Our miracle

August 21, 2007

By Stephen Clardy

Next week will mark the 10th anniversary of a miracle in our family.

On Thursday, Aug. 28, 1997, my wife, Carrie, was holding our nine-month-old son as she walked down a declining sidewalk in the evening. She tripped over our dog and fell on the concrete. Stephen Wayne was seriously injured with a fractured skull.

The next days were filled with tests as we waited on the swelling to subside. So many family members and friends supported us with their prayers and concern.

On Sunday morning, the doctors concluded emergency surgery might be needed to determine why Stephen Wayne’s blood count was so low. There was some bleeding on the brain, but how much? Immediately my wife phoned her parents and asked them to call everyone to pray. The doctors would perform one more test before going to surgery.

Carrie was watching Rod Parsley on TBN. The Martins were Parsley’s guests. While preaching, Parsley stopped in the middle of his sermon and looked right in the camera. “That baby is healed!” he said with conviction.

Jonathon Martin had just learned that his child was ill, and Parsley was referring to Martin’s baby. But Carrie took that proclamation as a word from God for our circumstances. When Stephen Wayne’s final blood test came back, a high enough blood count determined surgery was not necessary. God was working behind the scenes. We were discovering firsthand God truly never leaves us or forsakes us.

At the hospital the nurses discovered Stephen Wayne would quickly calm down if they would sing “Jesus Loves Me.” They had seen our family do this and they followed suit. But we still had a long road ahead.

After several months Stephen Wayne’s fracture was separating instead of closing up. It was decided he should go to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis. God knows even the smallest details and supplies those needs. After the surgery we were told Stephen Wayne would need to wear a helmet for several months to protect his head.

Following several phone calls, we discovered the helmets were very expensive. Someone directed us to a gentleman at the Cardinal Glennon hospital who had an office in the basement. We made an appointment and set off to get Stephen Wayne’s head measured and have the helmet made.

When we went to pick up the helmet, my wife asked the man how much we owed him. We were prepared to pay several hundred dollars. He charged us $13. We looked at him in disbelief.

“That’s correct,” he assured us.

This was a miracle, as we knew what the helmets cost.

Several months later while at the hospital getting Stephen Wayne’s stitches out, Carrie and her mother were going to take this gentleman a thank you card. They took the elevator to the basement where we had met the man. There was nothing there. They went back up and asked the receptionist at the desk if the man had moved. She looked at them in surprise and told them she didn’t know anything about an office in the basement.

No one had a clue what Carrie was talking about.

We had visited that man not once but twice, and spoken with him. We fully believe he was an angel unaware to us. God always shows up when we need Him.

We were told Stephen Wayne would have to relearn all his motor skills. But he never lagged behind. He is now almost 11 years old, has been tested and scored with the mental capacity of a 16.9-year-old. He is a living miracle. This story is not only about our family and our miracle, but of the awesome God we serve. He never grows too weary to hear the cry of His children in need.

Stephen and Carrie Clardy live in Jonesboro, Ill., with sons Stephen Wayne (10) and Zachary (8).