Chris

My brother Chris, his wife Corinne and their two daughters, Ella and Sadie

10 days ago my little brother Chris got really, really sick. It happened out of nowhere, in the middle of the night. Corinne (his wife) took him to the hospital and within a couple of hours he was unconscious and then diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. The doctors said confusing, difficult things like "chances of survival" and told us if he did recover from the infection he could face complications like brain damage, paralysis, hearing loss and seizures. We started praying that God would spare his life.

They moved him to the ICU where we were told he may not regain consciousness for weeks. The next day his ER nurse found out he was in the ICU and her immediate response was, "He survived?!" Yeah. It was that bad.

People started praying. His church, my church, the churches of our friends and family across the country. 18 hours after he got to the hospital he opened his eyes and was able to answer some yes and no questions. When we asked if he knew the names of his daughters he whispered, "Ella and Sadie." We cried.

Day two was spent watching him sleep and trying to minimize his extreme pain. He was awake for 30 seconds or a minute at a time and then faded away again. He couldn't focus his eyes on our faces and he was having trouble hearing. We started taking shifts sitting by his bed and sleeping in the ICU waiting room. We kept on praying.

Early in the morning of day three I was sitting by his bed reading a book while Corinne slept. I heard Chris stir and looked up. He opened his eyes, looked at me and said, "I think I'm going to throw up." It was the longest, clearest sentence he had spoken since arriving at the hospital. When our parents came to visit they were SHOCKED to find him sitting up in bed and speaking full sentences before falling back asleep. His personality started to return. He told us he felt like Gulliver - a giant in a tiny bed with little people coming around to poke him (he is 6'5" and that day his nurse was very small). He asked us who knew that he was sick and we said, "Everybody you have ever met... and more." We kept praying.

On day four they moved him out of the ICU and into a regular room. Again, we were shocked, and thankful, and blessed, and praising God for his mercies. The nurses kept telling us how quickly he was improving. How they'd seen people take weeks to do the healing Chris had done in just a couple of days. They mentally prepared us for a long hospital stay and weeks of antibiotics, physical therapy and recovery. Corinne stayed at the hospital day and night only going home in the evening for a couple of hours to have dinner with the girls and put them to bed.

Chris continued to improve. The main obstacle was transitioning from IV to oral pain meds but after meeting with the pain specialist Chris was able to successfully control his pain with oral meds. He ate real food. He started meeting with a physical therapist, getting out of bed and walking in the halls. And we prayed. Our friends prayed. The friends of friends and churches of friends and people we'd never met prayed.

The We're-Leaving-The-Hospital-In-10-Minutes face

On Wednesday, one week after being admitted into the hospital, Chris was discharged. He is continuing to recover at home. He has a picc line and will be on IV antibiotics for weeks. He is receiving physical therapy and improving daily. His hearing and vision have still not returned to normal and he is still very tired but he is getting better. PRAISE GOD! He is getting better.

Home with his girls

Friends, we serve such an amazing God. He loves us, he cares for us and he answers our prayers. Would he still be an amazing God if my brother had died that first night? Yes, of course. But God showed his love for us in so many ways over the past two weeks. He was our Prince of Peace. We stayed calm and didn't panic or turn on each other in how-could-this-happen anger. Friends and family stepped up to take care of the girls, bring food, offer words of support and encouragement and they PRAYED. We felt God's love through His people and it was beautiful. We asked for healing and He gave us a miracle. Praise God the Great Physician. To Him be the glory.

If you are a praying person, please continue to pray for complete healing for my brother Chris. And if you've been praying all this time, THANK YOU!! God has used you in an amazing way to minister to my family.