November is very special to my family and me because we celebrate our Anniversary. One such November, as we were preparing to celebrate, we found another great reason to celebrate; it was confirmed that we would soon receive another beautiful angel from above. We were thrilled and excited beyond measure. A day after receiving this news, my daughter and son fell sick; the same evening, my daughter started crying so much and insisted that we take her to the hospital. Usually, she is not so demanding when she is sick, but we couldn't hold her this time. I called my husband and said let us take her to the hospital; since he was held up, I asked him to come directly. A few moments after we had started, she was all fine; I wondered if she was pranking me.
As my husband passed by our house to the hospital, my aunt insisted that we take our son. Upon his arrival, he was shocked to see my daughter sitting quietly with no sign of sickness. When it was our turn for consultation, all four of us entered the room. To our surprise, the doctor said my daughter was fine and my son needed to be hospitalised at that very moment because his infection was bad. My husband chose to stay with our son that night; the next morning, when I visited the hospital, there was much tension. The doctors diagnosed his sickness as a dreadful disease. They asked us to move him to a government hospital immediately, as only government hospitals can provide medications for him. Tears rolled down my eyes; we were confused and knew it would be dangerous for my son every moment we delayed.
We rushed my three-year-old boy to the hospital. At this point, covid had curved down a bit yet was active in the city. My husband asked me to stay home, as I was more prone to sickness. On Sunday afternoon, members heard about the news and started calling us, and a few even visited the hospital. How grateful I am to these kind-hearted brethren. When my husband took him to the hospital, the doctor’s first question was:' why do you bring in a dead child?” After this, numerous questions were raised, which was not pleasant; he ran around from one place to another to take care of the admission procedures; the situation was awful. As a mother, I couldn't sit back home; my heart was pounding. I tried to contact my husband, and after several attempts, he answered without words; I heard him cry. I ran to the hospital in pain and agony; I climbed the stairs to the Intensive care unit and saw my beloved little son crying and sitting with countless tubes and wires in his body. Looking at me, he raised his arms, wanting to hug me; I held his hands as tightly as possible, not knowing what would happen. He told me, “Mama stay with me.”
Soon his health condition was spread; family members, friends, and church members worldwide prayed for my beloved son; a prayer request was sent to temples. Everyone in my family fasted and prayed, yet there was no hope from the doctors.
The struggle was real and intense. I noticed a quote in my room; we had made that as a part of the preparation for a primary presentation, “Faith can move mountains”1, which was my son’s scripture thought for the primary presentation that year. This helped me realise that I must stay faithful regardless of the circumstances. As a family, we tried to pull up each other, but it was gruelling. My morning sickness was taking a toll on me; I couldn’t eat or sleep. I spent hours together on my knees; most of my prayer was just tears because I had no strength to utter words.
One fine day my husband and I asked our then-district president to give us a comfort blessing. We went to church trusting the Lord and hoping that the blessing would strengthen us. As my beloved district president, Pres. Amalraj started to bless us; he stated many words that are present in my Patriarchal blessing. At that time, I knew those words were coming from our Lord; he was reconfirming his promises to my family and me. It was not an accident that my district president said those specific words or promises, which only I knew. We were overwhelmed; we looked at each other and thanked our Father in Heaven. I remembered the words of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Focus on the things you can do and not on the things you cannot do.” 2 With our whole hearts, we mustered our faith and said, “Let thy will be done.” As we read from the scriptures, “I will show miracles, signs and wonders unto all those who believe on my name”3. Miracles started to happen; my daughter, after her prayer, approached me and said our precious child would be discharged by two weeks, at that moment I thought she was consoling me, but soon my son was discharged from the hospital in the same period of 2 weeks against their initial advice of three months. At that time, I realised that the Lord is speaking to me through his little children.
He was strictly asked not to walk, nor do any task, like even standing, was not advised. He was still under observation as the medications administered were high and might give any challenge for the next three months. Every week we visited the hospital, and they ran tests to check if his vitals were normal and stable. At a certain point, my son couldn’t walk, and when that got better, the next challenge came he couldn’t speak. Our faith never wavered in all these trials; the struggles shaped my family and me. We had to wait patiently and understood that miracles are tied to Faith.
From the scriptures, we learn that “whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day.”4. Our burdens and trials were also lifted as per his promises. After the long wait, the sun did rise bright and beautiful in our home; my son was free from disease. Alas, the doctor said a miracle had occurred, and he was free from danger. I truly believe that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ were with me throughout the Journey. My son is a witness that God lives; he hears and answers our prayers.
Notes:
- Matthew 17:20
- Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Focus on What You Can Control” General Message, Inspiration, Gospel Library
- Doctrine and Covenants 35:8
- Mosiah 23:22