Healed from Deafness, Fibromyalgia and other Diseases

Rebecca - Abernethy, Scotland

Hi I’m Rebecca, and I would like to tell you how I got to know God and how He healed me.

First of all I would like to tell you a bit about my background. I grew up in Abernethy, a small town in Perthshire, Scotland, and at the age of 12, I became friends with a brother and sister who had moved in to the house up the lane from my parent’s home. Billy was the same age as me and Claudia was a year older. It turned out that they were enrolled at the same school that I went to, so we would hang out on the school bus and during break times. Shortly after getting to know them I found out that they were Christians, and my parents were not at all amused; they believed that they were part of a big cult. So my twin brother, my sisters, and myself were told not to “get involved”. We were not allowed to socialise with them, or any of the other neighbours that were part of the same “cult”.

Needless to say I still hung out with Claudia and Billy at school - I could not see a problem with them being Christians. I called myself a Christian: I used to go to church every Sunday with my Dad. Besides, they were my friends. I was not going to give them up just because of a religion or a belief. I was bullied a lot, I was depressed, I 'self harmed', I suffered from anorexia which later progressed to bulimia, and I had tried to commit suicide twice.  

Claudia was always there for me: for me she was an escape from the world. I can’t describe it but when I was with her, I could forget about all my problems and worries. I could relax and enjoy life: be happy. When I left school at 16, Claudia and I stayed in touch. However after a while the contact became less and less. By the time I was 19, I had moved out of my parents' place to live in Dunfermline in order to study to become a silversmith/jewellery designer, and I had lost all contact with Claudia.

At that time I was deaf in my right ear: I suffered from congenital sensory neural hearing loss. The doctors had discovered it when I was 4 years old, and by the time I was in my teens I had to start wearing a hearing aid. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia when I was 14, although I had suffered from it as well as many other health conditions for some time before. Some of these include: chronic fatigue syndrome, TMJD (jaw joint pain), epicondylitis (tennis elbow), patellofemoral syndrome (housemaid’s knee), irritable bowel syndrome, tinnitus, and rhinitis (I had problems with my nose and throat my glands were always swollen and my tonsils inflamed, which are symptoms of glandular fever; however, tests always came back negative).

So far I had managed to live with my health the way it was. It was always a struggle but somehow I still managed to go to school, go to work, and have a social life. But then, not long after moving to Dunfermline I became really sick. The pain became so severe, and the tiredness so overwhelming that I could hardly get out of bed. Soon it became impossible for me to live a normal life. The pain and tiredness became so debilitating that my studies suffered and I struggled to cope with my part time job. On top of this I had developed Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia, which is when an artery and a nerve lean on one another at the back of the brain; this caused such excruciating pain, it was as if I was being stabbed directly through my left ear into my head. Don’t get me wrong, there were occasional good days when I could go out for a small walk, however most of the time I was bed-ridden.

If you have suffered with any of these health conditions or similar ones you will understand the extreme pain and discomfort I was in all day, every day, without end. You will also know how frustrating it was not being able to do anything. To try and manage the pain I was going to the hospital for steroid injections. I was also taking many different types of strong painkillers and sedatives including tramadol (morphine based) and diazepam. Additionally, I was also taking strong anti-inflammatory drugs such as Arthrotec, which gave me stomach ulcers. With regards to the glossopharyngeal neuralgia, the doctors wanted to operate: opening up my skull and putting a tiny piece of cushion in between the artery and nerve in my brain. This was to try and eliminate the pain altogether, and there was an 80% chance that the operation would be a success.

By this stage I had lost all my ambitions, I felt trapped like I was slowly being cut off from the world: I did not have a social life anymore, I had to give up my studies, and my part time job, too. The doctors said I would never get better, only that the symptoms could eventually become stable, or get worse. I saw a psychologist because of the depression and desperation I was in. My daily thoughts consisted of “How can this be?” “What did I do to deserve this?” and “Is there any point anymore?” I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

When I was at my lowest, with permanent thoughts of suicide going through my mind, two ladies came to my door. When I answered they started talking about God. I had always believed in God, but somehow I didn’t want to hear what they had to say; mostly because I didn’t know them. They were complete strangers. How could I trust them and what they were saying? When they left, I broke down in tears. I knew what I had to do: I had to find out if God really exists. My next thoughts were: “Where is Claudia? How would I get back in touch with Claudia again?” because I knew through her I would get the answers to my questions.

The problem I faced was that I knew my parents would disapprove of me getting in touch with her because they were, and are, really against this so-called “cult” that she was in. I was scared of how they would react, I felt like I needed my parents because of my health. I did not want to fall out with them. So, in the end, after thinking it over for a couple of weeks, I decided it wouldn’t be worth the hassle.

