John's Miracle Pt. 3 - The Healing

John & Stephanie Butler
Feb 24, 2024
11 min read

If you have not read Part one or two we encourage you to go back and check them out. If you don't have time, here are the Cliff's Notes version.

I (John) was in a van rollover accident, and I fractured two vertebrae. I spent 10 days in the hospital and was released to go home. There were so many examples of God's favor and blessings raining down on my wife Stephanie and I we have only brushed the surface...

On The ride home from the hospital, Stephanie and I discussed all the incredible blessings we received and the miracle that I was well enough to come home! We shared our genuine excitement! The ride went well. Certainly, better than I expected. It was a matter of putting into practice the Physical Therapist's (PT) suggestions regarding getting in and out of a vehicle with minimal back movement.

Being Home

I arrived home and carefully navigated out of the car and up the two garage steps into the house. Again, it went better than I expected. I was so thankful to be home! Things looked a little different as I entered the living room. An adjustable hospital bed in the middle of the room and an electric lift recliner, referred to by my dad as a "granny launcher." To this day, we still call a lift recliner a granny launcher. Of course, our dog Jake was excited to have me home again.

I think I expected I would feel better once I was home. What I didn't think about was the pain. The pain was a constant. Trying to sleep, I would wake in the middle of the night in pain. Lying down and sitting up were still my biggest challenges and the most painful activities. Even with my brace, which I removed at night to sleep and traded for a TLSO cloth brace, it was more pain than I can remember experiencing ever before.

Stephanie had acquired things that attempted to make my transition a bit easier. Things like tools to grab my socks with, because I couldn't bend, or the walker and side rails for the commode. The walker was challenging as I felt like I had to lift it slightly to turn, which I could not do. Everything was still painful. We knew that my healing would happen, slowly, but in time, I would, we hoped, be back to normal abilities and hopefully less (or no) pain. The adjustments I had to make in navigating around the house and taking care of daily routines were sometimes frustrating. Still, I remained hopeful that all would return to normal with enough time.

On doctor's orders, I couldn't ascend the stairs (12 steps) to get to our bedroom. So, I slept in the room just off the kitchen in the rented hospital bed. I was determined to follow all the instructions because I wanted to do everything possible to heal. There were some challenges; Jake was very good at laying where I needed to walk. He quickly learned that "Jake move" meant to get out of the way or get bumped into by the walker. I had to be careful not to lift the walker to get past him. There was absolutely no lifting permitted at all. It felt strange and scary when letting go of the walker to stand at the sink to wash up. The pain was waking me up at night still, sitting, standing, it all was painful. I had a group of pain meds, etc. that Stephanie organized by time so that I could take my pain meds at the scheduled times without worrying about taking the wrong thing or overdosing on something. It was, in a word, hard.

The Doctor

When they discharge you from the hospital, they require a treatment plan. We were instructed to make several doctor appointments, including a follow-up with the neurosurgeon who had initially treated me in the ER. We went about calling and scheduling, again, wanting to make sure we were doing all we could to follow the hospital's instructions. Our church believes in a "Spiritual and Natural Balance," so along with following those instructions, we continued to pray. I had several large bandages that had to be replaced due to blisters forming from the brace. Every evening, when we changed the bandages, Stephanie would pray over my back. We thanked God for life and asked for complete healing.

My first follow-up visit with the neurosurgeon was about a week after I had been discharged from the hospital. He took X-rays and explained we would be doing so before every visit to check for shifting of the vertebrae or other changes with my spine. The first set of x-rays showed my vertebrae, while crushed, were stable. He said he had no concerns about me meeting with a PT and explained that I had to be careful. Falling or injuring myself again could cause the vertebrae to shift. He was earnest when he said, "If you experience ANY numbness or tingling in your feet or legs, call us immediately." Nothing like the threat of paralysis to ensure you follow the doctor's orders.

