BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“The experience was so depressing that I lay in bed at night staring out the window. I’d never wanted to be dependent on my children. Now I didn’t know if I would ever walk again. Or if I’d ever work again. Jodi was pregnant with my new grandson, and I couldn’t be there for the delivery. “Despair threatened to overtake me. I realized that I had to stop fearing the future and start celebrating all the things God had already done for me. I made a firm decision not to be morose. Instead of spending sleepless nights wondering what would happen to me, I thought about 25 years of wonderful memories being married to Ron. I relived all my years as a gymnast. I thought about how much I loved to swim. I remembered the years I’d spent as a youth leader. “I replayed my experience as a teenager traveling through eight countries in Europe. I thanked God for all those wonderful experiences. I thanked Him that I’d never been sick in 56 years, until now. I thanked Him that I’d survived the surgery. I know that celebrating the victories in my life during those long nights was an important part of my recovery.” Round Two By night, Deborah worked on her gratitude. By day, she worked on learning to walk. The day she walked up three steps, the whole place exploded with applause. She celebrated each small step as a milestone and a victory. Following rehab, Deborah still couldn’t live alone. Her children moved her in with Jodi and Dave. Dave’s mother moved in to help for the summer. In the fall, when she went home, Deborah’s son Jared moved in to help. It was a long, slow recovery. In the spring of 2010, almost a year after Deborah had lost consciousness the first time, she arrived for her final discharge physical. She was ready to take her life back. “I feel a lump in your breast,” the doctor said. “My aunt has cysts,” Deborah explained. “I’m sure that’s all it is.” She was wrong. “It’s breast cancer,” the doctor said after the biopsy. “Stage 3. Fast growing.” Once again, Deborah’s children circled around her, staking their claim: “We’re not going to lose another parent to cancer!” “I was stunned,” Deborah says. “I’d spent 56 years in perfect health. Now in one year, I’d had a brain tumor and breast cancer. I reviewed my life and checked my obedience level. Had I been putting God first, before everything? Had I grown lax about my words? “I made course corrections and had a lumpectomy. I ordered Gloria’s Healing School DVDs and went through them again while taking chemotherapy. My kids wrote healing scriptures and posted them all over the walls. They made another set on 3-by-5 cards for me to keep in my purse. Day by day, my faith grew. “People often asked if I was in remission. I always said, ‘No, I’m not in remission. I’m healed.’ That was my final word on the subject.” Following her last chemotherapy treatment, Deborah went back to see the surgeon. “We don’t have to take the port out,” she said. “A lot of people leave it in place in case they need it again.” “Take it out,” Deborah said. “Why?” “Because I won’t need it again. I’m healed in the Name of Jesus. You’ll see me for my six-month checkup and say, ‘Hey, you’re doing great!’” Six months later, Deborah went back to the surgeon. After the exam, the doctor smiled. “Hey,” she said, “you’re doing great!” It’s been seven years since Deborah Bryan faced a brain tumor and breast cancer in the same year. Since then, she’s enjoyed good health. “I love bonfires, pumpkin patches and ski trips,” Deborah says. “I’m getting to enjoy those experiences with my grandchildren. I tremble to think about what would have happened to me if I’d never been exposed to the truth about healing. Because of KCM, three generations of my family know without a doubt that healing belongs to us.” V * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Join Deborah Partner with KCM today! kcm.org/partnernow BVOV : 15

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