A “40 Days” Miracle

About a month and a half ago I embarked, along with friends and family, on a dedicated 40 day journey of prayer for healing.  While I can’t claim a spontaneous remission, I do have one miracle to report, and as my photo suggests it involves coffee.

Prior to my illness, I can honestly say that coffee was one of my greatest loves.  A bit exaggerated maybe, but it was definitely what got me out of bed in the morning and made my day brighter. When our kids were small, my friend Julie and I would take the kids to the park a lot. Regardless of which park we chose, we always made the stop for Starbucks a priority. Having a coffee to sip on made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. 😉 Starbucks also became one of my favourite places when it was time to write report cards.  It offered everything I needed, background noise, no household distractions and of course, coffee.

When I received my ALS diagnosis I immediately did a bunch of research and sought the advice of two well respected naturopaths.  Among many other things, they recommended giving up coffee. Yikes! Seriously?  I begrudgingly complied, and replaced my beloved morning coffee with either turmeric or dandelion tea. Not the same! I managed to stick to the “no coffee diet” for 20 long months.  One day, one of my naturopaths here in Vancouver passed along some sage advice. “It’s better to eat a hotdog with a friend, than a kale salad with an enemy”.  Hmmm…interesting! Of course I needed to use this with respect to coffee. I really was beginning to regard my morning root tea as the enemy, while coffee remained my sweet, faithful friend.

Last August I decided to reunite with my morning coffee, albeit with a few modifications. Because I could no longer lift a cup to my mouth I needed to use a straw to drink. Also, instead of drinking my straight up, no cream, no sugar Americanos, I switched to lattes. I  was told that having milk with the coffee would be less damaging to my stomach.  So not only was I getting coffee again after almost two years, but a bit of dairy too.  All was great. I seriously noticed a shift in my mood, for the better and a renewed motivation for getting up in the morning. 🙂

About two weeks before the 40 days of prayer, I was unable to drink my morning latte. I just couldn’t get the strength to suck the liquid up the straw, and when I could manage to get the coffee, I would choke trying to swallow it. This was devastating to me. One more thing I loved taken away. I had not bothered getting a latte for about five days, and then about three days after the praying began, I got one. I could drink it! So I tried the next day, and the next, and the next. Success! It has now been about six weeks and I haven’t missed a day. Not only can I drink and swallow, but my strength has improved. It was taking me close to eight hours to finish a grande latte?!?  I would have to take at least ten minutes between each sip to rest the muscles in my mouth. Needless to say, I have acquired a taste for cold lattes.  I’m happy to report that I can now finish my latte in less than three hours. A huge improvement.

I know that this doesn’t seem like a miracle to most, but for me it is. I am truly grateful to have something I love back in my life. I am also thankful for my dear dad and husband who make sure that I have my Starbucks each day.  I am now praying that this miracle continues.

Blessings ❤️