Embracing Hope: My Cousin’s Miracle Recovery Story

As I have grown older, I have intentionally cultivated my faith in God and in the miracles He can perform. I have often been an anxious optimist. I am always looking for the one thing that can go wrong. I’m always weary of what obstacles could get in the way. However, there is something inside of me that clings to hope and grace. In recent years, I have witnessed the power of prayer.

In mid-June my dear cousin, Sylvia, had both neck and brain surgery and was in critical condition. Our family prepared for the worst. Some of us kept on praying and leaning of God for support. I told Sylvia’s older sister that I would keep praying for a miracle. At one point, her sister told me that there were no more miracles. I didn’t believe her, but I didn’t say anything. I knew Sylvia is very devout and believes in God’s mighty power, so I kept praying, speaking with God, asking Him to watch over her and heal her.

Every night, I recited the 23rd Psalm and imagined Syl and I holding hands. I begged God to heal Syl, to keep her with us, to help her to fully recover. A week after the surgery, I received news that Syl wasn’t going to make it, that she would never walk again, that she was totally paralyzed on her left side. She was then moved to hospice care, and I thought she wasn’t going to live much longer. I was devastated. Syl is my first best friend. In our 69 years together, she has never once uttered an insensitive or unkind word to me. She is the only person in the world that I can say that about. Her friendship has been so important to me. Through the years, she has often been a light in the darkness.

As of August, I am happy to announce that Syl has made miraculous progress and will be moved from hospice to skilled nursing care where she will receive the rehab therapy she needs. I know her road is long and will be painful and difficult. But I also know that God is walking beside my cousin. When her journey seems long, lonely, and dark, I will remind her that she is strong and that I too am walking beside her.

I am so sorry that my dear cousin has to endure this pain. But I am also so grateful to God for keeping her with us. I know there are happy and joyous times ahead for Sylvia. As Syl said to me tonight, “I guess God is not done with me yet, otherwise he would have called me home.” I smiled and said, “No, God’s not done with you. He knows I still need you here with me. We all do.”