Nothing Short of a Miracle
Story of my Life
by Starla Cunning on 08/09/10
In March of 1992 I was in a pretty bad car accident that left me with constant neck problems and moderate to severe pain. Six years later, in February of 1998, the disc in cervical C-5/6 in my neck herniated and forced me to have surgery. That part went great! I woke up with no pain and thought my troubles were over. After being constantly "annoyed" by the aching and burning in my neck I thought I had really suffered! I was in for a BIG surprise!
We moved to San Diego (from Indiana) in August of 1998. I was healed, I had this renewed energy and felt like I was ready to take on a new adventure in life. You know what I mean? I could handle anything life could throw at me. I couldn't have been more wrong!
In March of 2001, I was pulling some plants from my flower garden when I heard a small "pop" sound and tingling went down both arms. My first thought was "Oh Dear God, what have I done?" Trying to calm myself I chalked it up to a pulled muscle and quit for the day. By the time Monday rolled around and I went back to work, I knew something was seriously wrong. The pain had become horrific and I couldn't eat or sleep, crying was my only option. It made my previous 6 years of pain seem like a walk in the park. This began my plight of hundreds of doctor visits to dozens of physicians, neurosugeons, orthopedic surgeons, accupuncturists, physical therapists, pain management, nerve testing and so on. If I could find it on the internet or someone suggested it and it sounded right, I would pursue it relentlessly only to get slammed every single time with "I can't help you or I can't find what's wrong" to "it's all in your head and maybe you're depressed". I was more than frustrated. My pain was so horrible that I wanted to die. Literally! I couldn't take anymore-so I thought. I was referred to a sports medicine doctor who at least provided me with very strong, morphine like, pain medication. Which, I lived on for the next 9 years!
The drugs didn't actually make the pain 'go away', they really just masked it enough to make me still functional but constantly miserable. This was my disabled life and I would have to learn to live with it, so I did. I constantly prayed to God for healing. Fibromyalgia came on the scene and they explained it away to that at one time but I knew somehow deep down that didn't feel quite right. I kept saying, this is bone pain, not muscle pain. There is a big difference, by the way. Finally I prayed to God and told Him "I accept my plight and Your will be done in Your time, not mine."
Time went on and so did life. Until one Fall day of 2009, my dear friend Susie calls me, out of the blue, all excited. Come to find out, she's working with this guy and he tells her a story about his neck and this fabulous "miracle" doctor who has fixed him. Said she got goosebumps when he told her, sounded just like my same problem. She gave me his name and number and I put it aside. Not wanting to hear another "I can't help you, you'll have to learn to live with it" again, I ignored it and went on with life. So, a couple of weeks later, Susie calls again and asks if I got an appointment. I made some excuse of being too busy but I would get around to it later. Feeling like she's just not going to let this go, I decided to call him and just see what he could do.
My appointment came December 15, 2009. This guy is about my age, very kind and seems to know what he's doing. He let me tell my whole sobbing story. I took my past MRI (which all read 'normal') films with me so he could see what he was up against. He takes one look at them and says "these are terrible, can't see a thing clearly. Too much gray area to determine anything. Let's get a new CAT scan and some XRays". I'm already getting excited just hearing his enthusiasm. Before I left his office I took his hand and told him "you are my last saving grace. God has brought me to you to fix me." He said he would do the best he could. My next appointment was in January, after the holidays.
Christmas and New Years came and went and I couldn't wait to go back to see this doctor. So he comes in the room in his white coat and laptop and sits down saying "I believe I know what's wrong and here's what we need to do." I couldn't hear anything immediately following his first statement. My mind started swirling and I had to interrupt him with "you mean, you think you can fix me?" The tears were really flowing by that time. I can't even explain the overwhelming urge to hug that man! So, I did. Come to find out, the previous surgery never fused. The cadaver bone the previous Dr. had grafted in there had popped loose and was moving around everytime I moved. No one could see it on the MRI's! No one was that trained or had cared enough.
But, why hadn't it fused? At first I chalked it up to being a past smoker. There's a 500% chance a fusion won't work if you smoke. But a friend of ours had the exact same surgery and he smokes and no problems. I got to thinking about that and remembered a blood test I had done the previous year with something that came up a little funny. No Calcium and no Vitamin D in my work up. I had cracked a rib just bending over a box and I found that to be odd. My primary care physician ran blood tests and put me on a calcium and vitamin D supplement, over the counter. Deciding I didn't want anything to mess this new surgery up, I went back to my PCP and had more blood work done and explained my story. He gave me a prescription for massive Vitamin D and I amped up the calcium. Wanting to make sure I was doing this right, I asked the manager of GNC what he thought. He informs me that if I'm not taking at least half as much magnesium as calcium, it won't absorb. Now why didn't my PCP tell me that! I researched it and sure enough, he's right! I felt like God was leading me to all these things to make sure it's done right this time.
Well, my miracle Doctor has since fused three vertebrea together with a 4" titanium plate, 8 screws and 3 cadaver bones. Come to find out the old plate and screws were loose and moving around in there too. My blood work shows normal calcium, vitamin D and magnesium. I've been in a cervical collar for 12 weeks and I haven't felt this good in 10 years! I truly feel God had a real hand in this whole healing process. I'm thankful and I plan to behave. This experience has brought me closer to our Lord and I feel like we have a really good relationship. I've learned not to take good health for granted and to appreciate what we are given on this Earth everyday. It may not be materially the same as our friends, neighbors or family but that's not what's important in this life. Finding the beauty in every day, being kind to one another and trusting God are my priorities now.
God brought healing into my life even after I had given up, to me that's nothing short of a miracle.
