Wonderfully made... Psalm 139:14

In mid May, my 20 year-old nephew did what he’s been doing since he was 10. As a BMX biker, he biked over dirt jumps, complete with twists and turns. He had done a 360 in the past, but what he didn’t realize was his next 360 would totally change his life…at least for a while.
He landed wrong.
His leg suffered a compound fracture wound. With his bone exposed, friends assisted him as they called 911.
At the hospital, they flushed out the dirt from the wound and during surgery, put in a rod with pins to prompt healing in roughly 8 weeks. He thought the fall only stopped him from biking fun. Little did he know that it would stop him completely.
A week later, he felt ill…very ill. Through the tingling, he was finding it hard to breath. He was admitted into the hospital and doctors were perplexed by the symptoms as they worsened. After research and ICU observation, they realized they didn't have time to waste. On instinct, they ordered the antidote for wound botulism from the CDC that was delivered via helicopter from California. Only 6-7 people in the U.S. get wound botulism each year. Doctors and nurses had never seen a case like this in their practice. Made from horse serum, the antidote was administered to Patrick in the early hours of the morning, 3 days after coming back into the hospital. This stopped the nerve damage from spreading and saved his life…literally.
With a breathing machine operating his breaths, he couldn’t move or open his eyes. Little by little, he began to recover. 3 weeks later, he opened his eyes. His writing on white sheets of paper began to be more legible. Slowly, his movement came back.
Every small feat became a victory from touching his nose to coughing to speaking again. Even taking a small sip of water was amazing. 143 days between 4 hospitals was hard for him and hard to watch from the outside looking in. There were days I was mad at God…days I cried to God and days I praised God for small miracles. However, through it all, I knew God was in control even though I didn't totally understand why He was allowing this to happen. It bolstered my faith to see prayers answered in such detail.
Here's some of what I learned from dirt…..
1) Even the tiniest bit of dirt can mess up a situation....the doctors tried to flush out the wound, but the botulism was still there and it festered and grew until it overtook his body and almost killed him. There's a spiritual application in there...
2) Our very breath, either by machine or on our own, is God-given.
3) There is a 5-second rule when it comes to dirt; not sure I'll be using it from now on...
4) Don't get caught up in stuff. It's the simple things that bring true joy. 5) Family and friends matter. They can heal a situation faster than medicine sometimes.
6) To breathe, move, talk, eat and speak are all miracles we should never take for granted.
7) God pursues us. He desires a personal relationship with each of us and will do whatever it takes to get your attention. He also protects, heals and guides. He is an amazing Father who loves each of us.

There's plenty of other stories and lessons from this journey that maybe we'll detail one day. For now, I praise God for His love, faithfulness and healing. He is worthy of all praise!