My injuries included a concussion, bruised right eye, and damage from the back of the head, including shoulders, down the spine to my right hip. Needless to say I was in a great deal of pain. During the next few months I was examined by four different orthopedic doctors. The doctors performed many tests (including an arthritis profile), x-rays, myelogram, CT scans, nerve conductions, but in the end they were unable to help me.

Then I was sent to a neurosurgeon. All the tests were retaken and I was informed there was extensive damage. The surgeon could operate. He would make an incision from the skull to tail bone, insert two rigid bars, straighten the spinal cord, and separate all the vertebrae, moving them off my nerves and fastening them into place with screws. After all this the surgeon guaranteed not only would I still have the same amount of pain, but there was a 50% chance that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. So before operating, the neurosurgeon suggested we try medication, therapy, and nerve blocks. If this failed, then he would operate.

Since I'm allergic to morphine, he prescribed Hydrocodone, a highly addictive substitute. (I was on it for eight years. The drug is considered a downer, meaning it relaxes you.) I ended up taking pills for just about every function in my body including: kidneys, liver, and stomach.

I also had terrible pain from the nerves in my back. The nerves would cause spasms which would cause horrible headaches (lasting from six to eight hours). I would try to relieve the pain by wearing a neck collar to hold the weight of my head. Because of the intense pain, my eyeballs would literally ache and when the headaches were over I could hardly see.

While this happened, I was also receiving nerve blocks (twenty-five out of twenty-nine in my left shoulder). There was a nerve in my neck and shoulder that was pulling my left shoulder toward my head. The blocks would relax this nerve. The other four nerve blocks were used on my spinal column and hip. This affected the mobility in my arms; I couldn't lift them above my head. It was even difficult to lift a bag of groceries.

After eight years I received my last nerve block (for the shoulder) and was taken off the Hydrocodone and prescribed Oxycontin. During that time I went from using crutches to using walking sticks and finally walking without aide.

I was then re-evaluated by a neurosurgeon in Fargo, North Dakota (where we live now). After many of the same tests, I was again informed that my options were either to be operated on or increase medication. It seems that out of the thirty-one sets of nerves in the spinal column, twenty-seven sets were damaged, (over 90%).

My life and attitude were miserable. I ate nothing but oatmeal and dry toast. My body was not functioning well. One Saturday I began to pass blood and had to be taken to the hospital. There I received two to three liters of fluids and antibiotics. This was not the last time I would go to the hospital. In the midst of this, God began working on me and my attitude.

My wife made the suggestion that we visit my daughter, Joni, (and granddaughter) in Oklahoma. She was in a mission school and we thought we should see them while we could. (What my wife was actually saying is 'before you die we need to see them.)

We were in Oklahoma when my daughter invited us to go to a prayer meeting with her. It was very difficult for me to get in an out of vehicles so I didn't usually go many places, but I agreed to go.

Joni, along with many other people, had been praying for me for years. This time she asked specifically if the pastor offered a prayer for healing would I go down and let them pray for me. I agreed since nothing else seemed to be working. Before we left, she asked the lady upstairs to come down and explain what would happen.

Right away this woman asked three questions: if I had ever been saved; had I ever turned my life over to Christ; and had I ever been baptized (fully immersed). I answered yes to all three.

Then she asked if I believed in miracles and I answered yes. After that she wanted me to give an example of one, so that she could be sure we were talking about the same thing. (A lot of people think they know what a miracle is, but they don't.)

I told her about what happened to my middle daughter when she was nine years old. She had a wart on her heel. It was so large; I had to cut out the heel of her shoe so she could wear it. She walked on her toes because of it and it had affected her running and jumping. We took her to our family doctor and he cut it off. When she went back to have it checked, the doctor thought it was growing back and it would have to be cut again. My daughter cried and insisted she would not let him cut it again. When we told her it might have to be done, she decided to pray about it and ask God to heal it. So that is what she did and God healed it. She has never had a problem since. The lady agreed that qualified.

After agreeing that qualified, the lady explained that when Christ died on the cross that He died for our sins. The stripes He bore when going to the cross (the beatings He had taken) were for our healing; physically, mentally, and spiritually. I understood that but I wanted to know if this meant that I should hope to be healed. She explained that if a person hoped to be healed it would always be in front of you and you would never reach it. Because hope is for the future and we are asking God for the now.

The difference is you begin thanking God immediately and accepting (living) it. As she told me, when they pray for me and I walk out of the building feeling the same as when I walked in, I couldn't throw my hands up and say it doesn't work. Your doubt will fail you. You must believe and it will happen.

That night we went to a prayer meeting. We had sung two songs when the preacher asked if anyone needed prayer for anything (including healing). I raised my hand and about twenty-five people gathered around. A man asked where I hurt and put his hand on my back. Then we all prayed. I felt wonderful (uplifted) but still the same physically.

The preacher then invited anyone who wanted to be saved, baptized, or healed to come forward. I went with about 150 others to the alter. The pastor asked for people who knew they were in good standing with the Lord to come and pray. Now there were ten to twelve rows of people. Everyone was praying. My glasses fogged up. As I took them off, I looked at the corner above my head. It looked hazy. I believe the prayers were going up.

As we left, my daughter introduced me to the pastor, Billy Joe Daughtery. She explained that I had gone down for healing. The man put his hand on my left shoulder, bowed his head, and said a prayer. I thanked him, shook his hand, and left. Nothing seemed different.

I was about thirty-five steps outside the door when I felt someone reach up and pinch me on the left shoulder near my neck. I looked around but there wasn't anyone close enough. I kept walking and a few steps later I felt another pinch, only lower. I was pinched three or four times more and then once or twice on the arm.

By the time we got back to the house it was late (about 11:00 p.m.) and my shoulder was tingling. I went to bed and lay there talking to the Lord until I fell asleep, my shoulder finally numb.

I woke up at 9:00 a.m. It was the first time in ten years that I had slept for more than two or three hours at a time (because of the pain and medication). I went down to the kitchen where breakfast and a note waited for me. My shoulder was completely numb so I began talking to the Lord. As I sat there, it felt as if someone placed a 20 lb. weight on that shoulder and began to push. I dropped my left hand down. Then it felt as if a finger and thumb took my left wrist and began pulling it straight down. I was pulled until I was leaning over the stool, holding onto the counter with my right hand, and looking across the counter at eye level. My left hand was almost on the floor when He quit. As I sat up, both the weight and the numbness drifted away. I kept talking to the Lord.

My granddaughter likes to sneak up behind me and fluff my hair. I like her to do it, so I pretend not to and tell her, "Don't" and of course she will. As I was sitting, I felt someone touch me with a finger and a finger nail at the base of my neck above my left shoulder and an inch off my spinal column. I turned around to see who it was. As I turned, the finger moved and snapped. It burned, the same way a match will after it's been struck, blown out, and you grab the hot end. I didn't see anyone. I turned back to the counter, still talking, when it happened on the right side of my spinal column. I sat for a few seconds and then turned around. When I moved, it snapped again. I turned back around and kept talking with the Lord.

Then I decided not to move and held the edge of the counter with both hands, praying the whole time. Then in 30 second intervals, I felt a touch on the right side and then the left, an inch lower. This continued all down my spine, snapping and burning the whole way. I was so excited that I didn't get an accurate count, but think it was twenty-seven times.

I was still sitting on that stool in amazement when my wife, daughter, and granddaughter returned. Immediately my daughter wanted to know what had been happening. I wondered why she had thought something had happened and she told me I looked ten years younger. I told them what had happened and we had a time of prayer and praise there in the kitchen. The lady from upstairs came with her husband and joined us in prayer after I told them the news.

That afternoon, my middle daughter came in from Birmingham and asked if we could switch vehicles. She drove a Ranger pickup and I drove a van. It was impossible for me to ride or drive any small vehicle for any length of time, because it increased the pain in my back. This day I said, "Sure," and handed the keys over to my van. My wife wondered if I intended to fly.

The day we left, we had boxes of files, books, and other things in the back (to store for our youngest daughter). My wife asked about my pills, but I had decided not to take them. I did go back into the house and put them into a brown paper sack. I rolled that bag up, threw it into a cardboard box and that's the last time I saw them.

We left Tulsa and I drove to Iowa. When we stopped for the night, I was tired but not in pain. The next morning I drove to North Dakota. The total mileage is about 920 miles.

When we arrived home, I backed the pickup into a barn behind the house. I told my wife we would unload the truck and she suggested that she go down to the gas station and get help. Remember, I could not lift my hands over my head and the platform we wanted to put the boxes on was seven and a half feet tall. I insisted that she stand on the platform and push the boxes out of the way as I lifted them up. I lifted up the first box full of books above my head and shoved it onto the shelf. I unloaded the whole truck and guess what? No pain!

Now I know that Satan (Lucifer or whatever you want to call him) is going to attack as soon as he can. So from that morning on, I began getting up early to read the Bible and pray. In the beginning, my groin would feel as if a pin had been stuck in it. So I prayed that God would remove this and He did. It became lighter and lighter until it quit, (less than a minute).

A few days later, I woke up to find I was having trouble breathing. My right lung felt as if it had been kicked. I told my wife I might need to have it x-rayed, but she suggested that since the Lord had straightened my back, perhaps I should ask about my lung. So I went upstairs, lay down and prayed. I went to sleep, and when I woke, there was no more pain.

One more thing, I had been taking highly addictive pills for about ten years. The day I gave them up, I no longer needed them. The only withdrawal symptom I had was a little drainage going down my throat. It's amazing what the Lord can do for you. It would take hours to tell you all the wonderful things He has done. I'm the one who carries the groceries in now.

To this day, He continues to work on me, both body and soul. I found out He is always there no matter what. I asked a preacher what I should do about this story and he told me to enjoy it and tell about it. So one of the first people I told was my doctor. Then I told the neurosurgeon. He ran a few tests and informed me there was significant improvement in all areas.

It has been three years without pain or pills and I'm enjoying life. My wife thinks this has been the best two years of our life. I have been going all over the country sharing this to churches, groups, or individuals. I enjoy telling the story of what God has done in my life. If you would like me to come to your church or group, call me. If you will take the time to read III John: 2, you will understand why I feel that as your soul prospers, your health will prosper. For a little insight on faith, read the 11th Chapter of Hebrews. Thank You. Isn't God Great?!

SAVED by His GRACE - HEALED by His STRIPES!!

Wayne Short, P.O. Box 378, Aneta, ND 58212

(701)326-4181

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JESUS DID IT! and...

YOU ARE SO GREATLY NEEDED!

Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-21 is our assurance)