In the summer of 2012 while Ben and Amanda were in Hawaii for a work convention, Ben had an accident that shattered his right leg. They were 3,000 miles away from any support system facing a major health crisis, and the initial prognosis at the hospital was shocking and dire with words like “crippled” and “amputation” listed as possibilities. Ben compares the experience to having a bag of broken marbles burning in his ankle.
Upon their return to Massachusetts, they were transported by ambulance to their home and proceeded to rearrange their living space to accommodate Ben sleeping on the first floor. They met with a surgeon who specialized in pilon fractures, but the prognosis was not encouraging. The cartilage in Ben’s ankle joint was pronounced dead, and there would be a need to repair the injury with screws and a metal plate as the bone was just in too many pieces to be put back together. He would need cartilage grafting to try to save the joint, but the doctor was not hopeful. Ben and Amanda left the pre-op appointment with the words “he will probably never walk unassisted again” ringing in their ears.
As they awaited the surgery date, they were visited by Pastor Don and Jason Poole, one of Lifesong’s elders, and they laid hands on Ben and prayed with him. They were also visited by Tim Moore, who shared his story of miraculous healing with his daughter Ellie. Tim took communion with Ben and Amanda and prayed over Ben in a way that neither of them had ever experienced. He spoke right to the joint, the bone, and the cartilage, commanding them to heal in the mighty name of Jesus. He also rebuked pain, and Amanda watched in amazement as the grim face of agony eased from Ben’s face. Tim continued to minister to them both over the coming days and weeks through text and phone calls, encouraging them to speak right to it – whatever it is, the pain, the joint, the cartilage – and command it to heal, declaring it as already done.
After surgery, there was a period of healing that included time in a wheelchair and rehab. However, Ben’s recovery was deemed “remarkable” by his doctor, and she could not explain why there was such little evidence of arthritis. Today he walks unassisted, has reclaimed his life, and has over 90% range of motion, and Ben and Amanda know that it was the healing power of prayer in Jesus’ name at the source their miracle.