When David was 10 days old, he stopped breathing. A nurse that was teaching my next door neighbor noticed that he wasn’t breathing and did artificial respirations on him. This brought his breathing back. She showed me how to keep him alive for the 26 miles that my husband and I had to drive to get to the air force base hospital in Sue Saint Marie Michigan, I was only 18 years old at the time and knew nothing about how to do artificial respirations. When we got there my son was barely alive. The doctors took him in their arms and brought him into the emergency room. They decided that he needed to go to the air force base hospital in San Antonio.
My husband had to stay at the Michigan base while the Red Cross airplane started to fly my son and I to the San Antonio base. When I got on the plane, something told me that I wouldn’t see my husband again for 25 years (which turned out to be true) and I cried all the way through the flight. During the flight something was wrong with the plane and we needed to land somewhere that I was unfamiliar with. My parents had drove to San Antonio to meet me, but no one had any idea where we were, so they left a message for me to call them at home in Tyler when we arrive in San Antonio and they left for home. I called Mother when I got there and she wired me money to take a bus to Tyler. The doctors in San Antonio would keep David there for a week to observe him to see what needed to be done. He was collecting fluid on his brain and needed surgery to relieve the pressure off his brain.
I had to get my parents to drive me back to San Antonio to sign the papers to allow for the surgeries. David needed four surgeries, two plates and a shunt was placed in his head, this caused him to be totally blind in both eyes, paralyzed, and also left him mentally retarded and with cerebral palsy. He also couldn’t keep anything down in his stomach, he threw everything up and was starving to death. He was not expected to live no more than a few days to a few months at most. The surgeons wouldn’t even talk to me or my parents when he was released from the hospital to die, instead an unfamiliar doctor talked to me and revealed David’s fate and that he would probably live a week or two. Only God could pull him through this.
My heart felt so burdened and sorrowful. When I told my parents what the doctor said, they both began crying uncontrollably. My mom had to drive us to Texas A&M to pick up my brother Dave, mom told him what the doctors said and he took the wheel and drove us back home to Tyler, Texas. He could hear my parents crying on the way back, I’m sure he didn’t know what to do except get us home. I was also crying while I held David Shane on a pillow in the back seat of dad’s car. On the way home the car overheated and the engine caught on fire and daddy had to put it out and let it cool off before he could continue. On the way Shane threw up all over himself and I and we both smelt sour for we didn’t have an extra change of clothes with us.
When we got home to mom and dad’s house, I placed two chairs together to make him a bed for I didn’t even have a baby bed to put Shane in. The chairs had arms which kept him from falling out, although he couldn’t move anyway. He looked so pitiful, I could hardly look at my own son laying there with that large head totally blind and paralyzed. I later moved him onto my bed.
Later I was sitting at the table to eat and I heard the voice of the Lord speak to me saying “Mary, go into David’s room, lay your hands upon him and pray for him and I’ll heal David”. I was scared to death when I heard this voice out of the blue telling me this, I asked God to first get everyone else out of the house. He then told mother to take the others out to eat and they did. God then told me “Get up, go into David’s room, lay your hands upon him and pray for him and I will heal him”. I was glued to my chair afraid to move, I wouldn’t even budge. I then said “But, Lord I don’t know what to do or how to pray”. God then said “I’ll show you and tell you what to do, all you have to do is put your hands upon him and open your mouth, I’ll speak through you”. I wasn’t too sure of this and I still wouldn’t go into the room, God spoke again and this time stronger and he meant business “Mary go into David’s room and pray!” I still wouldn’t go and I felt my chair move and I was knocked out of my chair and turned over onto the floor! God spoke again “Mary, go into David’s room, put thy shoes upon thy feet and pray for David”.
When I got up off the floor, I put on my shoes and I looked out the window outside and I saw a bright light outside, although I didn’t realize it at the time, it was the light of God, for it was night time, but yet I could see all around outside of my home, the trees and yard, I could see clearly as though the sun was out.
I was very afraid and I obeyed the voice of the Lord, the power of God came upon me and he told me “Go forth and pray for David and lay your hands upon his head and upon his body”, so I did, it was wonderful, the most delightful feeling of power came over me as I prayed for David, God spoke through me saying “David thou art healed”, I looked at David and saw that he was still blind and I said, “But Lord, he still can’t see!” God said “Put your thumbs into his eyes.” I did and a much greater power swept over me and went down into my hands and jolted into David’s eyes as I prayed, God speaking through me, “David, open thyne eyes and ye shall see!” The power was so strong it almost felt as though I poked his eyes out. As I removed my hands from him, he opened his eyes and they were so royal blue and clear and so still, for he can see. When he was blind, his eyes danced all the time and had a white skim covering them, but now David could see and he seems very well.
Today David Shane is still alive and well at 46 years old, he can see, and is no longer paralyzed - although he is confined to a wheel chair due to week legs, he’s still mentally retarded and has cerebral palsy. We believe that God will finish the healing in due time.
Praise God, for He is truly alive and He still heals people and loves us, so we should love and praise God and thank him for his beloved son Jesus, that who so ever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. God bless you and keep you.
Mary J Bowers, 2008
Pictures from left to right and top to bottom: David Shane at 10 days old, at 4 months old (a few weeks after his healing), Me with Shane at 7 months, Me and Shane at 1 1/2 years, Shane at 1 1/2 years, at 2 years, at 3 1/2 years, Me with Shane at 7 1/2 years, Shane at 7 1/2 years, Daddy and my four sons (Shane (about 23 years old), Jonathan, Justin, and Jeff), Shane at 41 years with my second son Jonathan (Shane's half brother), Shane in December 2008.