Remember when I posted on fb a week ago about a REAL miracle? I wrote the top and bottom and Magen filled in the middle for me and it's ready for the blog...


I have a little sister, named Magen, who was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was 19. 

maggo.jpg 

 

That year was the most stressful time in our lives with our parent's recent divorce (we were always the kids who felt very secure that this would NEVER happen). Everything in life that we had believed to be true was suddenly taken away from us and replaced with overwhelming insecurity. Stress was an understatement for that year. Magen began to feel light pain in her joints daily and started researching what it could be from. After a month of persistent pain, she had a physical and the bloodwork came back with an elevated rheumatoid factor. Her doctor recommended that she go to a Rhuematologist for further treatment. She was on a waiting list for a few months and finally got in to have bloodwork done that confirmed that she had Rhuematoid Arthritis. I still didn't have a clue what this was and didn't think it would be a life altering auto-immune disease. The doctor always prepares you for the worst and in this case he told her that if they couldn't get her disease under control, she would be in a wheel chair at the age of 30. I couldn't believe this, my beautiful, young sister in a wheelchair?


At the time we were all un-insured and the biological drugs that they recommended to weaken her immune system and keep it from dissolving her joints was over $1000/month. I remember Josh and I immediately went to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and bought ourselves medical insurance in case anything like this happened to us. I just wanted it all to go away, I prayed that the Lord would heal her, but that was not His plan at that time. To help with the expenses, I made a "Magen Monday" in my business to where the proceeds from the session that day would go towards her biological drug bill. I was heartbroken for her to have to go through this.


 Years went by and she finally acclimated to having it and giving herself a biological drug through injection once a week. She would have good days and bad days. When the cold and rain would come she would feel it worst. I even remember a day that we all went to eat and she couldn't finish walking across the parking lot alone because of the pain. It was terrible. I would talk to my mom and just get angry that there wasn't anything that would help her.


The last few visits she has had with her doctor he had been very worried about her liver and kidney function because of all of the chemo and drugs that she was on. It was too much for her body to filter out naturally and they couldn't keep up. Magen just graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in Dietetics and knows her body more than anyone I've ever met. She knows exactly what food will set off her RA and what will keep it in check. She has gone on more cleanses than I have gone on binges!


 I remember asking her if she ever prayed that the Lord would heal her from her RA and she would always say that she quit praying for it because the Lord let her develop RA for a reason. That answer wasn't good enough for me... especially after her kidneys (which she told me cannot heal once damaged) started showing signs of lower function.

 I was in Lubbock for a week about a month ago and she wanted me to go to her new church with her. I was used to sleeping in on Sundays since I am normally out of town, but decided to go with her. I knew that it was going to be a charismatic church, but had no idea what was in store for me that morning. The preacher talked about healings and how he felt like the Lord was going to heal someone today. He started mentioning people with lower back problems (not Magen), people with arthritis (MAGEN!) and problems with their left eye (she had started to have blurred vision in her left eye a few weeks before). I grabbed her hand and could have bulldozed anyone in our way to make it down to the front. The people laid hands on her and prayed. When we sat down I asked her if she felt healed. "I don't feel any pain" she said, but then told me later that she hadn't felt anything the whole morning. I thought that surely the Lord was going to heal her because the preacher called out almost everything that she had. The next day she began to have RA pains again. I was so sad. I remember sitting in the bathroom with mom and Magen just telling them about how my faith is so weak and I needed the Lord to heal her as a sign that He REALLY is real. Magen said that she was ok having RA because she knew that the Lord was going to use her later in life somehow to make a difference. I was not ok with this answer. Mom said that I should pray for a different miracle. I left feeling discouraged and I think the Lord could see that my heart was just withering. I left that night and started my 60 hour work week without giving much more thought to what had happened.


