Little miracles

Little O'Brian had been struggling for several days. He had come to the ship for our feeding program so that he could gain enough weight to be able to handle surgery. I took care of him two nights in a row and watched his little body struggle to breathe. The next day, I came in to work to find out that he had been moved to the ICU because his breathing had deteriorated. He had developed something called aspiration pneumonia and needed more than just oxygen...he had been placed on a CPAP machine to help his little lungs.

Fast forward to the next day. I'm upstairs getting my coffee and I see Ali, one of our ward supervisors. 'Did you hear about our little miracle,' she shrieked, barely able to contain her excitement. She was like a little kid on Christmas morning, ready to open presents. I could see by the look on her face that she had some great news...She went on to tell me this story:

Around midnight, our dear little O'Brian started to go downhill with a racing heart rate and falling oxygen saturations. His little lungs just couldn't make it on their own anymore. His nurse, Natalie did everything she could think of to help him recover, but nothing seemed to work. She called anesthesia and Dr. Gary (our maxillo-facial surgeon...not to mention, one of my personal heros). They came down to see little O'Brian and quickly decided they would have to intubate him and put him on a ventilator. There seemed to be no other option. He wouldn't make it if they didn't intervene quickly. Natalie and another ICU nurse, Jenny, rushed to get all of their supplies and draw up medications, preparing to intubate. As they rushed around, they glanced over to see Dr. Gary, head bowed and hands on little O'Brian's body. He was seeking help from the Lord, our healer. It was 12:20.

At 12:25, O'Brian's oxygen saturations jumped from sixty to a hundred percent. His racing heart slowed to normal, and the bewildered nurses put down their supplies. The surgeon and anesthetist thanked the Lord for his work as the Great Physician and headed to bed. And there lay little O'Brian, no longer needing his CPAP machine, no ventilators, or mask. The nurses were stunned in amazement and his miraculous recovery and had the amazing gift of witnessing a little miracle on D Ward.

After hearing Ali's story, I could see why she was so excited that she was nearly jumping up and down. Miracles do still happen....and I know that little O'Brian's story has increased all of our faith and reminded us of the power of prayer!