The prayer of faith will save the sick.—James 5:15, NKJV
In May 2008, the fingers on my left hand suddenly became numb and then, very quickly, the fingers on my right hand also. The numbness became so bad that I could not zip up my boots, open doors and jars, and I even had difficulty buttoning my clothes. I saw eleven different doctors that year but no one knew what had caused this problem. Multiple sclerosis and carpal tunnel syndrome were ruled out.
I decided to find a new general physician. After giving me a full physical exam, my new doctor sent me to a neurologist at Michigan State University. This was the third neurologist I had talked to about my condition. As I walked into the clinical center, I had no hope that this new doctor would be able to help me. Imagine my happiness when Dr. Bhanasuelli not only knew what was wrong with me (I had Lewis-Sumner syndrome, which occurs in only six people out of one million) but also had me in treatment within four days. My life changed for the better.
It seems that my new doctor just happened to have attended Wayne State University in Detroit where Dr. Lewis, who had discovered the syndrome taught; she was in his class! So, of course, she recognized my symptoms immediately and knew exactly what to do about them: IVIg (intravenous immunoglobulin) four days each month and 2,000 milligrams of CellCept (an immunosuppressant) daily.
In preparation for a ten-day trip to Bermuda in April of 2011, I had my monthly four days of IVIg at the hospital. However, I found, to my dismay, that my hands and also my feet were numb the entire time I was on my trip. I wanted to be anointed while I was in Bermuda, but our itinerary was so tight that there was no opportunity to schedule one.
When I returned home, however, all the numbness was gone. So my doctor weaned me off the Cellcept, and I have not had another IVIg treatment since. In fact, I have been in total remission for six years! My neurologist says it may never come back. She had no explanation for my sudden remission. I did—God knew I had wanted to be anointed, and He honored my faith!
Patricia Hook Rhyndress Bodi
First published in Carolyn Rathbun Sutton, ed., In His Presence (Silver Spring, MD: General Conference Women’s Ministries Department, 2018), 334.