Here is what happened while I was away... 

celestial.jpg

(Magen and Celeste)

"One of my friends, Celeste, and I went to another healing service with a lady who had been in the healing ministry for the last 30 years. It was a service to celebrate the ministry. It wasn't a show or a bragging moment for them, just a time to reflect on the Lord's faithfulness. They talked about how healing was a right for the children of the Lord. This started to stir in my heart as I realized the truth of this statement. For so long, I just chose to settle for having RA because that was my fate. I sat in that service that evening and felt my entire body crumble under the pain of every joint throbbing. Of course, I was frustrated at this situation because I thought the Lord was in the process of healing me. I felt His presence so near to me. The worship brought chills to my skin as I sang/sat in silence in complete awe of my Creator. That night, I went down to the lady and was prayed for again...not a long, drawn out prayer, just a simple moment of asking the Lord to come and bring His healing touch over my body. In that moment, the pain that was so evident washed away. I left feeling amazing, blessed, and knowing the Lord had just done something miraculous in me. The following morning, I took all of my medicine as normal and something happened...the pain shot back. Later that day, after hearing about my miracle, Lauren confronted me about taking medicine. She told me that if I  really believed I was healed, then I shouldn't be taking all of the medicine as a crutch.


I am thrilled to inform you that I have not been on ANY medicine in 2 months, and my progress has been amazing. Stunning really. It wasn't until I stepped out in faith and believed that the Lord could do the miracle, that He showed up in a powerful way!"" 


I remember calling Mom and talking one day and she said, "Did you know that Magen thinks she was healed last night?". I doubted that. She began to explain what Magen told her and my heart began to hope again. REALLY? From then on I texted her almost hourly, "Are you still healed", "How do you feel today", "Any pain?" and each time she would say that she felt no pain! I asked her if she had stopped taking her medicine and she said that she hadn't even thought about it and that she would stop taking it that day. 


I have only seen Magen off her medicine a few times and almost instantly she is in crippling pain. The week of her healing Lubbock was hit with thunderstorms, cold fronts and more bouts of rain and she still didn't have any pain WHILE she was off her medicine. It has been several weeks now and the pessimist in me says to still give it time before writing this post or at least a doctors visit to confirm, but where would be my faith in God?


 

The Lord gave me my miracle and my heart and faith are strong again. I know that He really is real and that my faith is no longer just a remnant of what my parents taught me. The Lord is compassionate and very, very personal. Have you put your faith in His never failing arms?

I have said this before on my blog and want to say it again, The Lord is the ONLY one who deserves fame.

 

 

The miracle

September 29, 2010

Remember when I posted on fb a week ago about a REAL miracle? I wrote the top and bottom and Magen filled in the middle for me and it's ready for the blog...


I have a little sister, named Magen, who was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was 19. 

maggo.jpg 

 

That year was the most stressful time in our lives with our parent's recent divorce (we were always the kids who felt very secure that this would NEVER happen). Everything in life that we had believed to be true was suddenly taken away from us and replaced with overwhelming insecurity. Stress was an understatement for that year. Magen began to feel light pain in her joints daily and started researching what it could be from. After a month of persistent pain, she had a physical and the bloodwork came back with an elevated rheumatoid factor. Her doctor recommended that she go to a Rhuematologist for further treatment. She was on a waiting list for a few months and finally got in to have bloodwork done that confirmed that she had Rhuematoid Arthritis. I still didn't have a clue what this was and didn't think it would be a life altering auto-immune disease. The doctor always prepares you for the worst and in this case he told her that if they couldn't get her disease under control, she would be in a wheel chair at the age of 30. I couldn't believe this, my beautiful, young sister in a wheelchair?


At the time we were all un-insured and the biological drugs that they recommended to weaken her immune system and keep it from dissolving her joints was over $1000/month. I remember Josh and I immediately went to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and bought ourselves medical insurance in case anything like this happened to us. I just wanted it all to go away, I prayed that the Lord would heal her, but that was not His plan at that time. To help with the expenses, I made a "Magen Monday" in my business to where the proceeds from the session that day would go towards her biological drug bill. I was heartbroken for her to have to go through this.


 Years went by and she finally acclimated to having it and giving herself a biological drug through injection once a week. She would have good days and bad days. When the cold and rain would come she would feel it worst. I even remember a day that we all went to eat and she couldn't finish walking across the parking lot alone because of the pain. It was terrible. I would talk to my mom and just get angry that there wasn't anything that would help her.