The Physical Therapist

The next appointment we were required to schedule was with an outpatient PT. Our first PT visit was a week after the follow-up with the neurosurgeon. At this point, I was still in a full back brace, using a walker. The PT did a full assessment of my capabilities and pain level. He explained that there was little in the way of full therapy we could do until I had been removed from my TLSO brace. He observed me walking with my walker and had me stand with it, sit with it, and walk around a small track. I explained that I was unable to navigate our 12 steps to go upstairs, and that would be one of the things I would like to be able to do. He noted all of this and gave me some core strengthening exercises. I would need to do very gentle movements, but wearing the brace would weaken my core. Once my brace was removed, I would need those muscles to support my spine, so we would start there. He asked that we set weekly appointments so he could monitor my progress, and once I was cleared to remove the brace, we would be doing more challenging things. On my next visit, a week later, I explained I was still using the walker but not getting used to it. I still wanted to lift it to navigate around things, and it was awkward to use. I also shared that I had been trying to stand more, unassisted, trying things like helping Stephanie in the kitchen, standing to cut vegetables, etc. This tired me quickly, but it gave me a sense that I was returning to normal. Always, these were accompanied by pain. He noted all this and told me to keep working on the provided exercises. I seemed to be healing well.

The following week's visit, Stephanie purchased a cane. We were hopeful that the PT would approve of moving to something other than the walker. When I explained the struggle with the walker, he had me do a lap around the gym with it. He said, "It seems like the walker is just getting in your way." He agreed that moving to a cane would be a good idea. He seemed amazed that the accident had only occurred 1 month before and was impressed with my progress. He even had me test going up and down a few steps. I could navigate these, and he noted that if we felt comfortable, with Stephanie monitoring me, I could navigate up and down the stairs, never unattended. I felt fantastic! Within a month of the accident, I was able to make it upstairs to sleep in my own bed!! AND we joked that I had "graduated" to a cane. We left that appointment even more hopeful about God's healing. We could see it happening and understood it might be a slow process, but it was happening. But there was still the pain.

The Healing

Our church will occasionally have a guest pastor come and speak. We attend a non-denominal church, Center for Hope International Ministries, in Bloomington, IL. We believe in the gifts of the Spirit and that God is still healing miraculously. So, when our church hosted guest Pastor DJ Bagwell for a Miracle Service, we knew we would be attending. God does miracles every day (still), and we knew I could be healed. During our church's prayer call that morning, Pastor Bagwell dialed in to share he knew God had healing for someone. Later, our friend shared, "I prayed it would be John."

Stephanie and I went with an expectation that God would do something amazing. We could feel the presence of the Lord as we worshiped Him. Pastor Bagwell then explained he would be calling people up who wanted prayer for healing. He explained that there may be some who, as they lift their hands, feel heat. He called up people with back pain. I knew this was my time, and I made my way up, with many others to the altar. I lifted my hands in surrender to what God would do. I remember Pastor Bagwell saying, "This is not a show," trying to help us understand this is God, not him, doing the healing. I remember him praying for others beside me. I remember him saying that you may feel heat in the area of your injury or pain. He turned to me, and because I was in my TLSO brace, it was clear I had a back injury. I raised my hands, and when he started praying over me, I immediately felt that heat in my back. A feeling like I had never felt before, but I knew God was healing me. As Pastor Bagwell continued to pray, I felt unsteady. If you have been to this type of service, you see people often fall down, which, as we already know, would not have been an ideal thing for me to do. I was surrounded by men from our church, who, just in case, were there to ensure I didn't fall and reinjure myself. Pastor Bagwell continued to pray and, with one swipe of his hand, said, "I remove the spirit of death." That's really the last thing I remember in those next few seconds. I stumbled but didn't fall. I made my way back to Stephanie and joyfully said "I felt the heat!!! I am healed!!". We both were kind of stunned. Was it that simple?

The doctors had told me it would be a full year before I could expect to be healed and back to normal. The healing service was two months after the van accident. I was using a cane to help me balance when walking, and I was on a daily regimen of pain pills when I walked into the sanctuary that night. I walked out, still being obedient to use my cane, but my pain was gone.

