“No matter how illogical life may appear, never give up hope and faith because those are the only things that can keep us sane. Our journey taught us that even the most brilliant minds cannot explain why certain events happen. They just do.”
This quote came from Alex and Nita Salamah, the parents of a young girl named Meera, who fought for her life against a disease called Pulmonary Hypertension. From the moment I met this wonderful family, I was so inspired by their strong belief that things don’t just happen. God has reasons for everything and those reasons are always purposeful and their lessons, always revealed.
Pulmonary Hypertension is a serious lung condition that affects the heart and is life-threatening to all of its victims. After Meera’s diagnosis and quick descent into critical condition, Nita and Alex did not lose faith.
“Nita quickly pressed the nurse’s button in the restroom and screamed her daughter’s name, over and over, before turning to God.
“Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem!” she prayed loudly. “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful,” Nita chanted, repeating this Muslim prayer…
“She’s going to be okay!” Nita insisted. Every ounce of her knew that Meera wasn’t going anywhere. She knew the doctors who said Meera would have brain damage if she survived at all were wrong. As a mother, she could not lose her daughter, and God knew it. He would not take her from them.
“Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem,” she repeated, and Alex looked down, his tears dripping to the floor, before he closed his eyes and got lost in his wife’s prayer.”
Again, they never lost faith. The excerpt above was taken from a moment in this family’s story where doctors had been performing CPR on Meera for more than 45 minutes. Once she was stable and hooked to a breathing machine, Alex turned to God’s helpers.
“I hope you can hear me,” Alex whispered into Meera’s ear. “If you can see the angels, they’re there to help.”
He could not bring himself to tell her to go with them. They were only there to comfort her. The pain he felt swelled in his throat. He paused, gained control, and continued.
“Squeeze my hand if you can see the angels,” he said.
Meera’s hand, small and fragile, gently squeezed. Alex looked to his wife with wide eyes, mouth opened.
“She squeezed my hand!”
Her brain was not damaged as doctors had predicted. A heavy current of excitement and fear flowed through him. The angels were there to guide her, but when Meera woke later that day, he knew she had chosen not to follow.
Meera’s condition continued to worsen until Alex and Nita were forced to make an impossible decision – keep her in the Dallas hospital they were in or transport her to New York to a specialist. Tormented by which decision was most likely to kill or save his daughter’s life, Alex was at a breaking point in the hospital waiting area when two unexpected people entered the room.
“I can’t do this,” Alex wept. “We need to decide to keep Meera here or transport her to New York, and we could lose her either way. I can’t do this. I don’t know how to make this decision.”
“Would you like us to pray together?” Mrs. Shuler asked, hugging Alex then looking at him through tears.
“Yes, please,” he managed, and they took one another’s hands and bowed their heads. “God, we pray for Meera, and we ask that you guide Alex and Nita,” Mr. Speck said. “Help Alex and his family make the right decision.”
Alex’s body warmed, his heart ached, and his mind cleared. He had his answer – get Meera to New York.
Once again, their prayers were answered and their daughter survived one of the riskiest aspects of her disease. God was there every step of the way, and they knew just where to look. This is what I learned from the Salamah family. Their faith was undying, unwavering. They turned to God for answers, comfort, and support, and they got it every single time. Wow, powerful stuff. And this last quote from Meera’s parents says it all: “Stay faithful and you will see how much hope is in this world, and it is awe-inspiring.”
Thank you so much for reading this post, stay faithful, and He will lead the way.
Sincerely,
Rachelle
