Our Testimony

The miracles of love that have come from our Father, have been innumerable. My name is Theresa Summerlin, and my husbands name is David. We had both received Jesus Christ as our personal Savior in prior years, but never had a close relationship with Him. Through the many blessings and healings in the last six years, Jesus had indeed revealed to us exactly what His love meant.
It all started in 1995 when David was in a serious car accident. Being slammed by another car, five discs in Davids neck had ruptured. David had surgery thinking he was on his way to recuperating. Within a year David was back in the hospital for another extensive surgery. After sixteen hours the doctor finally came out to talk with us. The plate in Davids neck, from the first surgery, had broken off and was sitting on the spinal cord. David should have been a quadriplegic or even worse, dead.
In 1996 I started throwing up blood, landed in the hospital, and then diagnosed with Hepatitis C. After the shock of hearing I had an incurable disease that attacked the liver, I was put on some medication and returned to work. At that time, David and I owned a successful nursery and landscaping company . A few months passed and I started bleeding internally again. Not being able to stop the bleeding, I was put in the intensive care unit. The doctors said that with all the blood loss, I should be dead.
Complications arose. The doctors had told us my liver was backing up the blood flow that should be flowing through it normally. A Tips was then inserted in the large vein above the liver. The Tips was to bypass the excessive blood flow to the liver, and take the pressure off the liver, to stop the bleeding. Ten days in the intensive care unit had passed. The doctors came to my room and gave Dave and I what seemed to be the beginning of the end.
David and I were informed that the Hepatitis had taken over my liver and I had only two months to live. I cant tell you how that gripped our hearts with all kinds of emotions. Tears, anger, fear, and worry had all started to flow through us. Then we remembered, we have a loving Father who wants nothing but the best for His children not death.
David and I started praying. Friends, family, and several church members from all different churches started praying as well. Shands Hospital called and I was put on the transplant waiting list. Having only one-third of a liver left, and doctors looking grim, my liver had arrived!
During being prepped for my transplant surgery, an ultrasound was done. Doctors came to the surgery waiting room, and explained to David that the Tips had been inserted into the wrong place. It had to come out. There was a 99% chance, when removing the Tips, it could tear the vein that sends the blood flow to the new liver, and I could die. Once again Gods glory had shone brightly as the Tips came out within seconds! I was now dubbed as the miracle woman by doctors everywhere! Not only did I not die that day, the Lord had blessed me with another two years of life! Seeing Gods glory, we returned home from Shands Hospital in Gainsville, Florida, with a new look on life and a new relationship with our Savior.
Finally home and I was healing wonderfully. David had gotten to the point of being in intense pain almost everyday. He now had minimal strength in his left arm. Since David had been watching over me all the time, and still does, I told him he needed to get out of the house, it was Fathers Day and you need to go fishing with our son. While he was fishing, he fell out of the boat. Not only was David not strong enough to swim, he couldnt swim, and almost drowned. If God hadnt given our son Brandon, an added boost of adrenaline, David would be dead.
A year and a half had passed from my liver transplant, when I started feeling ill again. We headed back to Shands Hospital for my check up. On our arrival we found out I had developed scar tissue in the same vein the Tips was removed from, and back in surgery I went. The surgery went well, but for some reason while in ICU, I developed complications. My lung had collapsed and an infection started flowing in the blood stream.
Taking a turn for the worse, I ended up on life support for 34 days. When I finally became coherent, the doctors tried to wean me off the breathing machine three times, but to no avail. The doctors had decided to schedule surgery to put in a permanent Tracheotomy in my throat to help me breath. Deciding to try one more time to wean me off the machine, the Lords glory had shone once again. I breathed on my own with no machines or tubes!
God has shown us His miracles of love, not only through His healings, but through His financial provisions. You see David and I are both on Social Security disability that only totals a mere $800.00 a month, and Medicaid that pays for some prescriptions. Going from owning your own successful business, to a small disability check, you have to learn to trust in God for all your needs. There were so many instances where Gods glory had shone in our finances, but one in particular stands out in our minds.
A week before my last surgery to repair the vein, I had prayed to the Lord and asked Him to show me a sign to let me know if I should go through another dangerous surgery that could kill me. We had exhausted all our funds for traveling expenses and their was no housing available at the organ transplant apartments. David, not knowing I had prayed this prayer, came walking in from getting the mail with a total surprised look on his face. He said, youre not going to believe this, but I just received a credit card in the mail with a $1750.00 credit limit for no reason! I told him there was a reason and I was going to have my surgery.
David and I could go on and on with what God has done in our lives. He is a loving Savior that wants us to do one thing - Have a relationship with Him. For if you have a relationship with Him, you too can see His Miracles Of Love.