My Little Girl Swallowed A Coin
by Grace Bartolome, Mother of two kids, Laoag City
We often hear that miracles ended during the days of the Apostles but this doctrine has been proven to be erroneous by the experience of our two year old daughter Reign Gerica.
To understand wholly what transpired during our day of trial and the testing of our faith, I will relate the story in time sequence.
March 1, 2006
3:30 PM - I was preparing milk for my two kids Joshua (5 years old) and Geri (2 years old) when I heard my boy yelling “Geri swallowed a coin!” I ran towards them and tried to open my girl’s mouth as she was choking.
3:45 PM - My sister Beverly called Michael, my husband who was at work in one of the fast food chains in Laoag.
4:00 PM- Michael and I rushed Geri to the hospital. They did X ray on her which showed that the 25 centavo coin was just below the throat.
5:00 PM - The EENT Specialist explained the procedure that they would perform. He showed to us a tube about one and a half inches in diameter and a foot long with a plier at the end to pick up the coin .Our child was to undergo operation and had to be given general anesthesia. The operation was set to 9 PM with an estimated cost of PhP 30,000 to 35,000.The tam would include an EENT specialist, a pediatrician, and an anesthesiologist.
7:00 PM - all medicines were bought
8:00 PM - We went home to take some bedding and other necessities. Before we went back to the hospital, my Mama Cely (my mom) suggested that we pray again and Papa Ding (my father) lead the prayer for God’s intervention.
8:45 PM - Everything and everybody was set for the operation with the doctor’s in their gowns. Anesthesia was about to be injected when one of the doctor’s suggested another X ray to confirm the exact location of the coin so we brought Geri to the X ray room… only to find out that the hand of God has been moving miraculously. Result confirmed that the coin had moved so fast downward to the stomach. Even the doctors were very much surprised and declared that operation was not necessary anymore explaining that the coin will just come out in the natural way. This meant that our girl has been spared from suffering the procedure and that we didn’t have to spend the big amount anymore.
March 6, 2006 - the coin came out.
March 15, Geri turned 3. It was a great celebration for her miraculous deliverance. We give all glory to our Lord Jesus Christ for seeing us through and for sparing our dear Geri. All praise and thanksgiving belong to God.
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It’s A Miracle
by Carol T. Sina, Vintar Ilocos Norte
If I remember it right, it’s been four years since I first noticed some very disturbing lumps on the left side of my left breast and at the upper part of my right breast. Although I did not really mind it, I would check on my body at times I was in bed. As days went by, I felt that the lumps were becoming bigger and I started to worry. I tried to overcome my fear, by simply telling myself “Well that’s just an ordinary part of the breast.”, but not long after that fear couldn’t be hidden anymore.
In June this year, fear and terror filled my whole being. My left breast became so painful and heavy. I was still hesitant to see a doctor because I’m so afraid of surgery. I didn’t tell anyone about my situation except God. I prayed for a miracle every morning and every night- that the lumps, or cyst, or whatever would just be gone. I seemed so hopeless. The pain and heaviness continued. I thought I would die soon. I decided to inform my sister in Pangasinan about my situation. She has always been my prayer partner in the family whenever we had problems. Through text messaging, I kept her informed about my condition. She has advised me to see a doctor and to share the matter to my children which I refused to do so because of fear of going through surgery and I didn’t want my children to know about it. I said I want my children to care for and love me for who I am and not because I was dying.
During those times of pain, my sister and some friends who were aware of my situation kept praying for me. After five months of continuous prayer, a miracle happened. I woke up one morning and the pain was already gone. The weight of my breast returned to normal and the lumps were gone.
“Lord this is a miracle!” I said.
In one of my devotional times, while thanking God about the miracle, I felt the Holy Spirit come upon me, shaking my whole body for sometime, and then I heard an audible voice from God saying “My dearest child, your faith has healed you.” At that very moment, with tears falling---I felt God’s wonderful love. Praise God forever. Truly, He is the God of Miracles.