After service, I was ecstatic. Pain-free. PAIN FREE!! I was thrilled with just that. The following PT appointment, I explained how my pain was gone and that I was doing really well. I was not struggling with balance, standing, or any daily movements. The PT was amazed at my progress. He assigned me a few more core exercises and released me from using my cane. We kept to bi-weekly visits until my doctor released me from wearing my TLSO rigid brace.

Each month, I went back to my neurosurgeon for an x-ray and a follow-up. He'd ask the same questions, and I would give the same answers. No pain, I'm doing well. Now, as I had mentioned earlier in Part one of this story. We were supposed to go on our church's marriage retreat to the Dominican Republic at the beginning of June. Because we were still only two months from the accident, the doctor advised I would need to come back, the day before our trip for another x-ray, but that I was cleared to travel. We'd plan to purchase an extra airplane seat because there's not much room with the rigid brace, and to be squeezed next to someone for 4 hours seemed like a bad idea. BUT I was going!! Just like Bishop told me I would!!!

At my next visit in June, the neurosurgeon asked how things were going and checked the X-rays. He, again, said everything looked good, and he was happy with how my pain had subsided, and the report from the PT was glowing. Continued progress, doing very well at more advanced tasks and improving in everything. With that, the doctor let me know that I would be transitioned out of my rigid brace and would, at hour increments, be wearing my cloth brace. Starting today. When flying, we asked, "I'm to wear the hard brace, right? Then switch once we arrive?" He explained that I would not need to travel with or wear my rigid brace again. I would be OK to travel with the cloth brace and increasing my time without it by an hour each day. By the end of the month, I could expect to no longer be wearing the cloth brace. We were stunned. We had fully expected to be traveling, needing the rigid brace, and being told it was no longer needed and I would be without any brace in a month was an unexpected gift.

The trip to the Dominican Republic was such a blessing. Just 3 months prior, I was in a hospital bed, unable to lift my head without excruciating pain. In June, I found myself at an all-inclusive resort looking at the ocean, and appreciative of how much God loves me.

As of this writing, we are a month away from the first anniversary of the accident. I am still without any pain in my back. I returned to work and have been able to resume all of my normal activities. Stephanie and I prayed that God would allow me to return to "normal". "Normal for me was that I used to have days when I would come home from work in the warehouse with soreness in my lower back. Since my healing, I no longer have those days. My back feels better than ever. God didn't bring me back to "normal"; he made me healed, whole, and better than I was before. Because he loves me that much.

Friends, if you have hung with us through these blogs, we would love to read your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know how my testimony has impacted you.

We can't close out this series without letting you know this; Regardless of what religious errors you have bumped into, regardless of the people who say they are Jesus followers and are unloving and uncaring, I urge you to understand people are flawed and broken, not Jesus.

Jesus loves you, not the way people love you, but unconditionally. You don't have to clean yourself up to come to him. You don't have to do anything other than surrender to Him. People have made salvation way more complicated than it is and added stipulations and criteria to salvation that are, frankly, nowhere in the Bible. So, we challenge you if you are impacted by this one story of God's love; if you don't take anything else away, please know God loves YOU. He wants to have a close relationship with YOU. He doesn't need you to pay him, he doesn't need you to clean up to come to him, he wants to love you.

If you tried everything else, how about you finally try the one thing that can truly make a difference? Accept Jesus as your savior and watch the miracles, signs, and wonders he will do in your life. And when he does, make sure you tell someone.

Prayer of Salvation

God, I admit I’ve gone my own direction and tried to do things my way instead of Yours. Because of my sin, I haven’t been able to have a real relationship with You. Please forgive me of my wrong choices. I’m tired of living without You. I believe You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to die as a payment for my sin and to bridge the gap between us. I believe You raised Jesus from the dead and, in doing so, conquered death forever. I confess there is no way to Heaven but through Your Son. Please take over in my life and help me follow You in every way. Amen!

Online Bible (start with the Gospel of John)

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