Throughout 2024, the feature articles are devoted to hearing stories of God’s redemption within our Rosedale Network churches. We pray these stories fuel your love for the Lord and lead you to greater service in His Church.
~Kelsey Jurkovich, Publication & Literature Committee
God’s Preparation & Orchestration
Until a short, few months ago, we were severely uneducated on topics related to neurosurgery, emergency trauma units, Intensive Care Units, and trauma-related paralysis. We had no reason to know or care very much about the workings of hospital, emergency room, or ICU care. We were simply living our lives as dairy farmers—trying to discern God’s calling on our lives and the ways He was drawing us into a sanctifying relationship with Him.
All of that changed on November 1, 2023, around 10:30 am. Mitchell was at a doctor’s appointment, at which he had a simple blood draw done for routine lab work. As he was getting ready to leave, he passed out, hit the counter in front of him, and fell backward, hitting his head on the floor. He then had a two-minute-long seizure and became incoherent and combative with the staff. The staff at the doctor’s office quickly called 911 and he was transported by rescue squad to the nearest trauma unit at UPMC in Cumberland, Maryland.
Long story short, Mitchell sustained a skull fracture which severed a major artery surrounding his brain. Mitchell was hemorrhaging into the space between his skull and the membrane surrounding his brain. This created immense pressure on his brain, to the point that his brain was collapsing and beginning to shift. In less than an hour, he had pooled over 600 milliliters of blood (that’s over 2.5 cups). He was rushed into a 3+ hour surgery, where they performed an emergency craniotomy and placed a drain. He spent four days in the ICU and one day on the regular nursing floor.
It is easy to ask, “Why us? Why such a random, freak way of being injured?”
You may be questioning how this story connects to the idea of a “Redemption Story.” Redemption, by definition, is the action of being saved from sin, error, or evil, or the action of regaining something in exchange for payment. In our story, the clear line of events that had to be perfectly aligned to end as it did, point us to believing God orchestrated every part of what happened. It is easy to ask, “Why us? Why such a random, freak way of being injured?” Yet, we are starkly aware of how different our circumstances would be if God had not put every segment where it needed to be. Typically, Mitchell would have been life-flighted to WVU for this type of injury, but time was of the essence in saving his life. It would have taken too long to get him into surgery if he had been flown. The attending ER surgeon was semi-retired, but he “happened” to be working that shift and was the area’s best neurosurgeon. I received a message three days before the accident from a relative telling me, “God placed you guys on my heart to pray over tonight. Words that came to mind were peace, comfort, guidance, strength, wisdom, and ease of heart and mind in the upcoming week.” How could we deny that she was being prompted to pray for this very situation? We truly believe that God redeemed Mitchell from a certain death and was preparing our hearts and minds.
We come back to the, “Why, God?” As difficult as the beginning of November was for our family, we learned some impactful truths. We saw, firsthand, how the body of Christ, both near and far, comes together when God prompts them. Our family was the recipient of house cleaning, barn help, harvest help, child care, gifts of words of truth, cards, and messages. God gave us an incredible platform to proclaim His truths and mercy.
We have long held onto a quote from David Jeremiah: “A man of God in the will of God is immortal until His work is done.” We are thankful that God’s work is not done in Mitchell and that his story can be passed on to those who need redemption.
2 Responses
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story of God’s faithfulness. Such an encouragement to me this morning. 🌿
Beautiful!! Nay we all hear and be be blessed as we serve our King!