by bobby weaver
It was late in the afternoon on July 26, 2007 when our world was about to be rocked. Marlenna, our oldest daughter, was calling in on my cell phone from Orlando. “Hey Mars, what’s going on?” “Daddy, I just got my MRI results…I have a brain tumor, it’s about the size of a lemon.” You can’t imagine how I felt, nor do you want to. A friend of mine, Charlie Coram, put it best… “the only thing scarier than me having a brain tumor would be my daughter having one.” Let the miracles begin…
The first thought, once we began to get our wits about us was…we need the top brain surgeon in America or at least, in Florida. But there was a major problem, Marlenna had an HMO and the list of available surgeons definitely left something to be desired. Our youngest daughter, Danielle is studying to be a nurse practitioner and was all about doing the research on each approved surgeon. Lawsuits against them made us very nervous. Besides that, everyone kept recommending Dr. Christopher Baker. The good news, his credentials were stellar. The bad news, he was not on the list of approved surgeons. But evidently, somebody forgot to tell God. Out of the blue, we got a phone call from Dr. Baker’s office… “What did you do?” his nurse asked. Marlenna responded, “What do you mean?” The nurse continued, “Aetna just called here and approved Dr. Baker to perform your surgery. No way! Yes, WAY!!! Praise God for Miracle #1.
With a total cost approaching half a million dollars, Aetna was going to pay 60 percent. That left 40 percent that we were responsible for which is approximately $200,000. There was no way we had that kind of money…but once again, somebody forgot to tell God. We gave Florida Hospital a check for $3,000 and explained we would have to make payments. About a month after that, we got a letter from the hospital. Inside was a check for, you guessed it, $3,000. And the balance due? It was $0.00. No way! Yes, WAY!!! Praise God for Miracle #2.
And now for the biggest miracle of all. When Marlenna first found out about her brain tumor, she was understandably scared to death. As mentioned, she was diagnosed on the 26th of July and her surgery was on the 16th of August. The time between diagnosis and surgery was almost unbearable…would the surgery be successful…would there be side effects…would she survive? Then, on or about the 6th of August, Marlenna said the following prayer. (she had become a born again Christian about 4 years earlier). It was an unusual prayer…she prayed… “Father God, if I am going to be healed, please show me through your eyes.” Keep in mind that right up until she prayed this prayer, she was almost frozen with fear. Then she said the prayer. You’ve probably heard the saying… “When God shows up, He shows out!” Believe it! The very second that Marlenna prayed that prayer her fear instantly left her! I couldn’t believe it! She went from a terrified little girl to our best cheerleader. Instead of facing brain surgery, it was like she was facing the removal of a band-aid. In Philippians 4:7 it says that God can give us a peace that passes all understanding. God gave Marlenna that peace…and as a parent, it was one of the greatest gifts He could have ever given us. Praise God for Miracle #3. And I’m sure you have all guessed it by now, God has blessed Marlenna with a full and complete recovery.