Divine Mercy Intercessory Prayer Ministry

February 9

Just passing along the thanks of prayers recently requested for our Lord's Divine Mercy for without them who knows how this could have ended with an 87-year-old mother suddenly hospitalized for pneumonia and influenza, which the flu shot did not prevent. Mom went next to rehab and has been on her way to recovering her strength and wellness. After several days without very good results, I kept asking God, saying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and "Jesus, I trust in You" to guide and lead me to find an answer. One night as I stayed with my mother still not doing well and increasingly exhibiting more troubling difficulties, I still begged He bless me with inspiration that would lead to an answer as to why and what to do for Mom — but, more importantly, for the medical staff to listen and take to heart my thoughts. It was nearly midnight, and finally it came to me like from "out of the blue": I felt that somehow I found the source of Mom's problems and in that moment knew it was sent from God "out of the blue." Now I prayed for His merciful blessings for the right words to convince the medical staff! It was then that I proposed to the nurse on duty that "possibly" (I had to make her think it was her idea) my mother was having an adverse reaction to one medication they started and that I had reservations about from the beginning. I shared with her my experience with Mom in a previous situation in which Mom had an adverse reaction to another med with similarities to what was being experienced now. That med had to be discontinued, and she's never to have it again. I "wondered" if this could be the same kind of situation or if it was a contraindication between it and another medication being given and the two were not compatible. When the nurse agreed this is a possibility and that she would discuss it with the next morning's shift, I suggested if this is the case it is the doctor who needs to address this: either removing the med from her intake, adjusting the dosage I had thought was too high in the first place, finding an alternative, or discovering which med might be contraindicated with this newer one that he and the pharmacy needed to figure this out. I said, "What is going on is not right. Something is wrong. And this can't continue, and it can't go on" since we had previously mentioned things to docs and nurses that we noticed more problems than the medication is supposed to solve. Later, after this prompted the nurse to go back into Mom's chart to review things, she told me that this is all now making sense as she goes back and pieces things together. She thinks I'm right. She said she would definitely talk to the doctor, and he'd address this. Needless to say, I left in the wee hours that night, but had I not stayed and been there that late on that particular night, we'd have had a much different outcome in every way. Thank God for this nurse listening to what I said, figuring out there's something definitely wrong, medication-wise. First thing in the morning, the doctor announced Mom was being taken off this med and that she was having an adverse reaction to it. It's now on the list as an allergy so that she is never given this medication again; along with the fact that he admitted to somehow missing in her chart that she has a hernia the size of her stomach that creates additional problems heretofore missed and ignored. The day they stopped that medication, addressing the issues now brought to light, was the first real day of her recovery. That changed everything. And I owe it all to our Lord's Divine Mercy. Our Lord's merciful goodness carried me/us through — that night in particular! Had God in His infinite mercy not blessed me with the right ideas and words to express, she may still be in a terrible mess, health-wise. So thank you for helping to pound on heaven's door and attain God's merciful attention and answer to the solution! He knows I trust in Him! There is an addendum to this story. Once I arrived home out-of –state, I shared Mom's status with a parish priest who knows Mom as a prior parishioner. He remarked, "What a beautiful story! But this nurse wasn't just listening to you; this nurse was listening to God through you." Now that was an aspect I had not realized till then, and it's humbling, and it strengthens even more my faith and belief and TRUST IN HIM! Blessings to all.

— Ginny P.