Sasha’s mom Judith, felt panic when several neurosurgeons broke the news that her 12-year-old daughter Sasha was in grave physical danger. An arteriogram of the brain highlighted 3 aneurysms and 1 Arterio-Venous Malformation or AVM.
If surgery was chosen as treatment of choice, Sasha could require physical, occupational and speech therapy to recover. Possible loss of vision following the surgical repair might necessitate attending a school for the blind.
Judith grieved for the possible disabilities Sasha might live with and worse yet, the possibility of her death. But as she grieved, she remembered. When Sasha was born, Judith was impressed with the fact Sasha belonged to God. As her mother, she was to lovingly raise and cherish Sasha and let go when God directed.
Judith asked God to heal her daughter but sensed deeply that God knew best and she would accept whatever God decided. There were still moments of panic. In the night, Judith and Sasha shared YouTube Bible verses set to music that comforted and encouraged. Judith sought prayer from all who would pray for Sasha.
As the consents for surgery were signed, the surgeon was encouraged with, “We want you to know many are praying for you and the team.” The surgeon replied, “We always like to hear that because we know we’re not in charge.” There were many praying, all over the world. Some of them were you, through a prior blogpost for Sasha.
The Monday of Sasha’s surgery involved a 7-hour arteriogram to precisely prepare for the repair. Sasha was under anesthesia and attended by 6 surgeons. The Tuesday of Sasha’s surgery involved the actual repair of the aneurysms and AVM. Sasha was under anesthesia for 18 hours and attended by the same surgical team. The wait was grueling for her family and loved ones.
On Wednesday, the evidence of Sasha’s miracle began to unfold. Sasha was gotten out of bed and walked a short distance with help. Her head ached and all she wanted to do was sleep. Sasha’s family cheered her on and despite blurry vision and lack of coordination she walked, talked and ate a little Thursday and Friday. She was discharged to home on Saturday.
Sasha has had many follow-up physician appointments and another arteriogram. She never required blind school or therapies. There is some lack of upper peripheral vision but she’s doing eye exercises. Sasha doesn’t want to be babied and her parents don’t baby her. She returned to school this fall and is learning to balance rest with activity as her brain heals.
When I asked Judith what she and the family have learned from this experience she replied, “I know God must really love me. There is much less drama with my 3 kids. Sasha’s siblings look out for her, that she doesn’t over-do it. There is more love for each other and life.”
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT: Philippians 4: 6 – 7)
We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us. He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety have been answered. (NLT: 2 Corinthians 1: 8 – 11)