Testimonies
Here is a testimony from one of our leaders who was hospitalised with COVID-19 for one month and on the brink of death. Through the prayers of many and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in him , he was brought back to life and health. You can read his story below:
It was the day when it appeared that I was taking a plunge into the abyss. On 25 March 2020, I tested positive for corona virus. This was the trigger for a chain of seemingly impossible events that culminated in my eventual discharge from hospital a month later on 25 April. Truly, no one could have scripted the month-long series of happenings and miracles which baffled the medical team even as it revealed the awesome power and goodness of God.
It all began with a high temperature, but worse was to come when pneumonia set in. I was taken into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the night of 31 March. The pneumonia aside (or rather because of it), a long list of illnesses and infections started being diagnosed moments after my arrival in ICU. This included an abnormal heart rate with shortness of breath, DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) when my ketones spiked up to dangerous levels, and CRP (C-Reactive Protein) which is a bacterial infection symptomatic of a chronic illness and prone to lead to heart attacks. In fact, my CRP levels were the highest ever recorded in ICU.
If I thought I was having a challenging time after my first day in ICU, then nothing prepared me for what was to follow. My lungs soon flattened to around a tenth of their normal size (imagine it like the shape of broccoli turning into the shape of a pancake). It all soon became a blur as I lurched from one thing to another, with the heart rate still high, sugar levels now going incredibly low, and my blood pressure now plummeting. A spasm in my throat caused a blockage of the airways. All of this within my first three days in ICU. And then came the dreaded sepsis! It threatened to become far too much and I was, mercifully as it turned out, well and truly knocked out when my kidneys failed with AKI (Acute Kidney Injury)!
The medical team pulled out all the stops and doggedly persevered with my care, even though at various stages my chances of living were rated between zero and ten per cent. Treatment was initially by pronation and sedation (being put into an artificial coma) with the highest dose possible of oxygen being pumped into the lungs. Of course, this was all part of ventilator-assisted care and life support. Part of the ventilator package involved intubation where three sizable tubes were forced down the throat into the belly and kept there for two weeks. And then there was the use of the mask! Being asked to wear these tight-fitting masks for over two weeks is surely one of the great feats of human endurance. The kidney problem was to be treated by hemo-filtration (or dialysis) over a period of days. Additionally, any number of medicines, antibiotics and steroids were administered.
So how did I live through it all? Even when it looked as if I was at death’s door and apparently oblivious to the world around me, my spirit was alive. Throughout. My body is a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. So what did He do? He put the mind of Christ in my spirit, refreshed my soul and quickened my mortal body. Romans 8: 11 became my reality: And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you (Amp). All thanks and glory to God. Benedictus Dominus Deus (praise be to God)! Hallelujah!
On 21st June, Marinus preached a sermon for our online service.
You can access the recording by clicking on the link here
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