The Miracle That Shocked the ICU
It was late at night, and I was tired from work. I was jotting down my daily shift report to hand it over to the next shift when suddenly an ambulance brought in an injured person whose face and head were soaked in blood. The department doctor and I quickly rushed over.
It was a young girl, around 25 years old, struggling to keep her eyes open, clutching something tightly in her hand. When I put my hand on her head, she grabbed my hand and handed me what she was holding, trying to say something in fragmented sentences. I leaned in closer, asking her what she wanted to say.
She whispered, “God is love,” and then she lost consciousness.
Seeing her fade away, I checked her pulse; there was none. I exclaimed, “Her heart has stopped!” Quickly, I grabbed the AED machine, and the doctor administered shocks to her chest. But her heart remained unresponsive. Holding the girl’s hand, her words echoed in my mind, “God is love.” Yes, God is love. Hang in there, you can’t give up, I reasoned. With the sound of the AED’s beeping, her heart restarted, and I felt relieved. However, the doctor noted that she had slipped into a coma and needed immediate surgery.
We swiftly transferred her to the operating room, paging the surgical team, and everyone worked tirelessly to save her life. That night, I had a strange feeling about this girl. Despite my concerns, deep down, I felt she would not die; she would survive.
What she left me with that night was a small, red-covered book, titled “The Gospel of Jesus Christ.” This was the first time I’d seen the Bible in Persian. The girl’s bloodstains were still on the book as I placed it in plastic and took it home.
That night, I couldn’t sleep; her words kept replaying in my mind: “God is love.” Why, if God is love, did this happen to her? Why didn’t God show her love? Why and why? These questions haunted me, preventing me from sleeping. Although I had been a nurse for a year and had faced worse scenes, becoming somewhat desensitized, this girl and her situation deeply troubled me.
The next day, my shift resumed, and I found myself at work without realizing how I got there. Before anything else, I searched for the girl from the previous night and found her. Sadly, no one had come to ask about her; she had no identification. But thankfully, her surgery had been successful, and she had been transferred to the ICU.
Due to her injuries and the blow to her head, she hadn’t regained consciousness yet. I stood by her bed in the ICU, looking at her, thinking, “Who are you? What did you do to my heart? Get up, I need to talk to you. Didn’t you say that God is love? So I hope God’s love continues, and you come out of the coma.”
I returned to my shift and during break time, I started reading the book she had given me. I began with the first chapter of Matthew. It was so fascinating that I couldn’t get enough, and I didn’t even realize how half an hour of break time had passed. Whenever I found an opportunity during that day, I quickly visited the girl and asked about her condition. When my shift ended, I went home and this time I started reading the book at home.
My husband is a committed Basij member (voluntary militia in Iran) and always talks about his commitment to the system and the revolution, while I always oppose him. Due to the serious issues happening in Iran regarding compulsory hijab and women’s rights, the relationship between us had become cold, and we didn’t talk much. So, this was a good opportunity for me to go to my room and read the Bible. With each page I read from the Bible, it felt like a new light and brightness was added to my eyes, and I felt a sense of freedom in my soul.
In Chapter 5 of Matthew, as I read about the healings that Christ had done, I shed tears and felt touched, praying for Christ to heal this girl so she could recover. I prayed every night.
After a week, the girl came out of the coma, and they transferred her to our department. I was so happy, and every day I took care of her myself. When doctors or nurses asked why I was so concerned about this patient and what relation I had with her, I surprisingly said she was my sister. It was interesting that everyone in the department called the patient “Aftab’s sister” because they knew me by the name Aftab, and I was happy about it.
When handing over my shift to all the nurses, I would say, “Take care of my sister. I don’t want a single hair to be missing from her head. Report to me regularly and send me updates on her condition.”
After two weeks, when the girl was able to speak her first words, I was by her side. She said to me, “God loves you very much for bringing me here.” I replied, “I’m happy that you’re feeling better, thank God. All the doctors say that your recovery process was faster than other patients, and they see it as a miracle.”
I also said, “Because God is love, this miracle is from God, that you’re better now.” I asked for her name, and she said her name was Fereshte, which means “angel.” I said, “You truly were God’s angel,” and she looked at me, smiled, and whispered, “God is love.” I responded, “Yes, dear Fereshte, you’re right. I’ve seen God’s love in action–how it saved you.”
I asked her about the book and told her I’ve read the entire Bible up to Revelation; she didn’t know how much I loved that book. Every day, Fereshte talked to me about more stories from the Bible, and I was fully attentive to her words.
One day she asked me, “Do you want to entrust your heart to Jesus Christ, the Lord?” I said, “Yes, I do,” and right there, in her hospital bed, she prayed for my salvation, and I entrusted my heart to Christ forever.
Fereshte introduced me to Channel 7 (Shabakeh7), and I became a guest on your programs every night. I received most of my spiritual teachings from the Channel, and I realized how impactful you were in my spiritual growth.
Today marks one year since I became a child of God, and I found all my answers. I understood why God brought Fereshte to our hospital, even using her pain for my salvation. Today, I understand how God uses even hospital beds and tragedies to bring about amazing opportunities for the salvation of others.
Fereshte recovered and left the hospital, but she taught me a great lesson, which was that from this day forward, I should be God’s ambassador at my workplace.
Now God has appointed another “angel” to serve the patients in the hospital, so that with the sunshine of His love, my life can touch the hearts of others and lead them to salvation. Today, by reciting God’s verses, bearing witness to my faith, and telling stories from the Gospel, I have become a source of healing and salvation for many in the hospital and at home.
My relationship with my husband has also been healed. Every day I pray for his heart and speak to him from the Word of God to gently touch his heart. I believe that one day my husband will also become a child of God.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you and declare that God’s angels are working tirelessly not only in Iranian hospitals but also in your workplace—your world, bringing healing and salvation to thousands of searching hearts across the earth. Amen.
His Daughter…Aftab
