Vanessa called to give a praise report about her eyes, and boy did she open mine! She had just come from the doctor’s office, and began speaking enthusiastically.
“I want to give God glory, because I have Plaquenil toxicity, and my doctor said he had never seen eyes deteriorate as fast as mine did. I was worried I would be blind, but as I sat on a park bench, praying to the Lord, I heard His still, small voice say, Your eyes will never dim out.”
As she paused, I asked the logical question, “What on earth is Plaquenil toxicity?” As it turns out, it was a prescription she’d been taking for 20 years to treat her lupus condition. It had built up in her system, and was deteriorating her retinas.
Intrigued by her lyrical and bubbly voice, I asked, “How long have you had lupus?”
“Oh, I’ve battled it since I was 13 years old. My hands locked up, I got red spots, and the telltale sign of the lupus—a butterfly rash on my face. The doctor knew my diagnosis without testing me. It became painful, but the worst thing was that I became highly sensitive to sunlight. I had to quit the marching band—an activity I dearly loved. But my mom is a praying woman, and our trust in God got us through that tough time.
“Years later, I was prescribed the Plaquenil, and I’ve had to have my eyes checked every six months for the last 20 years. But I guess I didn’t really understand the release form I signed, and how that prescription could damage my eyes. They took me off the medicine, but my vision continued to worsen to the point that I could no longer drive. I was quite concerned about going blind, but praise the Lord, I just got the results of DNA testing, and my doctor confirmed what the Lord told me—I will never be blind. I will always be able to see. Maybe not as well as I would like, but I’ll never be bumping into things.”
“Your attitude is inspiring, Vanessa,” I said. “Some people would feel sorry for themselves. It’s wonderful that you can praise the Lord.”
“Oh, I’ve learned to depend on Him,” she answered, “and He is always there for me, although I’ve had a lot of disappointments. When I was growing up, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. But when I was in nursing school, I got sick and had to have some blood work done. I think the scariest thing that ever happened to me was the day my mama came to class to get me. The doctor had called her and told her to rush me to the Emergency Room because my blood counts were so low they couldn’t read them. I had a bone marrow test, and they thought I needed a bone marrow transplant. But, my mama is a praying woman. Her prayers went up—and my counts started going up! I was anemic, and had to go for plasma and gamma globulin treatments for a long time; but I improved, and never had to have that transplant. And even though I couldn’t finish nursing school and had to forsake that calling, God opened a door for me to get a degree in psychology, and I became a counselor.”
“Mercy! In the midst of it all, Vanessa, the Lord has had His hand over you. Your life story is amazing.”
“Oh, God has always been my stronghold in trouble,” she continued. “In my early life, I went to church where my family did. Then I joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2013, but once I started celebrating the Sabbath, my friends and family were upset that I wouldn’t participate in their activities on Saturday. My friends deserted me, and my family became distant. A man I’d been dating off and on for 30 years broke up with me because he said I wasn’t fun anymore. But, I knew I was in the right place, and I had God. Even though I was sad to lose my circle of friends, I was happy to know the Lord better.
“Soon after I joined the church, I was diagnosed with severe renal disease, and they put me on a kidney transplant list. On Friday, my doctor scheduled me to have a port inserted the following Monday, since he thought I might need emergency dialysis. I was in shock, and as I walked through the parking lot, I was weary and cried out to the Lord that I didn’t want to have dialysis. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was the hospital. A young man had died in a motorcycle accident and his organs were being donated. There were only two people on the transplant list that were a match for his kidneys, and they asked me, ‘Can you get here in four hours?’
“Well, I called my mother and we prayed. I was caring for a Vietnam veteran who had no one else to help him, and I was worried about his welfare. But my niece and her husband were living with me, and by the time I got home, she had my bags packed for the hospital and told me not to worry—they would provide assistance for this veteran.
“I received a second call from the hospital shortly after I arrived home, and by then, I knew the transplant was the right thing to do. I’ve always been a strong believer that when it is God’s will to do something, He will take care of all the details—and He did. I had the kidney transplant surgery that very day.”
“Wow, Vanessa! Now that is an answer to prayer. That’s amazing.”
“Oh, J. D., here’s the rest of the story: I did really well—only stayed in the hospital three days. But shortly after I got home, I fell in the hallway. My incision was yellow around the staples, so I went to the ER and they opened it up again and washed out the area. They had to pack the wound daily and I wore a wound vac to pull the infection out. But all that turned out to be a blessing. Instead of a 10-inch scar, I only have a 2-inch scar, because I healed from the inside out.
“I’m active in church and I’m on the stewardship committee, but my real interest is in health. I had become a vegetarian before I joined the Adventist Church, and I exercised daily because that helped me control my lupus. My doctor said it was my good diet and exercise that actually helped preserve my kidneys well enough that I didn’t have to go on dialysis in the beginning. But now I’m a vegan, and I want to teach people about the benefits of a healthy diet. God wants our health to prosper so we can serve Him. No matter what difficulties life throws my way, God is my Helper. He fights my battles for me, and I’m still standing because God is holding me up. I trust Him for everything. Oh, and my mother just joined the Adventist Church a few months ago.”
Fifteen minutes on the phone with Vanessa, and I knew I had to tell you her story. We all have our trials, but I have heard stories that were less dramatic from folks who were on their face in the ground—flattened by their afflictions. Why is Vanessa’s story different? Because her mama is a praying mama, and taught her to look to God for strength. She learned to trust Him to be a very present help in times of trouble.
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7.
