Parker - Miracle Man

Oh man, I can't believe I haven't shared this yet! Wait till you hear this. It's a long story, but trust me, it's worth it. My son, Max, has a friend whose name is Parker. Two years ago Parker had a trampoline accident that severely injured his neck. His mother took him to the hospital where they x-rayed him and put him in a neck brace for 10 days and said he'd be fine. For the next two years Parker was a very active guy - playing football, basketball, baseball, soccer, powerlifting; you name it Parker did it. He's a sports fanatic. About two months ago he began having lower back pain so his mom took him to the chiropractor. There he was x-rayed before treatment and the chiropractor told them he wasn't nearly as concerned about his back as he was about his neck. He told Parker to stop playing all sports and get to a specialist immediately. He showed them on the x-ray where his C1 and C2 in his neck were torn apart. The normal gap is 2mm but Parker's was measuring 5mm. Needless to say they did just as they were instructed and their worse fears were confirmed. Parker was told he would never play sports again. This injury was located above his vocal chords and if he ever had any kind of trauma to his neck again he would either die within 30 seconds or he'd be paralyzed from above his vocal chords down. They told him he really should be wearing a neck brace everytime he got in a car. This family was thrown into immediate fear. And it was so hard to believe. Parker looked great. He looked just fine. How do you tell a 13 year old boy to stop everything and be careful? How does he actually do that?

Well, the praying community here immediately started praying for Parker. I've been learning a lot lately about prayer and believing God can do what He says He can do. So, the day I found out about all this I called Parker over to my car and asked him if I could pray for him. He said without hesitation, "Yes, ma'am." So I laid my hand on his neck and said a simple prayer asking God to heal Parker's neck and to lead them to the doctor who would tell them the truth - that Parker would be able to play sports again. Then I went home and told Max he needed to pray for Parker. He came home a couple days later and said "Mom, I did what you said. I prayed for Parker today at the volleyball game. I laid my hand on his neck and prayed for God to heal him." Now I don't know about you but that took some boldness and courage on his part to walk up to a guy in the crowd at a volleyball game and lay his hands on him and just start praying. I was pretty proud of him. But I know it meant so much more to Parker. Parker's mom did the same thing. She was told by a guy she works with to lay her hands on his neck and ask God specifically what she wanted Him to do. And I really think we all believed God. I know I did.

Last Thursday Parker was in Lubbock meeting with a specialist that had taken an interest in his case through some mutual friends. I'm not sure of the connection. They did an MRI with dye. On Tuesday, October 18, Parker and his mom and dad had an appointment with this doctor to see what happens next. He walked in with a big grin on his face and told them it was gone. That simple. It was simply gone. The gap in Parker's neck was a normal 2mm. There was no sign of the trauma that had shown up in the x-rays 5 weeks prior. Did you hear that??? NO SIGN! He took 4 more x-rays just to be sure and read them right there. It was gone!! For precaution he wants Parker to do 8 weeks of physical therapy and come back to x-ray it one more time. But in the meanwhile Parker can play basketball now and football next year. Parker's thinking of taking up soccer again and he can't wait to play baseball. I wish you had seen his face when he came running out to my car Tuesday afternoon. He was beaming!! He was radiant! I asked him if he realized he had received a miracle from God and he said "Yes ma'am!!" I know Parker is going to glorify God in all he does for the rest of his days and I pray he has many opportunities to do so. My husband calls him "Miracle Man". The impact this giant act of God has had on a group of 7th and 8th grade boys in a small middle school in West Texas I believe will impact the world. Their coach asked them the other day who believes in miracles and who believes in the power of prayer. And he told them Parker's story. I can't wait to watch the ripples that go out from this big splash in our little pond. God is so good and today I continue to thank Him for Parker's miracle.