We needed a miracle

Doctors said James shouldn’t be alive, but thanks to a miracle when his heart, lungs and kidneys were failing, he is here to tell the story of God’s healing power.

James had been feeling breathless for a month. GPs put it down to a chest infection or early-onset dementia, but he and his wife Amy were convinced it was more serious.

Their persistence seeking answers paid off when James had a chest X-ray. But then their world turned upside down.

“The doctor said we had to go to A&E immediately. The X-ray showed James had pneumonia and fluid on his lungs. They suspected a blood clot too,” says Amy.

“He had a CT scan the next day and within half an hour we were surrounded by five cardiologists asking about his heart. We were confused and asked about his lungs.

“‘No,’ they said. ‘His aorta is split in two.’”

Aortic dissection is a life-or-death situation, explains Amy. Fifty per cent of people with the condition die immediately, and of those still alive after 48 hours, 50 per cent do not survive.

Open-heart surgery

At Glenfield Hospital in Leicester near their home close to Melton Mowbray, James was rushed in for open-heart surgery. Not believing he would survive, he told Amy his funeral was paid for.

“We weren’t full of faith,” she says. “You hear about Christians who say, ‘We believe God will heal,’ but that wasn’t us at that point. We were in shock. James had pneumonia, fluid on his lungs and was overweight. We thought he was going to die.”

… story continues