The last few visits she has had with her doctor he had been very worried about her liver and kidney function because of all of the chemo and drugs that she was on. It was too much for her body to filter out naturally and they couldn't keep up. Magen just graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in Dietetics and knows her body more than anyone I've ever met. She knows exactly what food will set off her RA and what will keep it in check. She has gone on more cleanses than I have gone on binges!


 I remember asking her if she ever prayed that the Lord would heal her from her RA and she would always say that she quit praying for it because the Lord let her develop RA for a reason. That answer wasn't good enough for me... especially after her kidneys (which she told me cannot heal once damaged) started showing signs of lower function.

 I was in Lubbock for a week about a month ago and she wanted me to go to her new church with her. I was used to sleeping in on Sundays since I am normally out of town, but decided to go with her. I knew that it was going to be a charismatic church, but had no idea what was in store for me that morning. The preacher talked about healings and how he felt like the Lord was going to heal someone today. He started mentioning people with lower back problems (not Magen), people with arthritis (MAGEN!) and problems with their left eye (she had started to have blurred vision in her left eye a few weeks before). I grabbed her hand and could have bulldozed anyone in our way to make it down to the front. The people laid hands on her and prayed. When we sat down I asked her if she felt healed. "I don't feel any pain" she said, but then told me later that she hadn't felt anything the whole morning. I thought that surely the Lord was going to heal her because the preacher called out almost everything that she had. The next day she began to have RA pains again. I was so sad. I remember sitting in the bathroom with mom and Magen just telling them about how my faith is so weak and I needed the Lord to heal her as a sign that He REALLY is real. Magen said that she was ok having RA because she knew that the Lord was going to use her later in life somehow to make a difference. I was not ok with this answer. Mom said that I should pray for a different miracle. I left feeling discouraged and I think the Lord could see that my heart was just withering. I left that night and started my 60 hour work week without giving much more thought to what had happened.


Here is what happened while I was away... 

celestial.jpg

(Magen and Celeste)

"One of my friends, Celeste, and I went to another healing service with a lady who had been in the healing ministry for the last 30 years. It was a service to celebrate the ministry. It wasn't a show or a bragging moment for them, just a time to reflect on the Lord's faithfulness. They talked about how healing was a right for the children of the Lord. This started to stir in my heart as I realized the truth of this statement. For so long, I just chose to settle for having RA because that was my fate. I sat in that service that evening and felt my entire body crumble under the pain of every joint throbbing. Of course, I was frustrated at this situation because I thought the Lord was in the process of healing me. I felt His presence so near to me. The worship brought chills to my skin as I sang/sat in silence in complete awe of my Creator. That night, I went down to the lady and was prayed for again...not a long, drawn out prayer, just a simple moment of asking the Lord to come and bring His healing touch over my body. In that moment, the pain that was so evident washed away. I left feeling amazing, blessed, and knowing the Lord had just done something miraculous in me. The following morning, I took all of my medicine as normal and something happened...the pain shot back. Later that day, after hearing about my miracle, Lauren confronted me about taking medicine. She told me that if I  really believed I was healed, then I shouldn't be taking all of the medicine as a crutch.


I am thrilled to inform you that I have not been on ANY medicine in 2 months, and my progress has been amazing. Stunning really. It wasn't until I stepped out in faith and believed that the Lord could do the miracle, that He showed up in a powerful way!"" 


I remember calling Mom and talking one day and she said, "Did you know that Magen thinks she was healed last night?". I doubted that. She began to explain what Magen told her and my heart began to hope again. REALLY? From then on I texted her almost hourly, "Are you still healed", "How do you feel today", "Any pain?" and each time she would say that she felt no pain! I asked her if she had stopped taking her medicine and she said that she hadn't even thought about it and that she would stop taking it that day. 


