Bonner's Journal-Day 7. Leaving ICU

Saturday, January 21. Day 7
Leaving the ICU

The report of the doctor would soon agree with what God had declared over Hannah....

Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Hannah's neurosurgeon came in through the door of her room and instantly I noticed that something was different. Being that I had been fasting and spending much time in the presence of God, I felt that I had an increased sensitivity to the spiritual atmosphere around the people who we were encountering on a daily basis. In this case I sensed a strong force of faith on him. It is hard to explain but I felt his confidence.


He came boldly to Hannah's right side, which had not moved since her injury & surgery, and commanded her to move her right hand. Yes, he commanded her body to move! For a second I thought that he was a believer in the power of Jesus' name to heal, as Hannah and I are, but then I realized that he had faith in his own effectiveness through surgery. Either way I perceived his great faith...and she opened and closed her right hand, and then proceeded to move her right elbow!

He then said, "you are going to have FULL RECOVERY, all neuro-pathways are intact and working."


Thank you Lord! 
The prophetic word that God had given to us on the first night, before I even knew if she was alive or dead, was repeated to us by our surgeon.
The word that sustained me for a week, when my wife's body was limp, was spoken again.
The exact phrase that was chosen by God for our entire body of believers to declare in prayer, was repeated by her doctor.
The doctor could have used any number of phrases at that moment...but as scripture says "the answer of the tongue is from the Lord."


Oh, the overwhelming joy that I felt at that moment! 


After the doctors closely monitored her progress for two days we left the Intensive Care Unit at 8:00 p.m. and were relocated on the 9th floor neurostepdown unit. Hannah was no longer considered unstable by the medical staff which allowed her to enter a less restrictive care unit. 

Bonner's Journal-Day 6. She will sing again

Friday, January 20. Day 6 
She will sing again


After we received the right nursing staff things improved greatly. Peace was restored to her room, and Hannah began to show signs of recovery from her surgery. I really noticed the effects of the medication that "put her under". She was no where near her normal self. This bothered me, but having been through surgery on my knee I understood the haze that she was feeling. I pray that she recovers from the general anesthesia much quicker than I did...it took me over a year to feel normal again.


Her greatest challenge after the surgery was swallowing and talking. The neurosurgery staff gave their disclosures before the surgery that Hannah might not ever sing because the procedure involved a anterior (from the front) entry to her cervical vertebrae. Their methods involved drastically pulling her trachea, blood vessels and vocal nerves to the side so that they could work directly on the spinal cord.  

When Hannah heard them say that she might not ever sing again , she cried... 

But then a look of strength came over her and she declared that she would not be kept from her greatest joy, which is praising her Lord!

Bonner's Journal-Day 5. Surgery

Thursday, January 19th. Day 5

Surgery

Being that the neurosurgeon was not pleased with the results of the steroid medication on the swelling inside the spinal cavity, he suggested that we pursue "more aggressive measures." At 8:30 a.m. the neurosurgeon performed an anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion of the C3 &C4 vertebrae, to reduce the compression on the cord from the bulging disk inside Hannah's neck. Despite the risks of such an operation we felt confident that this was the right plan of action.

During the surgery I felt strongly the urging of God. An overwhelming determination to connect with Him was upon me. I was shocked that He was leading me to lay face down in the neuro-surgery waiting room and worship Him. Not caring who was in the room I bellowed out to Him my praise and complete surrender. 

At one moment I felt like Jesus Himself walked through the waiting room, over me, and into the operating room. Maybe an angel? But a kingdom messenger for sure! Immediate peace came over me and I knew in an instant that she would be all right. I began to laugh aloud with joy and release of peace. I am sure the people in that waiting room were asking themselves "Who is that crazy man on the floor?!"

Hannah was indeed doing great, just as I had felt during that precious time of prayer and worship. 

Scripture says that Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. He especially tries to steal immediately after the truth has been planted in our hearts. Hannah had just overcome one of the enemy's greatest attacks, so he came with another.

We faced a horrible situation with a male nurse the very moment the medical staff brought her back to the ICU. While I was forced to wait for entrance back into her room, this man was disturbing my wife with his out of place comments and lack of care for Hannah's needs. When I got into the room I could feel the thick tension that was created by his presence. Hannah was in complete agony. I knew that he was not the right influence on my wife, and this fact was solidified by the look on my wife's face. I could see her extreme pain and helplessness. The enemy had sent a distraction.

Not knowing the correct course of action I tried to ignore the ugly situation and attend to Hannah, just as I had done for the last few days. At this point he got confrontational with me! I do not consider myself a confrontational person, but I can tell you that at that moment I was not the man you wanted to mess with. We eventually handled his removal in a diplomatic manner, and peace was again restored to her recovery room. The newly assigned nurse attended to Hannah's painful state.

The enemy tried to take away from the victory of the surgery with an assignment of strife and division, but we caught it and took authority in the spirit. Seeing from that experience that I needed to diligently defend my wife's well being I began the habit of fasting periodic meals throughout the day in order maintain a position of strength for battle.

A rare moment in those early days when Hannah had her beautiful smile

Bonner's journal-The first 5 days

The longest five days of my life

For five days we endured the rigors of the intensive care unit, and the report of the physicians. The specialists that worked on Hannah were obviously a God-given answer to our desperate condition, and we were VERY thankful for all their care. However, it become overwhelming when they kept reminding us that Hannah was essentially paralyzed.


Had we not understood the promises of God given to us in His written word....Had we not received a direct word from our church body's leader of intercession that Hannah would have "FULL RECOVERY"...Had I not understood how to keep His comforting presence of peace by continual worship and praise...Had I not defended her hospital room from the spirit of fear through praying in tongues...Had I not the knowledge that I could continually "feed' Hannah the healing medicine of scripture as described in Proverbs 4:20...  We would not have the opportunity to share this victory. 



For five days Hannah had an "incomplete" paralyzation. Her only movement was limited to her left thumb and left toes. The neurologists prescribed continual steroid inflammation treatment to the spinal cord through her IV.  Those were extremely hard days, but I maintained a steady dose of God's promises to heal and restore, even when she was asleep and only her subconscious mind could hear God speak life. Every time a doctor would report the condition of her body I would thank them, because I was thankful to know the size and nature of the mountain we were facing. I knew that God's word was the only report that we needed to concentrate on, so I would give her twice the dose of scripture to counterbalance the fear filled reports of her physicians. I knew above all that her soul needed to prosper with His promises, so that her body could be in health.
The natural evidence being displayed in her body, made the reliance on God's promises even more urgent.

A true victory of faith.

I now fully understand what He meant when God declared that "the just shall LIVE by faith."

Bonner and Hannah will soon be posting updates in faith that their story will someday be a witness to how awesome and faithful our God is. Stay tuned, check in regularly, but please be patient. Bonner is spending every moment of his time caring for his wife and kids. Hannah is progressing more and more daily. We trust that some day soon she will be posting on this blog without the help of others!

Lisa

Thank you for your prayers, gifts, and outpouring of love.

We appreciate your patience. Recovery from a spinal cord injury is hard work and Hannah needs her rest!

Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer...