My name is Desmond, and I have been married to Lisa for 8 years. Since the kids came along, my wife and I did not have much couple time to ourselves as work and family have always taken priority. In March this year, we took a long-awaited and much-needed couple retreat and went snowboarding in Niseko, Japan.
We had a great time skiing and spending quality time together as skiing conditions were perfect. The view from the top of the mountain was truly magnificent. However, what happened on the fifth and final day of our trip shook our world. I left her for a brief time to get our camera to capture our memories but returned to find her injured. She had tripped and hit her head while skiing.
The ski patrol removed her skiing gear and Lisa was screaming that her head was hurting. She began throwing up and then, she lost consciousness.
Efforts to awaken Lisa were futile and she lost her pulse. The paramedics were called, and the ambulance came. I stood there helplessly watching the medics perform defibrillation on Lisa’s lifeless body and my mind went blank.
I knew her life was on the line and made a few emergency calls to Singapore. Family and friends started to pray, and they activated many others to pray alongside us. At that point of time, I found my mind filled with thoughts of doubt, anger, regret and guilt – all flooding in at the same time. Why did God allow this to happen? Why us? Why now?
We were rushed to the nearest medical facility – Kutchan Hospital, where Lisa’s condition was stabilised. However, because this was a small hospital that could not handle such a major trauma, doctors decided to transfer her to Otaru General Hospital. Scans showed a shift of her brain and massive bleeding in her head. According to the doctors, it was a long journey and Lisa might not survive the transfer, given her current state. But that was the best shot we had.
During the whole time, the Body of Christ was praying and interceding, and many people were sending me words of encouragement. It was a time of great confusion and fear. I was all alone in a foreign land, with very little understanding of the local language. All I could do was pray.
My prayer was simple and desperate – God, please give us a second chance! I had so many things I needed to tell Lisa. I did not want God to take her away just yet. We had two beautiful kids waiting for us back home and she had just told me how she had wanted to watch them grow up and get married.
In the midst of all the darkness, God gave me a glimmer of light.
Once we arrived at Otaru Hospital, Lisa was rushed to the Emergency Room where doctors performed further scans. To make matters worse, they discovered that her liver had ruptured, and she only had a 50% chance of surviving the second operation. Even then, they could not perform the operation immediately to stop the bleeding as the neurosurgeon was working on the bleeding in her brain.
Two hours later, the neurosurgeon came out and said he had successfully removed the clot in Lisa’s brain, but the next few days were critical as he needed to monitor her condition for infection, bleeding and brain damage.
In the midst of all the darkness, God gave me a glimmer of light.
I believe it was the result of all the fervent and faithful prayers that were being made by the Body of Christ.
Lisa was to go in for a second surgery to operate on her ruptured liver, but in the end, no operation was needed as it had healed by itself! I couldn’t be more thankful to God for that piece of good news! I believe it was the result of all the fervent and faithful prayers that were being made by the Body of Christ.
I could sense their love even though I was so far away from home. Our friends were taking turns to bring our kids, Asher and Faith out, and our parents were pillars of support and strength.
While Lisa remained under sedation for the next few days. I stayed constantly by her side during that time, talking to her, even though she could not respond. It dawned on me that I had spoken to her more in those two weeks as she lay on the hospital bed, than I have in our 8 years of marriage put together!
It was a slow and painful recovery, but Lisa was a fighter. Her doctors were very surprised with the rate of her recovery, given the amount of damage done to the brain. Over the days, she was gradually taken off life support and was able to breathe on her own. The surgery to fix her skull back was a great success. Lisa was finally discharged on 11th May, just 1.5 months after we came back from Japan.
Our family bond has grown stronger and even our kids have grown closer to God. They pray every night, crying out for their mother to be healed. They dream of her walking, talking and playing with them.
Lisa’s faith has grown like never been before. She’s still in the process of a full recovery, but we know God has done something deep and precious in her life and ours. God is resetting our hearts to realign ourselves to each other and to Him. He is a God of miracles and if you ask me, He is truly a God of the Second Chance!
Recounted by Desmond Goh