I have only seen Magen off her medicine a few times and almost instantly she is in crippling pain. The week of her healing Lubbock was hit with thunderstorms, cold fronts and more bouts of rain and she still didn't have any pain WHILE she was off her medicine. It has been several weeks now and the pessimist in me says to still give it time before writing this post or at least a doctors visit to confirm, but where would be my faith in God?


 

The Lord gave me my miracle and my heart and faith are strong again. I know that He really is real and that my faith is no longer just a remnant of what my parents taught me. The Lord is compassionate and very, very personal. Have you put your faith in His never failing arms?

I have said this before on my blog and want to say it again, The Lord is the ONLY one who deserves fame.

 

 



Comments
Lexi:

That's so amazing to hear!! God is amazing & does amazing things!! :D
That's so awesome to know that she's able to be off her medicine and feel great! So so awesome. :)

 (09.29.10 @ 02:50 PM)
Amy McMurray:

Maybe we are often afraid to get our hopes up for a complete healing. I told you that my oldest daughter was high functiong autistic. I don't believe that I told you that mo ther was severly dealyed in all motor skills at infancy. I had Neuroilogist's from three different hospitals tell me to put her in a wheel chair because I was focusing so much on her motor skills that I would cause delay in her speech and language areas. One night while I was crying and could not sleep becuase of what I was going thru with my children I literally heard God tell me that "nothing was wrong with Caroline". I have never heard it since or anything close to it or felt a prescense of God with me while just being alone. We are all pessimistic. We face challenges and hardships everyday with marriage and jobs. I mean can you really have it all? Enjoy God's blessing that he has given you even if the RA should come back. Look how long it has been since she has been healthy! It is a gifr from God. BTW, Caroline started walking at age three and never stopped.

 (09.29.10 @ 03:00 PM)
april walker:

lauren what an amazing miracle for your beautiful sister! thanks for sharing your heart and the struggles of your faith as well. praying that God's miracle of healing only continues for Magen so that she's a walking testimony of God's love & faithfullness!!

 (09.29.10 @ 03:04 PM)
stephanie davis:

ahhhhhmazing!!! God is a God of miracles!! Praise God for this wonderful testimony!!

 (09.29.10 @ 03:06 PM)
amanda:

AHHHHH!!! PRAISE GOD!!!! Lauren, I knew it in my heart when you told me this story on the way back from the lake. I KNEW the Lord had healed her and I've been praying for you and your sister every since. PRAISE GOD -- I am literally jumping with joy for you and your family! I'm so glad your faith has been restored and your sister has been healed!!!

 (09.29.10 @ 03:09 PM)
Cristy Cross :

Oh Lauren and Magen I am so beyond thrilled. God is so great! This is a beautiful testimony. I think God's whole plan was to bring you closer to him through all of this and he really tested your faith and you proudly showed him you DO believe in his awesomeness :)
You are helping others with this story to think deeply about our faith in God. Do we really trust in him, or do we just say we trust. Thanks for sharing your miracle story.

 (09.29.10 @ 03:23 PM)
Amanda Daniels:

Amazing testimony to God's faith. I needed to read this today. Thanks for sharing this incredible story!

 (09.29.10 @ 03:32 PM)
Robyn Lee:

Praise the Lord! He is Yahweh Rophe: Lord Healer!

 (09.29.10 @ 04:15 PM)
Chelsea:

Praise God. I am so encouraged by this. it is truly amazing what happens when we just ask God and believe that He will do it. He shows up in powerful, life changing ways. Awesome.

 (09.29.10 @ 04:16 PM)
Dara:

That is such a wonderful story. I am so glad you shared it along with your faith! I pray that she will continue to not have any pain.

(09.29.10 @ 04:43 PM)
Lauren:

Gosh. This made me tear up. God is so good. I can relate to your situation, Lauren. My mother was told at the beginning of the summer that she had a brain tumor and that she had to have multiple surgeries to remove it. I had so many emotions going on that I didn't even know what to do. I felt sad, angry, helpless, hurt, etc... I wanted to do something, but there was nothing. She had her 1st surgery in June and developed so many complications that we thought we were going to lose her. Not to mention, we had to prepare ourselves to do another surgery all over again. After many weeks of praying to God for some kind of miracle, mom was already starting to feel better. Tests were done and we were off to our next visit to prepare her for surgery again. Only this time we were told that her tumor was shrinking on its own and no surgery needed to be done. The feeling of God being in that room with us was so real. He was there, watching over mom, as He is there watching over your sister. Things like this happen to us for a reason. Puts our lives in so much perspective and makes you believe in Him so much more. I'll be thinking of your family and pray that she continues with her amazing success. God is GREAT.

