Vision Restored!
Teresa Harp
My trial began in January 1992, I was 28 years old, and it was about two weeks after my youngest daughter was born. I had started experiencing lots of pain and was very tired.
One morning as we were getting ready for church, my husband Dalton noticed that my eyes were crossed and took me to the hospital to have everything checked out. At the hospital they started running tests. At first, they thought it was Multiple Sclerosis but then determined it was something else.
The hospital ended up referring me to Dr. Smith at Swedish Medical Center, a specialist in Seattle, Washington, USA. Dalton and I went to see Dr. Smith and he ran multiple tests on me. In March of 1992 I was told I had Myasthenia Gravis Disease. I was told that due to this disease, I would not see my daughter’s 1st birthday. At this time Dalton was 31, I was 29 and we had seven children. My youngest was only three months old at the time.
In addition to this devastating news, I was in constant pain all over my body, which was very intense in my chest and heart area. The disease caused my nerves to contract the muscles in my entire body. Dr. Smith told me not to go outside anymore because the sun would make it worse; this was very hard on me. He also recommended I get a nurse and bring in someone to assist me in bathing. There were so many other things offered and recommended to help me.
We did not tell anyone what I was going through at that time. However, some of my children were aware but had limited knowledge as to the extent of the situation. At the next church service, I asked Dalton if we could go up and have the ministers agree with us that I was healed, so we did. We did not ask that God would heal me, but we asked for agreement in prayer that I was healed! The ministers laid hands on me and all prayed in agreement that I was healed. Dalton and I went up only once for prayer and claimed my healing in faith.
- Mark 16:17-18 - Jesus said that believers would lay their hands on the sick and they would recover.
Dr. Smith decided to try some experimental medicine on me to help. He told me it was very strong, so only take 1/8th of a pill. We were very appreciative of it, but one morning I noticed that my hair was falling out. When I told Dalton he said we should call Paul Naber as he is a pharmacist, and he would be able to tell us more about the medication.
Brother Paul was one of the first people that knew I had Myasthenia Gravis disease. He informed us the medication I was taking was just an experimental medication. Dalton asked me if I wanted to keep taking it. He said he would stand with me with whatever I decided to do. My decision was to flush it down the toilet. Every day seemed like a trial, but I kept trusting in the Lord.
My eyes were crossed, and each eye had different issues. All the colors were very bold in my right eye, and in my left eye every color was pale. My vision was also like seeing two or three negatives on top of the other. In addition to the vision issues my hands and legs were numb and painful. I would also lose muscle control and drop things. My entire body was in constant pain, and I was unable to get any relief from it even though I was on two different pain medications every two hours.
If it wasn’t for my closest friends Sally Powell (Dodds), Holly Smouse, Charity Bucholtz and other Sisters who would bring me dinners and help me with my children, I do not know how I would have managed.
I remember Mother’s Day 1992; Sally stayed all night with us to help me get the children ready for church. She made me waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. That was the first time I had ever had that, and it was a wonderful treat. We went to church that day and came home. Dalton had written me a song for Mother’s Day as well!
In addition to Myasthenia Gravis Disease, in June of 1992 I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer and was secluded for a hysterectomy. They did two surgeries on me within 8 hours, and it was so hard to keep believing and holding on.
The government office of Social Security offered a disability of $1,900.00 per month for the rest of my life. I just needed to sign the paperwork they sent to me to make it official. But I told Dalton, I felt like if I sign the papers, I will be signing for the disease and I believed I did not have the disease. Dalton said, “Honey, I will stand with you.” Dalton was always very encouraging and supportive. I don’t think he ever let me know how worried he really was.
Everything just seemed to get worse and there were times I could not even go to church. I needed more and more help. But in March of 1993 everything changed.
It was a Sunday morning, and we went to church as normal. We sat in the balcony area further away because I was embarrassed of my eyes, and it seemed like it was hard for people to look at me because it made them feel uncomfortable. At this time our church was in Cloverdale Bibleway in Cloverdale, B.C. Canada.
Dalton and I were sitting on the balcony with the children, and Dalton went down to sing a special song, as he was asked if he would sing. The song he chose to sing was, God Would Bankrupt Heaven to Meet My Need, by Teddy Huffam & the Gems. One verse in the song was, “If I need healing, oh His touch makes pain flea. And He’ll hold back the hands of death and give more life to me.”
Dalton said while he was singing this, he just held me in his heart as he sang. As he was singing, I started getting dizzy and noticed my eyes seemed to be doing funny things. I suddenly realized God was manifesting what I had been believing in Him for. My eyes were straight and my pain was completely gone!
When Dalton came up to sit down beside me, he just put his head down. I leaned over and I told him God healed me. He looked at me and told me my eyes were just as straight as they ever were. In addition to my eyes being straight and my vision corrected, all of the constant pain in my eyes and all over my body, from the Myasthenia Gravis Disease, had completely vanished. I never had to take pain medicine for that ever again. Nor did I go through a single withdrawal from the pain medication. Glory to our God! The next week in service Dalton sang, “When Believing is Believing”!
It has been many years since then and Olivia, our youngest daughter, turned 32 in Dec 2023. Praise God I am healed to talk about His grace and healing power. There are so many things in our life and our families lives that God has done for us. We could write a book on what God did for us even before we came into the message, and the ways in which He moved our home and guided us to be introduced to this message of His.
I know my God loves my family. He is so amazing!
