God's Tender Mercy
At two, Lucca was a happy and bright little boy. I kept him on Fridays and nicknamed him, "Sweetness."
But then came the headaches, screaming headaches, and problems with balance, speech, and breathing. The problem was diagnosed as Chiari malformation, a condition in which the brain grows faster than the skull. Lacking room, Lucca's brain was growing down the back of his neck. Within weeks he could be dead.
Surgery seemed the only solution. However, according to the Chiari Institute of New York, no child as young as Lucca had ever undergone the particular surgery required. Further, no child at any age had come through that surgery without lasting mental or physical impairment.
Time for prayer - desperate prayer: Lord, help this little boy. Please, Lord, please.
At the Sun City, Arizona, Church of the Nazarene, a collection of prayer warriors who have walked with the Lord so long that they know good stuff that one might not find in a thick textbook, prayed in public and in private.
The Glendale, Arizona, Church of the Nazarene prayed fervently. Though his own daughter was having major surgery and his wife was away caring for sick parents, Pastor Michael Page called on Lucca faithfully.
Pastor Debbie, from Lucca's preschool at Tempe, Arizona, First Church of the Nazarene (a school started by my cousin 35 years ago), also called on Lucca, and they saved his place even though there was a waiting list at the school.
At the Troy, Michigan, Nazarene Church, Grandmother Linda and Uncle Matt went forward in a healing service to "represent" Lucca. Aunt Shelly recruited Facebook "friends" to pray.
Then came the surgery day. Before Lucca was wheeled away I gave a picture of Jesus with little children to his mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother. At the bottom of the page I put two lines from Claire Cloninger's dedication hymn: "Good Shepherd, we give this little child into your loving hands, and in the days that lie ahead protect this little lamb."
The five-hour surgery was performed. Most of the top two vertebrae in Lucca's neck were removed, the back of his skull was opened, and the bone replaced with a cowhide patch. Some brain tissue was cut away.
And the surgery failed! The spinal fluid pressure was so great in Lucca's head that the patch began to leak.
Two weeks later the neurosurgeon, who said he was Jewish by ethnicity and Christian by choice, tried again. This time the patch did not leak. For 40 days and 40 nights Lucca fought for his life in Phoenix Children's Hospital.
Lucca's family stood by him. Mom took the day shift, Dad stayed all night each night and then went to work at 6:00 A.M. Great-grandparents, grandparents, and other family members came from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. For 40 days and 40 nights there was only one single hour when Lucca did not have family in the room with him.
After 40 days in intensive care, Lucca got to go home. Not surprisingly, after all that inactivity, he had to learn to walk again. And that he did in about 10 days. Now he runs and jumps and swims better than ever.
No cognitive damage either. He remembered everything: the words to "Jesus Loves Me," when to feed the quail, and the formula - twist and pull - for picking oranges and limes in great-grandpa's backyard.
Lucca passed his 30-day, post-surgery exam with flying colors. Christmas - who cared about presents? We had our little boy back. Who could ask for anything more?
On Sunday January 30, 2010, Grandmother Linda and I took Lucca to the Sunday night service at the Sun City Church. Lucca walked in holding my hand. The greeter asked in awe, "Might this be Lucca?!"
The sanctuary was crowded, as usual. I swooped up Lucca and walked across the front to some corner seats on the piano side. When Pastor Marion McKellips announced, "It is great to have Lucca here tonight" Lucca stood up on his grandmother's lap and shoved both fists in the air as though he had just won the NFL Super Bowl or the FIFA World Cup. The congregation burst into spontaneous applause.
At a Valentine banquet two weeks later our friend, Nelda, announced, "When we saw Wes bringing Lucca into the service the other night we knew we had witnessed a miracle."
She was right, of course. No child that young had ever survived this particular surgery without mental or physical impairment - until Lucca!
The neurosurgeon warns that as he grows up there could be health challenges yet to come. That's certainly possible. But now, we are rejoicing in the Lord.
Our family owes a debt to everyone who prayed for Lucca. But if you were to ask them, they would say, "Oh, it was not us, it was the tender mercy of our God."
They would be right, of course. As Luke 1:78-79b declares:
Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." (KJV)
Facing a trial as painful as 40 ICU days and as dark as 40 midnights? Do not be surprised if, through the tender mercy of our God, the Dayspring from on high brings you light and peace and even joy.
Wesley D. Tracy taught Christian preaching and adult education at Nazarene Theological Seminary. He also served as editor of the Herald of Holiness (precursor to Holiness Today) and the Preacher's Magazine.
Holiness Today, July/August 2012
Please note: This article was originally published in 2012. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