 (09.29.10 @ 05:39 PM)
Liz:

wow.
Eph. 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 (09.29.10 @ 06:26 PM)
Matt:

The same thing happened to my ex-girlfriend. the "biological drugs" they gave her was most likely a low concentration of methotrexate (chemotherapy commonly used to treat a wide variety of blood cancers/other auto-immune disorders) She was in severe pain for months, and after a few months of weekly doses, she could eventually go back to school with little to no pain. I'm glad she is feeling well, but her prognosis for some degree of disability is very great, there is no cure, but there should always be hope. The immune system is a very unpredictable organ system. Sometimes autoimmune illness can be dormant for periods of time.
also, something caught my eye: "Lauren confronted me about taking medicine. She told me that if I really believed I was healed, then I shouldn't be taking all of the medicine as a crutch."
Dear god, I hope she consulted her doctor before stopping her shots!!! Its great to think of yourself as healed, but please consult and consider the advice of your doctor before starting or stopping ANY medicine, and always get a second (or third) opinion on your diagnosis and treatment!!!!!!

 (09.29.10 @ 06:32 PM)
Evie:

There's no one like our God:) Awesome testimony!!!

(09.29.10 @ 07:58 PM)
Dixie Dobbins:

WOW LAUREN, I have tears streaming down my face! This is so beautiful! I am so amazed and touched. But I am not surprised! Ive heard of things like this. My own daughter had some serious health issues and an addiction to prescription meds and now for a bit over a year she has been clean, whole and a faithful servent of the Lord. I love to see her face light up at church and how he has changed her life. Her husband was baptized recently which is a big deal if you knew his past history.
God is good! He keeps his promises. IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS!

 (09.29.10 @ 09:20 PM)
Jerrie Haskin:

truely inspirational and amazing!! It is so awesome how great our Lord is!!! I am so happy for you Magen and you too, Lauren!! God is so powerful with His lessons and with His powers. i need to put more faith in God at times!! Thanks for sharing!

 (09.29.10 @ 10:26 PM)
Lissa Anglin:

Thank you, Lord, for the faith you have given Lauren and Magen! Thank you for your evident healing and the awesome story they have to tell!

Wow, we serve an awesome God!

(09.30.10 @ 05:58 AM)
Kayla Hoffsommer:

Wow! No words can describe how beautiful and how big God really is!!!

 (09.30.10 @ 12:38 PM)
Erin:

Amen amen amen!! I sit here at work w/ tears in my eyes praising God for His work in your heart and your sister's body. He is so good and faithful. To Him be the glory.

 (09.30.10 @ 02:27 PM)
Aaron:

This is such an inspirational story, and a miracle couldn't have happened to a better family! You, yourself are an inspiration to me and the fact that you have faith in our God who loves encourages me more!

 (09.30.10 @ 05:52 PM)
Jaime Donivan:

Thank you for adding this! I couldn't agree more about the Lord being the deserver of fame!!! I praise His name daily for the gifts He has given us and the ability to profess His goodness to all. I am so happy to hear about your sisters' miracle! What a Mighty God He is!!! Thank you Lauren!

 (09.30.10 @ 07:29 PM)
Analisa:

I have first hand experience of the miracle(s) God has done in my life! God wants me to share these testimonies with you, so that I can witness to as many people as I can. I am praying that they can bring others to Christ or at least bring Christians closer to Him. Thank you Lauren and Magen for sharing your story because this is the perfect opportunity to share mine. I am praying for you Magen and your family! Continue to trust Him because He is the Healer of all healers.

