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