Cardboard Testimony: The Martins
Stan, Lindsey and Anniston Martin
"You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me." Psalm 139:5. I must have read this verse many times subconsciously as I perused this sweet chapter, but these words did not actually come to life or tug at my heart until the morning of January 29, 2009. It started out a day like any other day, except for Stan’s and my eager anticipation that we had finally arrived at the day that a big question in our lives would be answered: whether or not I had a boy or a girl making its cozy home inside of me. A few hours later, it was confirmed…we were having a girl! Little did we know that there was another piece of information to learn that day. Our wonderful doctor met Stan and me in a separate room to tell us that our baby had a heart defect and would need to be looked at by a specialist. The feel of the day suddenly changed, but I tell you so many details about the beginning of our journey because I want you to know that the Holy Spirit was with us giving us peace and comfort from the start. My mind immediately traveled back to the verse that stood out so strongly to me earlier that day, and I knew then that it was only by His grace and His hand being upon us that Stan and I were able to stand.
A couple of weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed, and we were told that our daughter, Anniston, had an interruption in her aorta (it was not connected) and that she also had a very large hole in her heart that would require surgery in Pennsylvania. The next few months were spent in much prayer by Stan and me, our family, friends, people we barely knew, and people we didn’t know at all. The strength of the Lord and this encouragement from those surrounding us sustained us, and we definitely had a peace that surpassed ALL understanding.
God had impressed upon our hearts from the beginning through His Word that He was able to, and longed to heal our little girl, and we knew all He required of us was to put all of our faith in Him, just as Jesus told Jairus: "do not fear; just believe, and she will be healed." (Luke 8:50) I wish I could tell you that we were perfect and that we never doubted or feared, but I can without a doubt say that the Lord held us, and we more often than not had an OVERWHELMING peace filling us and coating us from the inside out.
Anniston made her grand appearance into this world very early in the day on June 2, 2009, a plump, beautiful little angel of 6lbs, 9oz. Late that night, she was flown from Jackson to Philadelphia, PA to get settled and prepared for her surgery scheduled to take place a few days later. The procedure went amazingly well (glory only to our Lord!), and she recovered like a champ! There were several bumps in the road not limited to, but including an infection in her incision, blood in her stool, and an episode where she struggled to breathe, BUT there were so many "God-moments" along the way that overshadowed every hiccup along the road. From hearing that her surgeon trusted in the Lord to work through Him, to the doctors "just so happening" to be doing their rounds right beside Anniston’s bed as she stopped breathing, God was at work big time, and we were humbled to be on this journey with Him.
After returning (gladly!) home, our month-long experience in Philadelphia began to fade into a distant memory, but also a wonderful testimony, as we moved forward with life out of the hospital. Anniston had wonderful check-ups and seemed to be improving every day until we went to see her cardiologist in September. At this check-up, we discovered that her aorta had narrowed significantly in the place where it had been repaired, which would affect her growth according to her doctor. With this type of narrowing, they decided to do a short, outpatient procedure (one night in the hospital; not surgery) called a heart catheterization to open up the aorta.
Anniston’s heart cath went extremely well with regard to her heart, but about 24 hours later, as she was coming out of her sedation, she began to seize and we were told that she had suffered a major stroke affecting the entire left side of her brain due to this procedure (extremely rare). "What???!" Stan and I could not believe the news that was hitting our ears, and I was honestly very weak in those moments, BUT GOD IS GOOD!! Trusting Jesus to heal was all we could do, and He once again proved faithful!! She was barely moving until we brought her home a week later, when she started to support her head again, move her right side (the side that was affected by the stroke), babble, smile, etc., just as she had before!! Now, she only has just a slight amount of weakness in her right side! If you only knew the healing that has taken place in our little girl...we have a miracle! More than once!! We are eternally grateful to our Lord for touching our family with His healing, grace, and peace, and we HAVE to give Him praise!
If you or someone you know needs healing in any way, He is more than able! Keep trusting! "The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord WILL raise him up!" (James 5:15)
Much love,
Stan, Lindsey, and Anniston Martin
