walked over to the registration area. A lady at a desk out front read our paperwork and said out loud, "Oh, I see you are headed to Radiology. Follow me, and I'll take you to the registrar for that department." As we followed her into a cubicle with a registration desk, she asked, "What time is your appointment for?"
"I don't know," I responded. "They didn't tell us an exact time because they just had an opening in the schedule they are fitting us into."
The lady stopped in her tracks and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you had said you were going to Radiology. They don't have any openings in their schedule today. Let me look at your paperwork again to see what department you're really going to. I'll need to move you to a different desk."
I quietly handed her the paper while Liberty and I grinned at each other again. God's surprises are so FUN!
"Oh," she said in a surprised voice. "It *is* Radiology. What time did you say your appointment was for?"
"We don't have an appointment time," I repeated. "They just had an opening they were fitting us into."
She frowned and shook her head, but continued setting up the equipment for a virtual check-in with a registrar who was working from home.
We eventually walked into the Radiology waiting room and showed our new stickers to the very friendly receptionist named Kenny. He greeted us and tried to check us into the system, but we weren't in his schedule. While he was still trying to understand his computer, a radiologist, Destiny, came out to take us back into Radiology. Kenny was very surprised we were leaving him so quickly. Liberty and I were giggling at this point!
Destiny helped us prepare for the first test. Liberty needed to drink barium so they could follow it down through her system. Liberty had done this same test years before at our local hospital, so we knew what to expect. Another radiologist helped Destiny out, getting things set up, and the director of radiology, Dr. D, wandered in "to see who their entire department's schedule had been cleared for." She stuck around for the test since she had no other patients in the department. Immediately as the barium inside Liberty showed up on the screen, Dr. D got excited. She explained what she was seeing on the screen. Liberty's aorta is supposed to come out of the upper left side of her heart, but instead it is coming out of the upper right side and wrapping around her trachea and esophagus causing all the pain during eating. It has always been this way. Apparently, it is a congenital heart defect.
This is a side note that just occurred to me while I was typing: Dr. C told us later in the afternoon that he had finally had a chance to review his notes from when we were in his office three years ago for a different problem. He had notes showing Liberty had complained of the same symptoms three years ago, and he had ordered this same test three years ago. I remember that test. Three years ago, the radiologists and I at our local hospital saw the same strange bump that the barium was flowing around, and I asked about it since they didn't seem concerned with it. The radiologist at that time said she didn't know what it was but it must not be a problem since it wasn't preventing the barium from flowing down, just changing it's direction. I now wonder what would have happened if Dr. D, the director of radiology, hadn't just decided to hang around since God had taken all the other patients out of her department? Would a different radiologist have missed this again, and Liberty wouldn't be headed for life-saving cardiac surgery right now? It matters who God puts into the room! He cleared THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT for us! Another wonderful surprise from God! He is so good to us! :-)
Dr. D was very excited when she saw Liberty's aorta, and she immediately called Dr. C to tell him what she had found and to recommend our other tests be dropped and a different test be ordered instead to get a clearer picture of Liberty's heart. She conferred with another doctor as well for a second opinion since this is such a rare occurrence, 0.01% of the world's population.
After the second test, she wheeled Liberty directly into her office to show us what had been found and to explain exactly what it all was. The two of us had so much fun learning with her because she was so excited about it! Three nerds together in one office might be over the top, but it was a blast!
Anyway, back to Liberty's aorta. Her aorta is growing into adult-size, and it is now too big to be in a space that was never designed for it. It is stopping her food and water from going down due to pressure on the esophagus; it is slowing the blood supply to the rest of her body by putting pressure on the aorta, and it can also stop her from breathing due to pressure on the trachea. Dr. D tried several times to call Dr. C during this time, but he never heard his phone. So she sent us back up to his office directly without any introduction. Liberty and I were praising and singing on our way up there, trying to be quiet out of respect for everyone else in the hospital, but oh man, God is SO AWESOME!
When we entered Dr. C's waiting room, the atmosphere in there was oppressive, and we both felt deep compassion and a calling from God to minister. Liberty sat next to a sad girl and began a conversation of joy while I silently prayed for the receptionists and patients I could see. I stood at the window letting the receptionists know that Dr. D wanted us to talk again with Dr. C even though Dr. C wasn't aware yet that we were coming to see him again today. While they were protesting, the nurse from earlier who had called Radiology for us that morning saw us and welcomed us happily. She obviously was glad to see us again even though it was a surprise, and she bypassed reception to usher us into an exam room. Reception was certainly surprised by this action!
