A Christmas Miracle

[Mikekoz13]

I've posted before about the seizures that my son Kody used to have. Kody was born in February of 1997 perfectly healthy. In November of that same year he began having seizures and was subsequently diagnosed with a disorder called Infantile Spasms. This disorder is devastating to about 90% of the kids that get it. Many of these kids wind up physically and mentally handicapped and have a low quality of life.

We were devastated by this news because of the grim prognosis. Kody was immediately put on a nasty drug with some even nastier possible side effects. The drug initially made him very prone to infections and colds.
We wanted to get Kody baptised that November but when he became ill the doctors wouldn't let us for his own safety. Finally after several weeks of literally begging the doctors, they agreed that it would be OK to get him baptised since he was having no side effects from the drug.

So we talked to the Church where we had been married but we were not members. They welcomed us with open arms. We explained how sick Kody was and how important it was to have him baptised as soon as possible. So the Pastor arranged with us to have Kody baptised during the service on the Sunday before Christmas.
The Church is small and probably holds about 400 people..... none of which we knew. So that Sunday we went to Church along with about 50 Family members and friends..... all there with love and support for us.
The Church was absolutely packed to the rafters that Sunday.
The service began and I remember sitting there feeling so helpless and sad that my son's first Christmas was so very bad for all of us. His future was so bleak with a lifetime of difficulties and misery in front of him. I prayed and prayed like i had never prayed before. I was so lost in Prayer that I don't even remember anything about the service.
All I remember was that I finally heard the Pastor start talking about Kody's baptism. She asked us to come to the front of the Church with Kody and join her. She took Kody from me and held him in her arms. She told the congregation how sick Kody was and how sad his long term prognosis was. She walked down the aisle of the Church showing Kody to all that were there and asked them to Pray for him and our Family. She walked the entire length of the aisle down and back and spoke the entire time of how Kody needed as many Prayers from as many people as possible. She asked these "strangers" to ask their families and friends to pray for Kody.
Then she gave Kody back to me and started to perform the Baptism. As she poured the water over his head the first time he laughed out loud and many in the Church laughed. As she poured the water over his head again he laughed even louder and the entire congregation laughed out loud with him. Finally a moment of joy in a horrible month of days.
When the baptism was complete the Pastor asked the congregation to come meet Kody and us after the service by forming a line down the aisle of the Church and coming to the front to meet us. As we stood at the front of the Church holding kody I looked at that line that went all the way to the back of the Church and snaked over to the one side..... i was sure that every single person in that Church was in that line.
We were greeted by all these "strangers" with offers of Prayer, kind smiles and warm heart felt hugs.

As the line grew shorter I noticed a very unusual man at the very end of the line. He was about 30 years old, very small, and was physically handicapped. He wore arm braces on both arms and was kind of twisted up and it was obvious that it was a chore for him to stand in this line.
I couldn't stop watching this man...... he never spoke to anybody and just stood there smiling with his head kind of bent to one side.
Finally the line was at an end and this frail, handicapped man approached me and Cheryl. He kind of just stood there for a few moments...waiting.
When the Church was empty except for us and him, he shuffled toward me, leaned in toward me a bit, and very quietly said, "Your son is going to be OK". He didn't say another word and then he kind of started to shuffle off.
Cheryl and I were kind of stunned and after a few seconds she looked at me and i said, "Did you hear that?" She kind of nodded.
So I went to look for this man to talk to him..... but he was gone. He was not in the Church so I ran out to the parking lot. He was not there.... he was just gone. I checked the bathroom.....gone. The way this man moved it would have taken him at least 5 minutes to get from where we stood in the Church to the parking lot. But he was nowhere.
So we immediately went to our Families and friends and asked them if they saw this man go by. Not only had they not seen him go by, they didn't remember seeing him in the Church at all. There was no way they could not have seen this man...... he stood out. But nobody had seen him at all but Cheryl and me.
It turns out that this man was correct about Kody... 11 years later he is OK. He's just a normal boy with a pretty normal life.

I always think of that man as our "Christmas Angel"............


Tell us about your Christmas Miracle...........

[Brkeatr]

Wow...touching story Mike. I would definately say you and your family had a " Heavenly Visit", and it's good to hear Kody is normal and healthy now.

Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and thanks for the reminder that miracles still do happen !!   

[Stu]

Thanks for sharing that; it serves to help refocus our attention where it should be... on the blessings we have, not all of the outside influences that serve to detract and distract.

[The Scottish Ambassador]

Thank you for sharing your story mike. Extremely humbling, and I am sure you did have a visit from a very special angel.

