Testimony——VIOLET 姐妹
I am a fairly new member of the church and I know that many of you here in this chapel do not know me. So let me start my testimony today by introducing myself. My name is violet, and I am a recent graduate from UT, currently searching for a job. Originally from Singapore, I have come to live and love this city. Today, I stand here because I would like to tell you my story and I appreciate all of you taking your time off, sitting here listen to this girl whine about her life. As a finance major, trust me when I say I really understand what ‘time is money’ means. Today, I will tell you about how I ended up right here, right now. So let’s rewind to October 2017, where my life was about to get much harder. It was my final semester as a student, and I was really stressed. mid terms, recruiting, social life, whatever you think a college student can be stressed about, I was stressed about. As an international student, getting a job or even interviews was so hard. They were precious and I appreciated every opportunity I received. But one day, as I was preparing for an interview, I had a headache. Maybe a really bad migraine, I thought to myself. Nothing a Tylenol cannot handle. I was wrong. Something that started off as a mild irritation became unbearable. I would have skipped class that day, and I previously had for reasons way less than this, but I had an interview that day. Each interview was a shimmer of hope to me and there was no way I would let that go to waste. So I put on my white shirt and black suit, and left for class. I dragged myself to class, feeling so bad I couldn’t eat and was feeling nauseous. So many times I had to run to the ladies, thinking I was about to vomit until I actually did. That was it. I had to skip my interview because no way was I going to attend an interview in this condition. I could barely walk and I had to call my boyfriend over to McCombs just to bring me home. Even on the way home I vomited again. Too much was too much and I knew I had to get to the hospital. So that very night, after making a sudden call to uncle eric at about 3am, I made my way to seton medical’s emergency room. A young female doctor, after looking at my charts, suggested that I do a CT scan. What? I don’t like where this was going. You see, I have this condition where I have trouble clotting my blood as quickly as regular people, but it has been very dormant the past few years I almost forgot I have it. My condition has been getting pretty bad, but there is no way I will get the worst possible complication, the brain bleed, right? If only I am this lucky with the lottery. Turns out I do have a bleed on my left brain, 2cm thick, but the area of probably my whole hand. No wonder it hurt so much. So I was transferred to Dell seton where the neurosurgeons are located and I was in the ICU for a good week. I know it sounds really scary and dangerous, but other than the fact that it was a brain bleed, I was really lucky. The neurosurgeon said that if I had to have a bleed, what I have would be what I want. Everyday uncle eric and aunty Sharon would come visit me, bring me lots of yummy food because hospital food is not enough for me. That is how well I was feeling. And the biggest blessing was that I was neurologically sound. I could think properly, talk like normal, even move around like a regular person. If you didn’t know I had my bleed you wouldn’t even know I was a patient there. In fact, I was the first ICU patient to ask if I can shower and walk around the corridor. Answer for both was no by the way. One week of not doing anything was killing me, so I forced by boyfriend to bring me my notes so I can study to kill time. I can only think of how mad my doctor would be if he knew what I was doing. And during all that, that was when I made my first prayer to the Lord. I remember asking Lord to show me a sign if He really exists, to show me a miracle, to heal me. I was out of the hospital after a week, took some make up exams because it was mid terms week I spent in the hospital, and somehow managed to land myself back in the hospital, again. This time, the headache was horrible and I was crying and screaming in bed. Just to give you a context of how painful it was, I did not shed a single drop of tear when I had my spinal surgery at the age of 15. And I actually took my accounting exam that very day. It turns out, this time my brain shifted due to swelling. So I was back in the hospital. Less than a week this time but nonetheless the ICU. Both times I received a lot of care and prayers from the Leong family, the Tong family, pastor Nelson, and of course my boyfriend who spent nights with me there and then rushing off for class in the morning. This time, I was out of the hospital for good, but I needed to return every few weeks for a CT scan to monitor the bleed. The expected recovery period was about 6 months but after just one month, my blood clot is 95% gone. Was this the sign I asked for? I think that was when I really thought to myself, maybe God is the true God, the one that is almighty. So fast forward to me today, I am probably as healthy as I’ve ever been, happy with my life, even though it is still full of obstacles. I still need to see my hematologist every 1-2 weeks for a follow up, but my condition has been a lot more stable and I can lead a regular person’s life, which is all I ask for. I still need to search for a job, but it is now a lot easier because I no longer need sponsorship. In fact, I’ve just completed my final interview with a commercial bank that is a 7 mins walk away from my place with a fun environment and friendly colleagues, and I am pretty confident I performed well. The best news of all, I have recently accepted Christ into my life, and to be my Lord. To everyone that witnessed my baptism on Easter Sunday, thank you for coming and praying for me, I am very excited to be your sister in Christ and I will continue to not just ask Lord our God to help me, but to also praise him and thank him for everything he has given me. Previously, I have never included my prayers on the church’s prayer list because I think I am a little of the 不要麻煩別人kind of person. But now, I would like to ask of you to think of me, to pray for me. Not to get a job soon or recover fast, but to remain patient and stay calm because God has a plan. He will heal me with my faith, so I can show the world another miracle he is capable of. And he will give me the right job, at the right place, at the right time, I just need to continue believing in him. Thank you.
