by Abigail Whitam

“Mom. I can’t make it that long. I need help. Right now.”

“Okay, baby. Try to meet us in Alexandria and we will take you to the hospital.”

Here is a short snippet of the phone call I made in March 2021. Spoiler alert: I did not even make it to Alexandria. My parents had to find my car off the interstate minutes before I reached the destination.

Ovarian Cysts. If you had asked me two short years ago, I would have had no idea what that even is. Little did I know that this night was just the beginning of my long yet blessing of a health journey.

I moved to Natchitoches from Baton Rouge, which is roughly three hours apart. With this, it was a difficult two years for me to manage, being that far away from my family. My journey involved many phone calls, trips to my hometown, and doctor’s appointments.

After my diagnosis of ovarian cysts, we thought that everything would be okay. Those are a quick fix, right? However, that night marked day 1 of my 53-day journey of losing blood. Because of my blood loss, I became heavily anemic.

To describe the past year being anemic, I was constantly exhausted, I missed many classes because I could not find the strength to get out of bed, and I went into a depressive state. I was hindered from living my college life. The life that everyone talks about. But here I was, unable to get out of bed. Growing up as a Christian in a Baptist home, I was angry at God during this time. I was confused as to why he would allow me to go through such difficult times in what was supposed to be the best 4 years of my life. However, my stance on everything eventually evolved into positivity.

This past year, 2022, I began breaking out with recurrent staph infections. Each infection that I dealt with left me bedridden and in excruciating pain. I would frequently visit the nearest walk-in clinics, depending on where I was located at the time. The doctors would come in and tell me the exact same thing. “We will have to lance it and send you home.” I felt as though I was constantly experiencing déjà vu. Every three weeks, the same infection, the same quick fix.

The one song that got me through my battles was “Too Good to Not Believe,” by Brandon Lake. In this song, he says, “I’ve seen cancer disappear. I’ve seen metal plates dissolve. Don’t you tell me He can’t do it! Don’t you tell me He can’t do it!” This song encouraged me to keep steadfast in the fight knowing that God has the power and authority to heal.

After my 5^th infection, Dr. Brignac, a women’s gynecologist located in Baton Rouge, put me under anesthesia to try to remove the infection. She sent me home after the surgery and I was required to repack it each day.

While this was going on, a church near my hometown became aware of my story and health journey. They contacted my mom and requested a visit with us to pray for me. Here is where things turned into a miracle.

The day after surgery, the church team were due to come to my house. However, I woke up in crazy pain and my mom and I thought that we would have to go back to the hospital. We told the group not to come anymore due to the circumstances.

Despite this, our text message got lost in translation and soon we received a knock on the door. There were a few members of the group. We let them in and before I knew it, there were at least 30 people in my home, some that I had never met. It was such a bittersweet moment. It was in that moment that I truly realized how many people cared for me, even those I had never met.

They began to pray over me and place their hands on me. I know that God intervened on this day in my life. For one, we had told them not to come due to complications, but they came anyway. Secondly, after this prayer circle, I began seeing huge improvements in my health. I have not had to receive an iron infusion since, and while it seems contradictory, a few months ago I got placed in the hospital for 5 days and the doctors were able to figure out why I kept battling with staph. I have not had it since.

For months on months, my family and I had prayed for an answer. Each time I would visit the doctor, and I visited almost every type of doctor there is, they never had an answer. Each doctor would refer me to another doctor, who would refer me to another doctor. I firmly believe to this day that because of prayer, I received an answer and a fix for everything that I was dealing with.

Because of these people intervening in my life for the glory of God, I was healed. Matthew 15:30 in the Bible states, “And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.”

Through my time in high school and college, I went off the ‘deep end,’ as I like to say. I was partying, staying out all night, and living impurely. God did not see this fit for my life and made me slow down. While I was sick, I was closer to God than ever and now I truly have a relationship with Christ. I have more joy and peace in my life than ever.

I thank him daily for the hard times because if it weren’t for those moments, I would not be where I am today.

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Abigail Whitam is a young, aspiring writer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After a long-health journey, Whitam has dedicated her life to sharing with others what Christ has done for her. She is a college student at Northwestern State University majoring in Communications with an English Minor.