Last October, I had an emergency appendectomy. I had gone a week with a ruptured appendix before going to the ER. It ruptured on a Monday, and I went to the ER at midnight on Friday. Halfway in the week (Wednesday) I had gone to a minor emergency clinic, but they had misdiagnosed me. I had vomited 8 times waiting to be seen by him, and I had to vomit while also being seen by him. He gave me a nausea shot and nausea medicine, but they didn't help me. I thought I had been treated correctly, but I was still vomiting every 30 minutes to an hour for the next fews days. That's when I decided to go to the ER. The doctors told me they took out my appendix and all the infection that was in my body due to the rupturing. I still couldn't hold down any food, pills, or water. The following Wednesday was the worst physical day for me. I was vomiting so much and so frequently, that the nurses told me that it was really dangerous and they might need to give me a feeding tube! I was so shocked! I didn't want a feeding tube, and I wanted to feel better soon. I have always been a praying woman, but I prayed like it was my last on that night. I was crying and praying (screaming in my silent prayers). I was begging God to please heal me, to please help me eat, take antibiotics, and drink water. I was going to be married in six months, and I prayed that I would at least marry my best friend. I told God that I was ready to go if He needed me, but I told Him that I wanted to be here longer because I still had more work to do. The following morning (Thursday), I prayed that God would make the food give me nutrients and go to all the places in my body that needed it. I began to eat, and I started feeling really hot (almost on fire kind of hot) and I felt something really warm in my chest that rose up (like I was going to vomit). I told my mom how hot I was and to feel my body to see if I had a temperature. She said I was at a normal temperature. I stopped eating because I didn't want to vomit. I told my mom to get me a cold towel because I was burning up. She gave me the towel, but it didn't help. My mom told me to keep eating and so I did. I told her that the food was rising up my chest and then it spread to my arms. I told my mom I didn't know what was going on. She asked me what I prayed for, and I told her I asked God for the food to give me nutrients to the places in my body that needed it. I immediately started crying! I was actually feeling a miracle happen to me! I had not eaten since a week ago on Wednesday. I had gone 8 days without eating food, and God had given me the strength I needed the whole time. I continued eating, and I felt that burning sensation in my arms, hands, stomach, upper and lower legs, and my feet. It was so amazing! It took my four hours to eat breakfast! They brought in lunch when I had barely finished breakfast! I kept praising God for the miracle He did for me! I was in the hospital for a total of 8 days. I was walking a lot, but I felt very bloated. The nurses told me that walking would help, but no matter how much I walked, the bloating didn't go away. I made an appointment with the post-surgery clinic two days I was released from the hospital. They didn't close up my incision due to the large amount of infection from my ruptured appendix, only the skin on the inside was sutured. The doctors said that my skin would close on its own. The nurse at the clinic took a sample of the drainage from my incision. A week later, she told me that I did have an infection and that only one medicine would work, but it was very expensive. I told her I wanted to do it. I was expecting $100-$200 maximum, but I was surprised to find out it cost $850!!! I had insurance, so I thought there was a mistake. The pharmacist told me that this 14 day supply of 28 pills originally cost $2,500!!! I had no choice but to get the pills, and I immediately started feeling better when I took them. I felt so bad for the people who didn't have insurance because there would be no way they could afford these pills! I had to charge them to my credit card. God healed me completely from this experience. That was my worst physical experience, but it was the BEST spiritual experience! I learned to completely put all my faith in God that He was going to get me through that and He would completely heal me. God is so amazing! I was so thankful that it had happened to me at that time and not closer to my wedding date.

