Faith Story by Alice Tan
On 21st March 2021, as usual, my hubby went home from the shop to have an afternoon nap. He was supposed meet me back in the shop for our regular coffee time later. At around 4.30pm, when he still had turned up, I phoned him, but he didn’t pick up my call. After several calls, my son and I decided to check on him. He has sometimes overslept his afternoon nap, but this time the Holy Spirit prompted me to go home to check. When we reached home, we called out his name. There was no reply. When we went into the bedroom, we saw him lying on bed. There was staining of blood from his mouth, and he did not respond when we called him. Immediately, my son and I picked him up to carry him to car. As we carried him, we found that his whole body could not move. We drove directly to the hospital, praying as we went. As we approached the hospital, my husband vomited a lot of blood in the car.
Thank God, when we reached the hospital emergency department, we found that all the doctors needed were already there. In particular, the brain specialist. They checked my hubby and found that there was a blood clot and swelling in his brain – he had had a stroke which affected his speech, his right hand and right leg, He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for close monitoring. The brain specialist said that there was no need for surgery. He advised to let the blood clot and swelling to settle by itself. During this time, my hubby was in “sleeping mode”, having to be tube-fed with milk.
I felt so lost and worried. I cried out to God and prayed. Suddenly I felt peace in my heart. God ensured me that He will make sure all will be good. I also thank all our Pastors and the Skyline family for praying for us.
God is indeed good. After three weeks, my hubby was discharged. One day, I heard his voice. He spoke! Hallelujah! 🙏🙏🙏 Gradually he was able to eat, and the feeding tube was removed so now he can eat normally. Hallelujah!
Throughout this incident, we experienced the following:
1. God’s Grace – 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Up until now we still did not know what or when it happened during my hubby’s nap, but God, by His grace, protected him till we found him and took him to the hospital.
2. God’s healing – Isaiah 53:5 “..with His stripes we are healed..” God not only made sure the blood clot dissolved, but He also made sure the doctors needed were around. Dr Sofan, the brain specialist, is a visiting doctor from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was there when my hubby was brought to the KPJ Hospital.
3. God’s provision – Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of ours according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus.” Our kitchen staff went back to kampung in December 2020 for a short break. Then the Covid lockdown happened and they were unable to come back to work, so we were handling the kitchen ourselves. When my hubby fell ill on March 21st, the next day, March 22nd, the staff informed us that they will be back for work. This meant that I can concentrate on looking after my hubby in hospital. What’s more, while taking care of my hubby, God still enabled business from my unit trust work to continue coming in.
I wish to encourage all brothers and sisters, that no matter the situation you are in now, whatever challenges you are having, to focus on God’s promises, His Grace, His provision, and His healing. God bless you all.
All Glory to our Almighty God.