[THier]

Koz

 not trying to steal your fire,,, but did you see the story the other day where a 14 year old who has birth defects was dying, hospital cameras caught a bright light outside of her room that had a general shape of what we expect an angle to look like, and she recovered unexplainabley, along with three other children in the same hospital, including one who had a severe skull fracture, and is doing fine. I challenge anyone to explain things like what happened to your family,, or what happened in this hospital, or any of the other miracles.

Tom 

[Mikekoz13]

I have no doubt that the Angels walk among us.

[andrew]

What a great story Koz ...

Many of us forget the true meaning of Christmas as we get caught up in the commercialism.   I'm sure Christmas will always be extra special in your household.

[THier]

Found the story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28364813/

Tom

[GASlick]

Beautiful story Koz.  I'm not surprised one bit.  Angels are always around us.

[Razor X]

Great story, Mike.

[hammerdrill376]

There are definately Angels among us. Most of the time we are unaware they are here but from time to time for specific reasons they are allowed to manifest visibly.

Since you asked let me relate what I belive to be an angel story that happened to my brother.

On New Years Eve of 1969 my brother had been married to his first wife for about 6 months. They were at a small get together with a friend of theirs who at the time was separated from her husband. Apparently the man had made several threats and for protection kept a small pistol for protection. The pistol she had looked like one of the old time childrens toy pistols and as she had two sons my brother thought it was one of their toys. Not realizing the pistol was not a toy he picked it up and aimed it at his wife. The gun went of and struck her in the chest. Though inititally the surgeon thought she would pull through she died several hours later. An investigation of course took place and within several days it was determined there was a fault in the pistol itself (a derringer) and my brother was found not at fault as apparently it could have gone off at anytime.

I was just 6 at the time but I remember he was absolutley devestated. But much to the families suprise he enlisted in the Army and ended up in Vietnam.

A couple of years after being discharged my brother had moved to Florida and was on his way home for Christmas. I may be wrong but I believe the year was 1973. He stopped at a department store on the way in to pick up a few last minute items when he was approached by a young lady that he swears to this day could have been his wifes twin sister. She assisted him with what he needed then she turned to him and said the following.."Sir, I need to tell you something. God forgives you and loves you and what happened was not your fault. It's time to forgive yourself." With that she turned and went down the isle they were on and turned onto another isle. My brother was a bit stunned and followed her but the isle she turned onto was "T" shapped and dead ended on both ends. No one was there.

He located the store manager and told the man about the woman helping him but did not disclose the rest of what she had said or her sudden disappearance. He did tell him he wanted to thank her again but could not find her. The manager asked what she looked like and he pulled out a picture of his wife. The manager studied it for a second and told him they did not have anyone that looked even remotely like his wife that worked there. His wife, Lorraine, was a redhead and there were no red-heads that worked in the store. My brother belives as do the rest of the family this was an angel sent to help him get past some of the pain of his wifes death.

[Papa Don]

Wonderful story of love and faith Mike.  It brought a tear to my eyes.  I too believe in the miracles of angles.  My wife passed away seven years ago this February of Cancer.  The doctors gave her six months if she endured the chemo and radiation.  She refused treatment as in her terms, she was ready to go Home.  After a week at home from being dischared from the hospital, she passed in her own bed with me at her side.  About a month later, the dog and I were lying on the couch watching televison,  all of a sudden the dog jumped up and started crying.  At the very same moment, out of the corner of my eye I saw a white form exit out the back door of living room.  I asked my pastor about it and he said it was Carol's way of saying that she was alright.  Yes, there ARE Angels.

[The Scottish Ambassador]

Thanks Hammer and Papa for sharing your stories. Sitting here in tears now  . Truly special and touching. Thanks guys

[chgobuzzbald]

I can add that I saw angel myself a few years ago when I was quite distraught over a friends mysterious death. The angel was sort of forced into my mind while I was eating dinner oddly enough. For a short time it was all I could see. It was tall and sort of androgonous looking with tall wings folded behind its back vertically with gold and dark colors and dressed in  long clothing. I came to feel it was my own guardian angel becoming visible for a moment to reassure me. Later I was told by a minister there is such a thing called the Ministry of Angels with an angel available for every conceivable need we may have here. We have only to ask them to send a specific type of angel for the current circumstance (healing, mechanics, lost pets, business help, money etc.). Also angels can "borrow" people for a time to do or say something we need to hear. This has happened to me as well. The above stories give us all reason to believe things on this planet can be improved and all is never lost. Plus angels are the one concept found in every major religion on earth so they must be real and transend religious rules and dogma man inserts.  (Just dont send any hair restoration Angels becuase we all like being bald

[Tyler]

Mike, thank you for pointing us to your family's story again.  This always brings cheer to me when I read it.