Faith | Do miracles exist? Look around to see the power of prayer

It was a Saturday morning, around 11 o’clock when I got an unexpected phone call. Since I was doing chores and didn’t recognize the number, I almost disregarded it. However, I realized it was a Utah number and felt prompted to answer it.

The person on the other end of the line was from a hospital, and I remember her asking me if I was the parent of Roman Ruiz. At that moment, I knew immediately that something serious had happened. As I walked towards my wife, I put the phone on speaker so we could both listen.

The person continued to explain that our son, Roman, had been found unresponsive; that he was being stabilized, and would be airlifted to a larger hospital. My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief and utmost concern as we made an expedited trip to Utah.

Our lives forever changed that day.

Roman, a scholarship decathlete for Utah State University in Logan, Utah had been at the track that morning. Since it was spring break, the normally busy track was quiet. One man, a retired physician named John, also happened to be at the track and responded immediately to help Roman.

Thus, began the miracles throughout Roman’s story. The paramedics were less than five-minutes away and were able to respond quickly. The hospital in Logan was also five-minutes from the track.

During unconsciousness, chances of resuscitation start to diminish greatly after ten minutes. Statistically speaking, less than ten percent of people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital, survive. Brain cells begin to die as early as four minutes, resulting in a brain injury, with the increased odds of complete brain death happening at the ten minute mark.

Even at the track that morning, with all these favorable logistics, it still took about 35-minutes for Roman to be resuscitated, which is perhaps the grandest miracle of all. Roman’s ongoing miracle continues during his recovery in relation to his acquired anoxic brain injury (lack of oxygen to the brain) as a result of his sudden cardiac arrest.

Daily, we rely on prayer. We sincerely believe that it is through the miracle of prayer that Roman has been brought to this point, and it continues to lift and support him with his ongoing recovery.

Throughout this experience, we have felt another power helping us persevere and strengthen our trust in the Lord. At first, I couldn’t put my thumb on it until one of Roman’s hospital visitors put it into words for me when he said, “the atonement of Jesus Christ”. I felt a rush of emotions when he said that because I knew that is what I was feeling and what was sustaining me during this hardship. I know that same power is still at work within our family and Roman’s spirit as well.

Miracles exist! Just take the time to look around you.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

You can search ‘Roman A Year of Miracles’ on YouTube and see his first year’s progress.