The Healing of Kateryna Mazhula

For many years, my back had been aching. The illness grew progressively worse. Because of the pain, I had a constant feeling as if there was a heavy weight on my back. Lying on the sofa I grabbed a heating pipe near the sofa with my hand to turn myself from one side to another. Only in such a way was I able to turn. I had the feeling that my vertebral column was as rigid as a stick. Overcoming the pain, I made great efforts to bend and to put my shoes on. I could work bent over in the vegetable garden or in the house only for a little while, then strong pains in my back came over me and I had to stop my work. Standing at the table in the kitchen, I could not work for a long time either. I felt all my vertebrae press down painfully on each other. Of course, I got tired a lot, my head and my heart began to ache. I had to give up everything I was doing, even urgent affairs, to go rest. I also could not sit on a chair for a long time, for strong pains would come. I was not able to turn my head. I had to turn my whole body when I needed to look aside or to look back. The doctor diagnosed me: Marie-Struempell-Bechterew Disease – ankylosing [rheumatoid] spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of ongoing joint inflammation (chronic inflammatory arthritis) that primarily affects the spine. It causes inflammation of the spinal joints (vertebrae) that can lead to severe, chronic pain and discomfort.  Pain may cause sleepless nights that compound the tired feelings. Over time, back movement gradually becomes limited as the bones of the spine (vertebrae) fuse together. This progressive bony fusion is called ankylosis. The fusion of the spine can sometimes lead to a forward curvature of the spine, kyphosis, causing a forward-stooped posture. Ankylosing spondylitis can involve other joints as well, including the shoulders, hips, and, less often, the knees. Rarely, ankylosing spondylitis can also cause serious complications involving the heart, lungs, and nervous system (Medical Encyclopedia).

I inherited this disease from my mother. Even in her young days, she had walked bent over and could not straighten up until the end of her life. She constantly suffered from pain in her back.

Observing the symptoms of this disease, I worried about what would happen later if my life continued like this. I saw myself as an invalid in the future. With this anxiety in my heart I begged the Lord God for mercy to help me. I told nobody about my disease. I thought that I would bear it a little longer and then ask the ministers of our church to pray to God for my healing. I had the faith to be healed, because many times I had been a witness of how God had healed many people through a single prayer of the Kovel Church ministers. 

On May 24, 2005, during a conversation with the spiritual minister of our church, he asked me what was hurting me. Because of the unexpectedness of the question, I was embarrassed at first, but having understood that God had revealed to him the secret of my illness, I frankly spoke about my suffering for the first time. On my request, the minister offered a prayer for me right then. When I left the house after the prayer, I felt immediately that the pains in the back were gone. I was very much surprised that after a single prayer of God’s minister, God had instantly healed me, too. I am still astonished because I do not feel pain in my back any more under any circumstances, even when I work in the field bent over for many hours. After an examination, the doctors confirmed that I was indeed well. This conclusion is written down in my medical card. After having studied the X-ray, the radiologist said with admiration: “May God grant to everyone a spinal column like this!”

Glory to the Great God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, Who acts with authority in His people! Amen!

Kateryna Mazhula

Kovel, Ukraine

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