A Modern-Day Eutychus
Thursday, May 16, 2024
For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isa. 41:13, NIV.
A boy just fell out of the window!" The scream got my attention. As camp nurse I sprang to my feet, only to realize the boy in a pool of blood was my own 4-year-old son, Eric. He went into convulsions. The wait for the ambulance seemed to take hours.
Eric, looking for his daddy, had climbed onto the table and leaned against the window screen. The screen had popped loose, and he had fallen, striking his head on the sidewalk 15 feet below.
After the doctor in the small McCall hospital had examined him, the Life-Flight helicopter was dispatched from Boise. The doctor wanted him at a larger hospital with a neurosurgeon available.
The skull X-rays showed a fracture of the right side extending approximately seven inches in length from front to back. His vomiting in the emergency room at Saint Alphonsus Hospital was worrisome, but after a CT scan showed no depressed segments or obvious brain injuries, the neurosurgeon admitted him to the intensive-care unit for close observation. The long hours ticked by with hourly vital signs and "neuro" checks.
The next morning, however, Eric opened his eyes and clearly spoke his first words: "Mommy, I'm thirsty." Since the physician had ordered that Eric be given nothing by mouth in case he needed surgery to release intracranial pressure, I offered Eric a sponge stick dipped in water.
"No, Mommy, I want a drink out of a cup" was his reply as he pushed my hand away.
"Praise God!" I exclaimed. His speech was clear, and he was using his hands and legs normally.
Just 48 hours after the accident the hospital discharged him. As the neurosurgeon stood beside Eric's bed reviewing his chart, his comment, "I never would have predicted this outcome," brought tears to my eyes.
The Bible story of Eutychus falling out the third-story window, and of how Paul's faith raised him from the dead, now has new meaning (Acts 20:7-12). A modern-day Eutychus lives in our home, alive and healthy because of the faith of so many who were praying for him that fateful day in 1986.
Miracles still happen. Ask for a miracle, and experience God's healing power.
A boy just fell out of the window!" The scream got my attention. As camp nurse I sprang to my feet, only to realize the boy in a pool of blood was my own 4-year-old son, Eric. He went into convulsions. The wait for the ambulance seemed to take hours.
Eric, looking for his daddy, had climbed onto the table and leaned against the window screen. The screen had popped loose, and he had fallen, striking his head on the sidewalk 15 feet below.
After the doctor in the small McCall hospital had examined him, the Life-Flight helicopter was dispatched from Boise. The doctor wanted him at a larger hospital with a neurosurgeon available.
The skull X-rays showed a fracture of the right side extending approximately seven inches in length from front to back. His vomiting in the emergency room at Saint Alphonsus Hospital was worrisome, but after a CT scan showed no depressed segments or obvious brain injuries, the neurosurgeon admitted him to the intensive-care unit for close observation. The long hours ticked by with hourly vital signs and "neuro" checks.
The next morning, however, Eric opened his eyes and clearly spoke his first words: "Mommy, I'm thirsty." Since the physician had ordered that Eric be given nothing by mouth in case he needed surgery to release intracranial pressure, I offered Eric a sponge stick dipped in water.
"No, Mommy, I want a drink out of a cup" was his reply as he pushed my hand away.
"Praise God!" I exclaimed. His speech was clear, and he was using his hands and legs normally.
Just 48 hours after the accident the hospital discharged him. As the neurosurgeon stood beside Eric's bed reviewing his chart, his comment, "I never would have predicted this outcome," brought tears to my eyes.
The Bible story of Eutychus falling out the third-story window, and of how Paul's faith raised him from the dead, now has new meaning (Acts 20:7-12). A modern-day Eutychus lives in our home, alive and healthy because of the faith of so many who were praying for him that fateful day in 1986.
Miracles still happen. Ask for a miracle, and experience God's healing power.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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