Crashing Into a Miracle

 It’s not a common thing to wake up and think, “I’m going to experience a miracle today”. We often go through our daily lives and never even think to look at the merciful works that God is doing all around us. On July 11, 2018, Kim Gustin and her family woke up as they did every other day, not knowing that tragedy was going to strike, but that a miracle would happen that only God can perform. 

After a day of struggling with symptoms such as chest pains, feeling shaky, sweaty, and feeling overall weird, Kim made the decision that hot summer day in July to leave work early and go home and rest. After turning down the offer from her boss to be driven home, she got in her car and began making her journey. 

Kim immediately called her mom, who she talked to whenever she drove. As they were talking Kim told her mom that she couldn’t see and then the call dropped. It was at this very moment that the Gustin family’s tragedy struck. Kim’s heart had stopped beating. 

Anyone would think that this is the beginning of a horror story, but in reality, God was just getting started. It was the middle of the afternoon when Kim’s car crashed into the middle of the median, however, God provided an off-duty police officer, fireman, nurse, and pastor to be there right at that very moment. “I had a whole trauma team there,” Kim said.  They were able to perform chest compressions until Northlake police officer, Cody Long, was able to get on the scene where he performed CPR on Kim for 28 minutes without stopping until the ambulance could get there. 

During her time being transported, Kim’s heart stopped beating two more times, and upon arrival at Medical City Denton, she was immediately put on life support. When Kim’s husband, Gerald, arrived at the hospital he was met with a question that he never thought he’d hear. The doctors didn’t think she would make it and wanted to know if he wanted to enforce a DNR. This is when God really made his grand entrance. Gerald responded, “I haven’t consulted with God about that yet.” So Gerald began praying for a miracle. 

And a miracle did happen. God had actually been preparing His miracle for some time. Her son had the knowledge of a Rotoprone bed from his time in the Navy before being medically discharged. And not only that, they were able to receive this by the end of the day even though there were only four in the state that existed. 

After three days they were able to determine that, on top of cardiac arrest, Kim had suffered a severe stroke and it was very likely that, if she woke up, she would be a vegetable. Again, Gerald prayed for a miracle and again God provided. Kim woke up with the ability to speak and began physical therapy that day where she took her first steps. 

Four years later, Kim is nowhere near a vegetable. She is alive, breathing, and speaking the miraculous works of Jesus every day. Kim didn’t wake up that day in July looking for a miracle, but she found one. “Always look for the hand of God in every situation. Even if you feel like He isn’t there with you in that situation, He is there working it and preparing you and He’s waiting for you to include Him in your struggles,” Kim said. “God still performs miracles. You just have to look for them.”