a blessing

Well, this post is a little crazy, but I want to share with you a testimony that I gained from this experience. Sam and I have gotten into a habit of staying up late, and last night was no different. Oh, let me add that my day turned around after my depressing post. I went on a walk with Sam, and then we just had a really good time talking. Anyway, so it was 2 a.m. I thought, "I should definitely get to bed.." and had just finished up my geology homework.

I was going into my room, and when I walked through the kitchen, I saw my roommate Kira on the floor. Her friend Alicia was there with her, but Kira was doubled over. I went to my room, and then came back out to see if she was ok. Alicia told me Kira had called her; she was having trouble breathing and her heart was racing. Kira hadn't been able to yell for one of us at the time, so Alicia had come down from her upstairs apartment. By this time Kira was on the phone with her dad, and was talking very low and slow. She was taking deep breaths. Well, I went back to Sam's room, and just told her I thought Kira needed help, although I wasn't sure what we could do.

Sam and I came went back out, while Alicia kind of held Kira on the floor. She asked if she had a fever, so I went to grab my rooommate's thermometer (waking her up). Then, as soon as I had brought back the thermometer, Kira blacked out, stopped breathing, and fell backwards. Alicia was there luckily so she didn't hit her head on the tile. In this moment of panic and pure disbelief, Sam knew what to do. Her dad is a doctor, and she has been trained in CPR and knew to elevate her head, tilt her chin, open the airways, etc. Alicia was shaking as we all watched Kira begin to violently convulse. All I could think of was, "Get this girl a blessing" and I quickly thought of men I knew. Then, Alicia yelled for me to go upstairs and bang on James' door. I quickly did so as Sam called the ambulance. It was so scary because you could hear Kira's seizures from the opposite end of the floor above us. I banged on the door, and then James answered. I told him Kira was having a seizure, and he sprinted to our apartment.

This is when the blessing came. James administered a blessing, and as he did so, Kira calmed down. She was still convulsing, but it was lessened a great deal. By now all the roommates were awake, and I think we could all see the difference it had made. She was more calm after the blessing, although still struggling. Sam helped her as we waited for the ambulance. They came and were able to get her breathing better, and then she was taken in the ambulance to the hospital.

We all drove down after them, and that's the first time I think I've ever been to the hospital. As we sat in the waiting room, we talked about how lucky we were that Sam knew what to do, that Kira had gotten ahold of Alicia, and that James was able to give her a blessing.

After a while, we were able to go visit Kira. I haven't gotten along the best with her sometimes, but last night, I was so grateful that she was okay. Everyone was so worried about her, and we all realized how precious life is and good health. I'd never seen anything like that happen before. Kira was able to leave the hospital under the care of a family friend who was an RN to enable us to catch some sleep before our morning classes. We all came home around 4 a.m.

The whole thing was just a testimony builder for me. I'd never seen the immediate effects of someone giving a blessing to someone physically ill. After last night especially, there is no doubt in my mind that I know the Priesthood is a very real power. I'm so grateful that everything turned out okay last night, and that each of us had a special talent that was used to help Kira in her time of need.

Please pray for her as she recovers.

Cheri