I had to call my mum and ask her if I could go back home, I was so sick: I could not sleep, let alone look after myself or my flat anymore. My parents and my older sister drove through to Dunfermline to pick me up and take me back to their home. Mum said it was only temporary until I was fit enough to go back to my flat. A couple of weeks after being back in Abernethy, I was out for a walk down to the village to get out, and on my way back I saw Claudia! As you can imagine, I was so happy to see her, it had been so long since the last time.

From that day on Claudia and I stayed in touch regularly and I would see her from time to time. As we caught up, she began to learn of the various health problems I had been faced with, and one day invited me to a meeting to get me out of the house. I didn’t even know what a “meeting” was: I said yes, and I didn’t even think with whom? What? Why? Where? When? How? I had already agreed before even thinking about it. Somehow it wasn’t necessary to ask any questions: it was more necessary just to go. I didn’t tell my parents where I was going, I just went.

It turns out that a “meeting” is when a group of people from a Christian church gather together at someone’s home to have a time of fellowship, talk about the Word of God, and sing songs. The meeting was unique, and I somehow clicked with the people that I met, although I had never seen them before. To me it was a sanctuary: I felt like I belonged there, there was something special about it (JOHN 13:35), and I didn’t want to leave.

The following weeks Claudia had invited me back to more meetings. I wanted to go; however I was too sick and completely exhausted from the pain. Then one Wednesday I felt like I had more energy than normal, and I was fit enough to go to a meeting. This time I decided to tell my parents where I was going. They were shocked and totally unhappy about my decision, but they did not stop me. They only cautioned me, and my mum said very sarcastically that the people would try to claim that they can heal me.

At the meeting the first thing they said was that they were going to have a healing session, and I was a bit apprehensive because of what my mum had just said. I didn’t know anything about healing, especially Gods healing. So they showed me scriptures from the Bible like MARK 16:15-20, ISAIAH 53:5, MATTHEW 4:23, and HEBREWS 13:8 and explained them. I sat and watched as people were prayed for, and the offer was there for me, too. I could ask to be healed if I wanted to, and I had a debate going on in my mind with the negative comments my mum had just made. Then I made the decision to go for it realising I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I had cried so many times for the pain to go away. Still this was a big step because after suffering from something for so long it becomes a part of you, and to lose it would be like losing a limb.

So I took the step, asked them to pray specifically for the Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia that I suffered from. They laid hands on me and prayed in Jesus’ name (MARK 16:18). Afterwards I was still in pain. It still felt as if I was being stabbed through my ear. It was all a bit confusing, because I really wanted it to work, but at the same time had the caution from my parents going through my mind. What should I think? Is God really real? Anyway, we all had some drinks and snacks and chatted for a while, and I felt like I was getting to know the people better. That evening, as we left, I stepped outside into the freezing cold, and just like that, the pain disappeared! Literally!! It was unbelievable; the pain was gone after 3 and half years of suffering every single day. I was so happy that I couldn’t stop laughing, and couldn’t stop telling Claudia that the pain was gone. The whole thing was totally amazing, and it was a miracle! I realised GOD IS REALLY REAL!! To this day, the pain has never come back.

The following Wednesday I told my parents that I was going to the meeting again, they said if I go to the meeting then I was not welcome in their house anymore (MATTHEW 10:35-36). I still went to the meeting; I had to get to know God. So I moved out of my parents and stayed with friends. That Friday I was invited to a prayer night, I went along to see what it was like. Not long after the prayer began I found myself looking at scriptures in the Bible (JOHN 3:5, ACTS 2:38-39) and saying that I would like to be baptised. We looked at some scriptures about receiving the Holy Spirit (ACTS 2:4, LUKE 11:13), and a few minutes later while seeking the Lord about it He filled me with the Holy Spirit and I started to speak in new tongues.

After my water baptism, they laid hands on me again and asked God to heal me completely, from the whole list of health problems I suffered with, including the deafness in my right ear. God healed me immediately, from everything! Straight after someone talked to me at my right side and I jumped because it was so loud, it even tickled. The whole right side of the world had become alive! I was no longer deaf, and I do not need to wear my hearing aid anymore. The Fibromyalgia has gone, and I didn’t suffer with the pain that I suffered with, and I was so full of energy that I just wanted to run and run and run. To top it all off that night, when I finally got to sleep, I slept like a baby. For the first time in a long time I managed to sleep. What a great miracle! Again, to this day I have not had problems with any of these health conditions, have not had to take any medication, and I have not even had to take a paracetamol. I have a job, I have a life, and all because God loves me, and He healed me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this testimony, and I hope it has helped you.

Love in Jesus Christ’s Name, Rebecca