This story starts July 31, 2012. That’s the night that 3 incredible men came
to our house to lay hands on Michael and pray over him in prep for his surgery
the very next day. A surgery that we
weren’t sure would work or how he would be after he woke up from it. That night, as these men prayed over him, he
truly felt the power of God for the first time in years. The next morning Michael felt a complete
peace and told me he was going to be JUST fine…. and he was right!
During Michael’s recovery he spent a great deal of time in
prayer and in the Word trying to discern what God was trying to tell him. All things kept pointing to this big move to
Arizona and in February, it happened. We
moved away from our friends, our church family, our jobs, our house, and
everything that ever felt comfortable to us to help plant Riverview
Church.
In January, my lifelong best friend and her family made the decision to also move to Arizona. This after MONTHS of her saying NO WAY! We had started making plans to visit back and forth and were both at peace with that. But when she was here in December to visit family, her father in law got very sick and suddenly they felt like they needed to be here. She and her husband fought it for weeks... and they were especially concerned about their son. While her husband was out on a drive he prayed about the decision. While he was out praying their son told my best friend that they needed to move. When she told her husband, they knew it had to happen.
In January, my lifelong best friend and her family made the decision to also move to Arizona. This after MONTHS of her saying NO WAY! We had started making plans to visit back and forth and were both at peace with that. But when she was here in December to visit family, her father in law got very sick and suddenly they felt like they needed to be here. She and her husband fought it for weeks... and they were especially concerned about their son. While her husband was out on a drive he prayed about the decision. While he was out praying their son told my best friend that they needed to move. When she told her husband, they knew it had to happen.
My first job in Phoenix didn’t quite go the way I had
hoped. The drive was HORRENDOUS… it often took me 75-90 minutes ONE WAY in
heavy traffic. If you know me at all,
you KNOW I hate traffic! One morning on
my way to work I found myself again stuck!
I called Michael in tears telling him I knew I needed the job, but I
just didn’t think I could do it anymore.
After hanging up the phone from him I had words with God…. I honestly can’t even say it was a prayer,
more me just saying out loud (and very loud) “ok God… if I’m supposed to be in downtown Phoenix,
you better make that clear today because I cannot handle this much longer!”. At
lunch that very day I received the phone call from Infinity Rehab about a job
just 10minutes from my house!
A few months into my job I got very sick, nearly passed
out. There was a doctor there that day
that had me check my sugar and sure enough….
Sky high one minute and bottomed out the next. A few days later he saw me and asked if I got
an appointment with our doctor yet, knowing that we were new to the area. When I told him no, the doctor we had planned
to see couldn’t get me in for about 6 weeks he immediately said no – you call
my office and I will see you Monday. So,
I did. Michael took me to the appointment
and at the end we asked Dr. M if he was familiar with Chiari Malformation…. Sure enough, he WAS and he was. Michael was stable still at that point, but
it was good to know he had a PCP who knew his disease.
July is when things got crazy with Michael’s health and we started seeing Dr. M for help. Currently, Michael is seeing a Neurologist at Mayo Hospital here in Phoenix who has been great. We know that Michael has high intracranial pressure, but there are some other issues as well that may be chiari related…. More and more it looks like they are. We met with a neurosurgeon at Mayo a few weeks ago, but it just didn’t go as well as we’d hoped it would. Not that Michael wanted surgery, but we wanted to know options down the road so we didn’t have to make any spur of the moment decisions. After the appointment Dr. M (PCP) decided it was time for a 2nd opinion and we agreed.
I, unbeknownst to Michael, had Michael’s records sent to one
of the top Chiari surgeons in the US, Dr. Oro, in Aurora Colorado just to see
what they’d say. I didn’t want Michael
to know because the chances of him taking Michael’s case were pretty slim to
nil to none. But, I felt strongly about
doing it, and since our daughter moved to Colorado Springs when we moved here I
figured IF they’d see him, at least she was very close . Dr. M also started calling some colleagues of
his and the plan was to discuss the 2nd opinions with us at a follow
appointment this past Tuesday at his follow up appointment.
Monday was a BAD day for Michael. He spent most of it on the recliner in the
dark with the fan on him. Monday afternoon,
Dr. Oro’s office called and said they’d see him!!! I was shocked and honestly, my heart was
pounding when I went upstairs to tell Michael the news. We decided we’d talk it over with Dr. M the
next day just to make sure we were doing the right thing. Tuesday, Dr. M basically said if Dr. Oro was
willing to see us, that we needed to go.
But we still had a financial piece of it to consider because it’s 12
hours from here and we’re already struggling financially with Michael being off
work.
When we got home from the appointment I sent my close knit
group of friends a message to pray about the decision to go to Dr. Oro’s office
in Colorado, specifically asked them to pray over the financial side of it
because it was looking like we weren’t going to be able to go. The next day, one of the ladies asked me to
call her. That phone call blew me away. They all felt like they needed to do
something tangible for us, but weren’t sure what or why. They had started talking about a benefit and
even started planning it. Once they
found out about Colorado being an option, it all became clear WHY it was on
their hearts! This benefit they have
arranged will help us to go!
When I look back on all of this… God is in it EVERYWHERE I look!
- The guys prayed over Mike.
- Mike felt and heard God speaking to him.
- We moved to Arizona and our daughter moved to Colorado.
- My lifelong best friend and support moved to Arizona, without her I would be lost!
- A full time position was opened at my job that they only interviewed me for.
- I got sick at work and need a primary care doctor fast, Dr. M was the doctor at work that day
- Dr. M knew not only what Chiari was, but recognized that it is more than “just a headache” as many doctors say
- Without Dr. M we wouldn't have had what we needed to get in to see Dr. Oro in Colorado.
- Without God speaking to our friends back home we wouldn’t be able to GO see Dr. Oro.
- Our daughter just happens to live 45 minutes from Dr. Oro’s office and the hospital he works out of.
- If we would not have moved to Arizona, Kayleigh would not have moved to Colorado.
- If we still lived in North Carolina we would be lost with no Chiari specialist anywhere close to us and we would never have considered Dr. Oro because it’s the opposite end of the country!
Michaels’ story is not over yet. One thing is certain though, God is still
knitting it all together for HIS glory and purpose and I look forward to the
day where we will stand up in front of Riverview Church and share our story of
faith so that someone else may feel encouraged!
