Have Miracles Ceased...I Say Unto You, Nay

Alma 7:27-29
27Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

28For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

29And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.

Ever since I had surgery on my back, I have not been able to keep this scripture from running through my mind. I am so grateful that we do have the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today and that we do have the priesthood readily available to us and that there are faithful men that are willing and able to exercise this power in times of need. It's been awhile, but I thought I should write down this experience and also share it with family and friends. I do this because I believe that through this experience my testimony in Jesus Christ, in miracles, and in the priesthood has been greatly strengthened.

Around the end of September, I had surgery to have a lump removed from my back, it was large enough to take more time than doctors had anticipated, but it was removed successfully, examined and thankfully later reported free of cancerous material. I was shortly afterward sent home with prescriptions for pain and antibiotics. Not wanting to feel any pain whatsoever, my friend, Debi and I decided to stop first at the pharmacy. There I began feeling faint and began blacking out (only because it was taking them more than an hour to fill my prescriptions) and I ended up being rushed to the hospital mainly because the paramedics were worried that I had nerve damage, (although I told them all I needed was water,) and because I was saying things I wouldn't normally say. I had low blood pressure and I had many symptoms of nerve damage.
I remember everything, and I also remember feeling fearful that I might be in real danger because one of the paramedics told me that I had to go to the hospital (when I continued to protest against it) because there could be something seriously wrong due to the surgery and because of the depth, there could potentially be damaged nerves. I was later wheeled through a series of tests and measurements only to be told that I would need to have a second surgery immediately because my blood was not clotting. Once I heard this, (even though anyone who came to visit me would tell you I was completely out of it)I knew that all I needed was a blessing and that everything would be fine. I immediately told the nurses that I needed a blessing from someone in my church, they offered to get the priest that was in the building, I told them I needed someone from my church and demanded a phone and a phone book. All I could think of was that I needed to call Elder Patino and Elder Gibbons because I knew they would be able to give me a blessing. I had left my phone in the diaper bag I left with my visiting teacher who was watching Axel, so I didn't have anyone's number. I ended up making one phone call to our previous bishop and I was confident he would be able to reach the Elders and that they would be able to give me a blessing (I had previously yelled at all the nurses and told them not to tell Tod that I was in the hospital because he was at work and I didn't want him to have to be disrupted at work!) After I received that blessing from the Elders I felt at peace and knew that I would be fine during and after the surgery.
I guess after that I was able to finally let myself pass out or I'm sure the nurses gave me a bunch of sleeping pills so that they wouldn't have to listen to me anymore! All I remember is that I heard the doctor talking to Tod and telling him that I was ready to go home, so I thought I had slept through the second surgery, but then I heard the doctor say that they had run the tests again and everything was back to normal! I didn't expect such a miraculous outcome, I just knew Heavenly Father would take care of me, but I was also very relieved and grateful that I didn't have to go through another surgery! I am grateful for Elder Patino and Elder Gibbons and that they were willing and ready to utilize the power of God which they hold, even though (everyone tells me) I was acting like a crazy woman! Though I could and still can recall almost every thought and word I said to everyone that day, and almost everything that was going on around me, I know that time will eventually diminish those memories, but I can tell you that I will always remember that Heavenly Father does know me, He does listen to the prayers of his servants, and through the faith of those involved, He does perform great miracles. I exercised my faith and by doing so I can tell you that miracles do take place according to our faith and are wrought about through His willing and prepared servants...also known as the angels who are among us.