The room was brightly lit and cold. I was seated in a random wheelchair directly behind the MRI machine and I could see the top of Savannah's head. The machine hummed and clicked and the automated voice told her to breathe in, breathe out and then hold her breathe. I watched as her chest rose and fell and counted 8-10 seconds as she held her breathe. I couldn't talk to her, couldn't hold her hand, couldn't stroke her head and reassure her.
I was so close, yet felt so far away.
So I prayed. I stared at her lying in the machine and prayed and prayed and prayed. I prayed that the Lord would give her lungs the strength to hold her breathe. I prayed that she would be overcome by His peace as she laid there. I prayed that our friends and family were praying for her. I prayed that the test would be completed in the shortest amount of time - still a torturous 75 minutes. I prayed that the images needed to make decisions about her next heart surgery would be obtained.
After nearly 50+ minutes into the MRI, various docs, nurses and technicians entered the room and pulled her out. They praised her! They were dumbfounded at how well she was doing! Every image being taken was coming out perfectly. For the final twenty minutes, an IV would be placed and contrast pushed in her vein, to get specific images. She was scared and her face was a picture of pain and tears streamed down her face as the needle entered her arm. My heart broke and I just stroked her head, talking her through. Before I knew it, she was saying, "it's getting better, the pain is going away, just a little bit more and it's all done". Her focus and determination memorized me - her strength and courage were exceeding my wildest expectations.
Once again she was put back in the machine. As those final twenty minutes crept by, I'm not sure she breathed at all - the automated voice was constantly giving the command to hold her breathe and some breathe holds were nearly twelve seconds!
My prayers continued in force.
Then it was done. She was brought out of the machine and she informed she was starving and asked if she could pick dinner that night! YES! Most definitely YES!
She changed into her clothes and before I knew it, we were headed home. It was over - OVER!
Earlier that week, she'd been struck with a horrendous fever. It had skyrocketed to 105 at one point. She'd been to the doc, but her ears were clear and the Strep culture was negative, as well as some other tests. Something viral was going on and her little body just needed to fight it off. Unfortunately, her sedated MRI wouldn't be able to happen, given her recent fever, and it was converted to a traditional MRI. On the morning of the scheduled MRI, one of the docs had called and strongly encouraged me to reschedule. I understood their concerns, but rescheduling would be hard...the other wild things were all set for the day with various friends, rescheduling meant an MRI 6-9 weeks out and, honestly, she was determined to give it a go.
I listened to my gut and politely said no, we're sticking with today. Savannah walked out of that hospital standing a little taller and prouder - she had defeated the enemy.
Prayer is POWERFUL, yet Satan will stop at nothing. I had almost caved that morning and opted to simply reschedule the sedated MRI, but I will never forget my girl shaking her head and whispering "NO, I want to TRY!!", as I was on the phone with the doc. We wanted answers and delaying meant no answers for nearly 2 months, which was a ripple effect on a variety of things. If today was successful, answers would be known by the following week and whatever they were, we'd know and be able to move forward with summer, without this hanging over our head.
Fast forward to Wednesday, June 14th, and the much anticipated phone call came. Savannah's cardiologist was thrilled with the results of MRI and suspects her next open heart surgery to replace her Pulmonary Valve is still nearly 3 years out, assuming her heart continues to change at it's current pace! PRAISE THE LORD!
Frankly, we were surprised. She's grown so much and every time she goes in for her yearly ECHO, it seems as the time frame to her next surgery decreases. Her next surgery will still occur sooner than the the original, desired time frame, but it's still a delay and that's FANTASTIC!
As I processed all that Savannah's doc had shared, I found myself thinking of my Grandma Gipson. She was a prayer powerhouse. To those who knew her well, they knew that if they stopped by her house during a specific time of day and knocked on her door, she wouldn't answer - she was home, but she was pray'in! If you peered through her front window, you'd likely see her quilting from the loom she lowered from her ceiling and as she quilted, she was pray'in. She knew the power of prayer. She knew that when you literally can't do anything else for a situation, you can ALWAYS pray and God is LISTENING.
I have no doubt that the success of Savannah's MRI was a direct result of prayers being lifted up by many on her behalf. And as for her next surgery, although nothing is certain and things can change, God knows how important the timing is for her valve replacement. It continues to do what it needs to do and in His time, when she's ready - physically, mentally and emotionally - she will lay on a table and surgeons hands will be guided by the hands of The Lord.
Prayers may not be answered quickly and they are frequently answered far differently than the way we imagine, but without fail, God hears them and answers. Prayer is our direct line to God. It can be done anywhere, anytime. He's waiting, He's listening. Give it a try, you'll never get a busy signal...