While we waited for Dr. C, just the two of us in the exam room, Liberty reported to me that she had visibly watched and spiritually felt the sad girl in the waiting room change emotionally from depressed to hopeful during their conversation. We praised God together exuberantly for this and knew that God had more ministering for us to do there. We began praying in the Spirit for everyone in this hospital building and very specifically for the people in this office. God revealed certain requests for each person, and we prayed in detail for whatever He revealed. We had both sensed a spirit of discouragement in Dr. C when we had met with him earlier that morning, so we asked God for encouragement for him and to break off anything that was hindering him from fulfilling his calling with joy.
When we finished praying, to pass the time I pulled out a book I am reading. It is called When God Breaks In by Ben Hughes, and I was in the middle of chapter two. I read just a few sentences to myself, and then just HAD to read it all out loud to Liberty. Together we exclaimed in surprised joy over what God was showing us. A direct confirmation that He would be saying YES to the specific prayers He had led us to pray for specific people whom we had met along the way that day!
Here is what we read:
"Luke 4:18 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim LIBERTY to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at LIBERTY those who are oppressed.'"
We had to stop reading right there and cheer because of how marvelous it was to receive confirmation for our prayers. Then we kept reading.
"Jesus was anointed! The Spirit of the Lord was upon Him! And that anointing has purpose! The anointing empowers us to preach the gospel! The anointing has the power to heal broken hearts, open the eyes of the blind, breaks chains off people -- chains of addiction, pain, and hurt. The anointing smashes open the prison doors in people's hearts, minds, and souls to set people free from their captivity and oppression, and proclaim that the time for freedom, the time for healing is NOW!
Just as Jesus was anointed, this same anointing of the Holy Spirit is available to us... There are many stories of otherwise ordinary men and women of God, down through history, carrying a great anointing..."
That is when Dr. C walked in, and we put our book away. He sat down with us and discussed all the findings. He then called the cardiothoracic surgery department and left a message requesting that Liberty receive surgery as well as sending the order through to them in the computer system. While we waited for their response, we chatted with Dr. C, and I felt led to ask him what his favorite part of his job was. He solemnly answered that his patients were the best part. I asked for more details, and he slowly unfolded pieces of his answer, growing more and more animated as he told more and more of his story. By the end of the conversation he was actually giggling, almost giddy with joy as he remembered his true calling. It was amazing to watch, and Liberty and I both know that joy is going to be long-lasting for him and spilling over to his patients and staff in accordance with what God had told us to pray. This will be an ongoing surprise from God for their entire office that makes me so happy to know about!
After all those surprises all day long, I fully expected God to have cleared the surgery schedules in advance for Liberty as well, but that did not happen. I was disappointed that Dr. C never received a call back or any confirmation that his messages had been received, and as it became later and later in the day I finally made the decision to drive back home rather than spending another night in a hotel room waiting for a call to surgery. I didn't even know what her surgery would entail. Is it full-on reconstructive open heart surgery, or is it laparoscopic little snips and things right themselves internally? All the doctors we spoke with didn't know either.
In the car on the way home I was telling Liberty about my disappointment, and she surprised me by telling me that she had been praying for the surgery not to happen that day.
Well.
I laughed. I guess she was right. After all, Jeremy had been in Texas and had no idea that his daughter was about to go into heart surgery. That seems kind of important. I just like to get things DONE and checked off my lists no matter what. Deep breath. Patience.
While I was driving, I received a text from a friend who knew nothing about any of this. Her daughter is selling banana bread to raise money to go on a missions trip, and I had told her I would purchase two loaves. She was texting to tell me the loaves were ready for pickup, and I told her I wasn't in town right then, but that I would swing by her church later that night when I got into town to buy the bread.
While I drove, I began praying. When I pray I usually wait to hear what God wants prayed, and then I pray that back to Him. And this time, I felt led to ask God to miraculously move Liberty's aorta to where it was supposed to be on the left side and away from her esophagus and trachea. I wondered as I prayed if that was really what God was telling me to pray, or if it was just me wanting things to be easy, but when I double-checked with God I never received a check in my spirit about that request.
We arrived at my friend's church and bought the banana bread, then told her about our day. Her husband is the pastor of the church, and she called him over to hear. They asked if they could anoint Liberty with oil and a few more people gathered around. We all laid hands on Liberty and prayed together, and they, too, without knowing what I had prayed earlier asked God to miraculously move her aorta to where it is supposed to be without surgery. I was surprised when I heard that, and like Mary, I have been pondering these things in my heart. Is God leading us to pray those prayers, or are we just wanting the easy way? If God *is* leading that, does that mean His answer is already yes, or does it mean that He has other plans, but we are just supposed to ask anyway?
Who knows, but I do know that I am so glad to be loved by a God Who likes surprises as much as I do!
