A 12-year-old Saskatchewan boy experienced a surprising and unprecedented reversal of potentially life-threatening brain disease, embarrassing doctors and increasing the trust of family and friends.
In an interview on May 26, Joe McCree said he had just taken his son Joel from Winnipeg to the countryside of Saskatchewan. The boy’s surgery scheduled the day before was not performed there.
“Doctors did double, triple and quadruple tests. This is a miracle,” McCrea told the Epoch Times.
Joel was suffering from an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). AVM is a tangle of blood vessels in the brain that can block blood flow and cause stroke and bleeding.
“Very rare, but unfortunately he was born with this,” McCrea explained. “The disease requires CT scans and MRI angiography every 6 months. It’s growing just to see if there are any arteries or tangled blood vessels.”
At the age of eight, Joel collapsed at home complaining that he was not feeling well. In 2018, he successfully operated on Winnipeg after spending 25 days in a hospital in Saskatoon. He continued regular scans until 2020, when the pandemic led to the distribution of scan services. When grade 7 went to school on October 1, he didn’t know that another AVM was being developed.
“He was playing at noon, but fell completely out of school and the children found him unconscious and lying down,” McLeah said. The boy was taken to the Saskatoon Children’s Hospital, 200 kilometers away.
“He was unconscious for two weeks. They were bleeding from his brain,” recalls McCrea. After four weeks of hospitalization, Joel returned home and the sequel needed for the 2018 surgery was postponed indefinitely.
“Since October last year, I’ve taken him to Winnipeg to perform this important surgery, delay it, and try to delay it. I’ve been fighting the government and MLA, but I’ve finally announced it,” McCrae said. Mr. says.
In February, I shared my story with Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson on Mark Friesen’s YouTube channel.the latter Raise over $ 11,000 At GoFundMe.com as McCrea considered going to St. Louis or Australia for surgery. But nothing went wrong.
A scan in Saskatoon in April confirmed the presence of AVM. Later that month, the scheduled surgery in Winnipeg was postponed again.
At this frustration, Joel’s grandmother, Evelyn Chrétien, spoke with her weekly prayer group about what was happening in her family.
“Joe was very ferocious. He was very upset because no one listened and no one made an appointment. So we got together and prayed about it. “That’s what Chrétien recalled in an interview.
“We all felt healed in prayer time, and the Lord said …’There is no more delay.'”
Chrétien sent an email to McRae. “I said …” There is no further delay. It will not be delayed again, it will happen. But I was not telling him about healing. “
On May 9th, McCrae and Joel went to the Northeast Christian Fellowship in Melfort. Reverend Paul Dubois senior said he was guided during the worship service by asking the church elders to talk to the congregation about how his sister healed after praying for her. I remembered what I felt.
“His sister … went to surgery and did a scan … and there was nothing wrong … they did some tests and she was completely healed,” Dubois said. I told the Times.
“We felt that God would do this for Joel, so we gathered around and some were praying for him, but we just believed it.”
“I can’t believe this”
When the surgery day arrived in Winnipeg on May 25, McCrea posted on Facebook: Joel is excited that this is all done. We are the same. Thank you for your prayers and support. It makes a lot of sense. The surgery will be all day long and will be updated as soon as details are available. “
However, two hours later, a staff member came to the waiting room and told McLea that the doctor wanted to see him. He immediately thought something was wrong, but the opposite was true.
“We really have the good news. It’s something we’ve never seen in a kid with an AVM like this,” he told his doctor.
“I’m really shocked that this happened. I did four angiographic scans of your son. Four of them. Why I did four. Because he did the first one … and there was nothing wrong with his brain, “McCrea continued.
“And [the doctor] He said, “This is crazy. Let’s look at another scan from a different angle. And he looked at the second one and said,” There’s nothing here yet. What’s wrong?’There He spoke to the nurse and said, “Are you sure there is a suitable patient here? Is this Joel McCrea’s file?”
They had the right patients.
“Then I’ll do it a third time from a different angle.” He said, “This is unbelievable. I checked it again and did nothing at all. The whole AVM heals. He Said, “I don’t know what else to talk about, but this is the best news I can hear from a doctor. Your son has no traces like him. Healed completely. “I’ll do angiography within a year, but until then, I don’t have to worry about anything,” he said.
Dubois remembers the phone call from McCrea that gave good news that day. “I started crying,” he said. “For me, it’s a deep miracle.”
The Bible defines faith as belief without seeing it. But as McCrea noticed, seeing is also belief.
“I know God can cure me, but this sounds so complicated that I can pray and give wisdom for the surgeon,” he said. “Still God wants to do what no one thinks is possible, and that’s what happened here …. In this crazy era we are, it’s [people] Faith, it gives them hope. “If God can do this for Joel, he can do this for me.”
Dubois states that God is the “ultimate setter” and Joel’s inspiring experience is the “tip of the iceberg” for life-changing.
“We have been isolated, withdrawn, and really discouraged for over a year, and we have dealt exponentially with so many people who got lost during COVID. “He said.
“They are traumatized. They are in need of miracles … So when I see something like this with Joel, for me it’s just part of what God wants. It’s not too much. “