Dora sent us the following testimonies:

At the beginning of this year my father fell twice within a short period in his house. He could not remember what happened. His doctor thought it was a small tia (transient ischemic attack), a short interruption of the bloodstream in the brain). The blood analysis showed alarming levels due to increased thrombosis. He was rushed to “Gasthuisberg” (Leuven’s University Hospital) where they diagnosed him with pneumonia, four ulcers and 4th grade inflammation of the esophagus. They started antibiotics. At first my daddy seemed to recover slowly, but he kept complaining about unexplainable headaches. We had to celebrate his 91st birthday in hospital.

At the beginning of February he was brought to Pellenberg for further recovery.
He really wanted to go back to his house and was willing to work hard for it.
And even though it seemed that the situation was progressing, he suddenly suffered fever again. Diagnosis; again pneumonia. Two new antibiotic treatments were started and tested, but without success; fever increased.

One Saturday afternoon towards the end of February a doctor was waiting for me with the message that my father was going to be put in an isolated room. The photo of his affected lungs revealed that he might have tuberculosis; it had to be confirmed it was not contagious. This was totally unexpected news to which none of us knew how to cope with. A phone call to Ann that evening gave me rest; we should not worry and keep on trusting. After a week the diagnosis was confirmed: tuberculosis in the blood, not contagious but lethal if not treated. There was only one possible option: the heavy tuberculosis treatment (similar to chemo) that would take at least 6 to 9 months and that had little perspective for someone of my father’s age.
I told Ann about it and she passed me the prayer card “The Lord is my healer” for my father.
"I am the Lord that heals you."

My father was brought to Gasthuisberg once again and the treatment began. The disease struck my father hard and it turned out that the side effects of the treatment were very heavy. He needed about 22 pills a day. My father’s condition was worsening visibly. He could just take a few steps and needed oxygen 24 hours a day. They put him in a chair just one hour a day; he got more and more confused; he became incontinent and could only eat a little bit. There was little hope for improvement. We kept on visiting him daily. In the evening I would only pray the title of the prayer card with him. He responded: “from whom else should I expect it?"
After three weeks his blood values showed signs of slight improvement. According to the hospital the situation was so stabilized that he had to leave. The search for a nursing home was urgent, but that is easier said than done these days. I decided to put this situation in the prayer box. The hospital’s social worker hospital contacted “WZC Ter Vlierbeke”, our preferred nursing home that was close to where my father and we live. It turned out that there were three hundred people on the waiting list, a direct placement was impossible.

We were referred to nursing home “WEC” in Wilsele. It turned out that he was top three on the waiting list for this home as it takes the “Katz scale into account, a scale that indicates how much care a person needs. The one that is ranked highest on the Katz scale comes first on the list.
There was a chance for a quick committal but the social worker requested a clear commitment from our side. The choice would be final; changing nursing homes later was not an option.
We decided to be honest and told her about our preference for the nursing home in our neighborhood, despite the long waiting list. She promised to personally contact her colleague in “Ter vlierbeke”.

Only a few days later we were invited to “Ter Vlierbeke” for a conversation and my father’s application was immediately approved. One and a half week later he was transferred. What a great miracle; we were very glad to have him nearby!

Yet the adjustment did not go smoothly for my dad. He became even more confused because of the move; the incontinence got worse; he fell out of bed three times. Moreover, communicating with him became more difficult and he had to switch to blended food.
Praying together was not possible anymore. But his physical condition slowly improved.

Ann suggested visiting my dad. He happened to be very alert that day. She told him about psalm 92 and the promise to which he may look forward to. "Good people are like high trees, who keep giving their fruit even when they are old. Their leaves remain green and fresh". It instantly gave him the strength to get up and go for a walk.

My father now started to recover quickly. Walking in the nearby park goes smooth again with the help of a walker and his appetite came back (the nurse told us he eats up to five sandwiches per evening without any problem). On top of that he is no longer incontinent! The confusion is at times still there but also here we see improvement.
At Pentecost my father, my sister and I enjoyed a pleasant game of Rummikub in the cafeteria. That really was a moment of deep happiness. Afterwards my sister got him some chips from the fair. He ate them very tastefully.

On a Friday night towards the end of May we got suddenly informed by the nursing home that they had found my father on the floor and that he was immediately rushed to the emergency unit of Gasthuisberg. He could not remember anything of what had happened. The saturation in his blood was very low. Administering oxygen brought immediate improvement and all further tests were reassuring.

The next morning the hospital called to inform us he had suffered a small heart attack during the night. They were planning to do a catheterization. It was an intense weekend at the emergency unit, but at the end they decided not to do a catheterization. The risks were too high because of his age and his weakened condition due to the tuberculosis. He was brought to the cardiac intensive care unit.

On Monday evening they wanted to move him to another ward. I pleaded not to do it in order to prevent a new period of confusion for my dad. When asking the reason for the planned move, I was told that he was the best patient on the unit and that they needed the room.
Tuesday he was brought back to the nursing home where he could further recover. From that moment onwards the medication for tuberculosis has been halved. He is doing well again. God keeps on taking faithfully care for my father, and we thankfully look forward to many more beautiful days together.

I also have a beautiful testimony about my mother-in-law. After falling at night time in the nursing home she had a large open leg wound. It got infected so severely to the extent that surgery was needed. The dermatologist spoke about a huge change for an amputation; the whole family believed it. I put the situation in the prayer box and prayed Isaiah 58: "your wound will close rapidly." I had to pray this prayer for a long time, from December till Eastern, but finally no trace of infection can be found anymore.... God is good, He is true, and in Him there is no inequity.