Testimony:[1] Thumbs Up!
Sunday, November 8, 2009—Jesse Tranel’s thirteenth birthday. He took his fair share of birthday cake and pizza, and other portions were passed around for all to share.
However, this party did not occur in a normal birthday venue nor with the typical new-found energy for this happy moment. They celebrated in Jesse’s hospital room in the Intensive Care Unit of Children’s Hospital in Dallas, Texas. And this stay in the hospital had been far from a happy occasion until now.
So, how did Jesse get here in the first place?
Jesse’s parents took him to a local medical facility after fever, cough, and a developing rash the last week of October. First, they were told to wait it out, but his symptoms worsened. An elevated white blood count indicating infection created enough reason to head for the hospital on Saturday morning October 31st.
After admitting him to the hospital on Saturday, doctors began guessing what could be wrong. Their first diagnosis was Kawasaki Disease. However, they doubted this conclusion because of his age as most children with this disease are five and under. Much of the time the medical staff focused on Rocky Mountain Fever, and other experts constantly visiting his room threw in maladies such as Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Kawasaki Disease ended up being accurate.
But by Sunday, November 1st, his kidneys began shutting down. With his liver also enlarged, his heart in definite trouble, and his blood pressure falling, they placed him into ICU. The medical staff worked several hours on Sunday in an effort to stabilize him. In a minute-by-minute situation the doctors feared losing him.
On Monday, November 2nd, my wife, Gail and I learned of Jesse’s medical traumas and made a visit to see the Tranel’s. When we arrived at Children’s Hospital, we submitted to the simple medical protocol of applying sanitizer gel to our hands while still in the lobby and then we were escorted to the ICU. Solange, Jesse’s mother, was paged and she gave us updates. We decided I should go back and see Jesse and pray over him. Upon arriving at the room, protocol required that I adorn myself with a sterile gown, hat, gloves, and face mask. I followed Solange in and realized quickly that Jesse was certainly not well. A pitiful listlessness embraced his countenance.
“This is Connor’s dad,” Solange told him. At one time Connor and Jesse had been neighborhood buddies about the same age.
Jesse had no real energy to acknowledge me, but I did not come for social exchanges. I stood over him and prayed as I was led, not any differently in spirit than what this book indicates. I only took a few minutes, spoke the blessing over him, and left. While I removed the medical paraphernalia, Jesse’s dad, walked up. I don’t think he recognized me until my mask had been removed. I remember delivering a simple encouragement, referencing that faith quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one.
On Wednesday, November 4th, another echo cardiogram indicated his heart was getting worse and showed incomplete closure of the flaps which allowed blood into his lungs. Thursday, November 5th, he seemed some better, and other signs indicated the infection was subsiding.
Gail and I kept abreast of developments with Jesse via email updates and on Thursday left for an Idaho speaking engagement. Constantly cognitive of Jesse and his family, we prayed and asked others in Idaho to pray, too.
Jesse’s dad, John, serves as Dean of Families at Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas. John’s responsibilities include teaching in the School of Foreign Missions on the subject “Impacting Mission Field Ministries.” He is certainly qualified to address this and other mission-oriented subjects because of his experience as a missionary. He and his wife spent eleven years in Curacao, The Netherlands Antilles, off the north coast of Venezuela.
John had been teaching on spiritual warfare themes in his class and says, if you are going to impact a mission field, you must know how to do spiritual warfare. He determined to teach the same theme in his Friday class and realized he needed to apply the same on behalf of his son. His wife remained at the hospital with Jesse and no real traumas had occurred within the last thirty-six hours, though his condition remained serious.
On his way to the class, John journeyed through an area where Dr. Jeffrey Seif was teaching Old Testament Survey. John overheard Dr. Seif give a general encouragement to the students that they should take classes on the Psalms, if they had the opportunity.
John took note. Putting spiritual warfare and the Psalms together, in his heart and mind he determined, “Tonight I fight.”
Shortly after his class John received a call from Solange. Jesse had just had a stroke. The fight was already underway—and intensifying. Solange saw Jesse go through the stroke, including paralyzation of his right side, an inability to talk, and fear in his eyes.
John arrived at the hospital forty minutes later and, while still in the car, cried out for mercy to God. He did so with such passion and intensity from deep within that when he arrived he asked Solange a very interesting question. “Are we in a special room because the floor is going up and down?” The floor did not move—but John was feeling the physiological impact on his own body by having given himself to incredibly intense moments of calling on God’s mercy with all his might on behalf of his son.
As John called on God’s mercy, Jesse’s situation made a definite turn. Medical staff had already ordered a CT scan, but 95% of the stroke symptoms were now gone. An immediate MRI was next on the agenda. Before the test, the neurologist in charge told John they may need to give Jesse some new, untested medicine. This medicine could result in Jesse bleeding to death.
Upon examination of Jesse, however, he turned to John, “Forget what I said.” The doctor used the term ‘miraculous recovery’ later when he spoke to Solange, pointing out how especially quick the recovery took place. And the MRI confirmed that a stroke had indeed occurred.
John sent Solange home for some much-deserved and needed rest and later began an intense prayer focus. Starting with chapter one, he prayed the Psalms over Jesse. Every place he could do so, he would add Jesse’s name and pray accordingly. Every now and then he would stop to pray other prayers and declarations while Jesse slept.
Nurses came in and out.
John kept praying and using the Psalms as his springboard. This endeavor personally strengthened and encouraged him. He read about God’s mercy for those who call on Him—something he had just intensely done.
He also drew others into the praying through his Facebook® page.
John applied himself to the Psalms-based prayers for the next six hours until 5:00 a.m. where he found himself at Psalm 34.
The Scriptures especially spoke to John when he arrived at Psalm 30. From verse 2, “O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.” From verse 5, “Weeping may go for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” And from verse 11, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.”
Then, on Sunday, November 8th, Jesse’s birthday, after the daily heart x-ray, the doctor came to the family to say Jesse’s heart had taken a dramatic turn. God had displayed His mercy on Jesse’s behalf and before the day was over birthday cake, pizza, and praises to God were in order.
Jesse moved to a regular hospital room for the balance of his thirteen day stay. Everything was back to normal except some residual effects from Kawasaki Disease which, over time, normalized. He still needed time for complete recovery after being dismissed from the hospital, but without a doubt God showed His mercy in very powerful and distinguishable ways.
Later that month, our pastor called John to the stage at church where a short interview with John gave reason for the whole church to rejoice in the preservation of Jesse’s life. While John provided the testimony, I looked back at Jesse sitting next to his mother and caught his eye. We both exchanged thumbs up signs as the pastor had John lead prayer for others who may need similar support. Here is that prayer:
“Lord, I thank you for your great mercy that is able to reach down and touch our lives. I thank you for touching Jesse and healing his body. We thank you that nothing is too hard for you, and right now we pray for those who are battling with heart issues. Touch them in Jesus name! I pray for those babies who have heart defects, and we speak healing to them in Jesus name. I also pray for encouragement for every parent who is facing this challenge. Comfort and strengthen them in Jesus name. Our hope is in you Lord and in you do we put our trust. Thank you for Your Word which is a rock unto our feet.”
[1] As told to the author by John Tranel. Used by permission.
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