The Lord Who Heals You

". . . for I am the Lord who heals you." —Ex 15:26

Today my thoughts are with injured heroes—one in particular. I saw a link to a site about a young man named Eddie Ryan, and his parents' thoughts captured there just inspire me. This young man was shot in the head a number of times, and he was not expected to live . . . these are his dad Chris's words about that day.

"Dr. Jackson in Germany told us he didn’t expect Eddie to live and to prepare for that outcome. At that time, they also asked if we would consider donating his organs. All I did was sit by Eddie’s bedside morning till night watching the life support go up and down praying to God to let him live. By the third day, the doctor said if the miracle does happen and he does survive, he will not recognize you or your wife, his bedroom or his dog. We prayed to Jesus and in my darkest hour the verse I said to myself over and over was Psalm 50:15 “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." To the doctors report I would repeat the words of Matthew 19:26 "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

And their prayers are being answered day by day:

"Today, Eddie is in Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, NY, he’s up to 193 lbs!! His condition today is evident in the pictures on this web site, you can see his muscles coming back in his arms, chest and neck. He is able to sit up in his wheel chair and has full use of his left arm. In his right arm he has limited use, his legs move but he is not walking yet, however, they stood him up yesterday in ½ hour increments with a total of 1/½ hours!! As for him not remembering us, God answered our prayers, that was definitely our main prayer after asking God for his life. Eddie has full memory and knows the person of everyone who comes to visit him that he knew before. We talk about his childhood and he remembers it all, he has a sense of humor and his sister Felicia makes him laugh all the time. His speech is limited, at this point but he is starting to say complete sentences and initiating thoughts."

How is that for amazing? Go check out Eddie's site, and see if you feel like making a donation. At the very least, send him a card and thank him for his service to our nation:

Sgt. Eddie Ryan
207 Wintish Rd
Ellenville, NY 12428

On a slightly related note . . . I've been busy this evening sorting and packing cards for yet another shipment—all the folks who send me cards are amazingly prolific, thank you all!! If you'd like to join us and send some, read this thread for more information. I received another letter from a soldier who just received her first shipment:

On behalf of the Marines here in supply, I would like to say thank you . . . I never thought of having cards sent but they came in handy! All of the Marines are putting them to use. Please express our gratitude to all involved! —SSgt M.T.

This last photo shows the sorted ziplocs ready to pack into the boxes and make their way to the battlfield!