My second miracle is from July-now. I was getting ready for church on July 25th, when I felt a lump on my neck. I went to my family doctor the next day, and he gave me medicine for an upper respiratory infection. I saw him again two weeks later, and he told me I needed a CAT scan since the lump did not go down. Fifteen minutes after my CAT scan, my doctor asked me to see him immediately. My husband left work to be with me when I received the news. He has also been to all of my appointments since then.The doctor told me that in addition to my enlarged lymph node that I felt, I also had a small cyst on my thyroid, and a larger cyst under my collar bone. He sent me to a surgeon the following week because I needed a biopsy. My surgeon did an ultrasound on me, and I got to see it all. My surgeon said that he wanted me to have a PET scan to see if there was cancer the second week of August, but my insurance denied it before having biopsy results. I had a biopsy the last full week of August. I prayed that I wouldn't have any illness, but if I did I prayed the doctors would find it. My surgeon felt my neck the morning of the biopsy, and he said the enlarged lymph node had gone down a lot so he decided to biopsy the large cyst under my collar bone. The next day, my surgeon told me that the cyst was the size of an egg! It was mostly bloody, but it had a cancerous tumor on the lymph node inside of it. He said that it originated from my thyroid. I was shocked, but so thankful that God told my surgeon to get the cyst that was biopsied. If my enlarged lymph node didn't have cancer, who knows when anyone would have caught it. I have stage 3 thyroid cancer because it was found outside of my thyroid, which means it has spread. I did a 3 day body scan, and they didn't find any cancer in my other organs! Praise God! Last week, I had my full thyroid removed and all the lymph nodes my surgeon could find. He said that my enlarged lymph node that I had was kind of flattened and really stuck to my neck muscles. He moved around my esophagus and vocal chords, so I now am hoarse. Every day my voice gets better, and I am getting my strength back. I was admitted into the hospital last Tuesday and was released on Wednesday. Wednesday night, I started vomiting every hour from midnight until 5 AM. I was admitted back into the hospital on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. I was very dehydrated, and my doctor didn't want me to take anything by mouth on Thursday. I had calcium problems after my surgery. The thyroid does so much; it regulates your body temperature, your blood pressure, your heart rate, your metabolism, and it gives you calcium. The doctor told me to take Tums with calcium when I felt tingling in my fingers and/or mouth. I kept telling my nurse on Thursday, but my calcium level looked normal that morning. I had blood work done on Friday morning, and my face was extremely droopy. My doctor told me to take Tums every 30 minutes until the tingling sensation went away. I finally got it under control. Saturday morning they did blood work again, and the night-shift nurse told me I was almost at a caution level and I could have seizures. The night-shift nurse gave me an IV with calcium, and I was also taking Tums every 30 minutes. I immediately began praying. The day nurse told me my doctor was there and that my calcium level was at 9.1. I asked him if he was sure because my night-shift nurse told me it was at 7.1. Caution level is 7 or lower. When my doctor came to see me, he was upset because the night-shit nurse mixed Saturday morning's blood work with Friday morning's blood work! I was relieved I wasn't at a dangerous level and thankful that I didn't have any seizures on Friday when my calcium was very low. I stayed Saturday night because of the mix-up, and my calcium was at 9.4 on Sunday morning, which is a normal level. I have prayed through this whole experience, and God has given me the courage and strength I need. He has been with the doctors and everyone else who has treated me. My husband was upset that the nurse got my records mixed-up, but I told him that she is only human and humans make mistakes. I should have radiation in 3 weeks, and I am praying that I won't have a recurrence of cancer. I am so thankful that I wasn’t pregnant at this time! God has been very faithful to me, and I can only praise Him! If you feel a lump on you, please get it checked out by a doctor! God answers all of your prayers! It may not be the answer you want, but He does answer all prayers! God Bless!

 (09.30.10 @ 08:03 PM)
Kip Bynum:

Hey Lauren, Kip here, I just got off the phone with mom and she told me about this amazing story. I just want to say "Praise be to our Lord!" for this answered prayer. He is forever working within His children to accomplish amazing things. We will continually lift Meagan up in prayer. Love, your Bro in Christ, cousin Kip.

 (10.01.10 @ 11:21 AM)
Jen S:

God is good ALL THE TIME. All the time, GOD IS GOOD. :) I'm very happy for Magen.

 (10.02.10 @ 10:12 PM)
Allie Andrews:

This is so great Lauren! My mother has RA, so I had her read this great story and she was very blessed and encouraged by it. Thanks so much for sharing!

 (10.05.10 @ 09:09 AM)