The Summit - Christian Newspaper

   You may remember the story. You mighthave even prayed. But you may not be aware of the ongoing story about howthe Lord, the Great Physician, confounded the medical profession and gavea young woman her life back.
   Their lives changed with one phone call. It was ten o'clock on Friday night, February 13, 1998. Cynthia Daulton and her husband, Joe, were awaiting a call to let them know their 17-year-old daughter, Catherine, and her friend, Amber, had arrived safely at a Tucson church meeting. Instead, the voice on the other end of the phone said, “There’s been an accident.”
   It was about 9:30 p.m. The two girls were driving through a Tucson intersection, unaware a drunk driver was coming down a freeway off-ramp in his Cadillac.
   There were no skid marks at all.
   He smashed into the little car at 60 MPH. The girls ended up in each other’s laps. Amber fought to hold onto consciousness, aware that Catherine was not breathing. She pleaded with her, “Hang on, don’t give up.”
   As soon as someone said there was a pulse, Amber lost consciousness.
   Amber’s injuries were serious, but not life threatening. Catherine, on the other hand was barely holding on to life.
   The Tucson doctor told Cynthia and Joe the situation was very serious, to get there as soon as possible and “to pray.” Cynthia shook, her teeth chattered as if she were freezing. The couple made the 4 1/2 hour drive from Flagstaff, not knowing if they would arrive tofind their daughter alive or dead.
   When they arrived at University Medical Center, the doctors told them Catherine would most likely not survive the brain trauma and, if she did, she would live the rest of her life in a vegetative state.
   They asked them to consider organ donation.
   At that moment, the strongly Christian couple looked into the eyes of the doctor and told him, “No, that’s not an option, she will be needing those.”
Now, nearly 3 years later, Catherine is definitely glad she has those organs. She uses them every day as she sips a café mocha at Late For The Train, plays a rousing hand of Uno and attends her first year of college.

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Catherine … Continued from page 1.

   Today, Catherine truly believes it was the prayers of the saints that helped her recover. “I want to thank everyone for praying for me. I am so grateful. Prayer is the only reason I’m here,” she said.
   “I just remember being totally overwhelmed. There was so much love. You could feel the love,” said Catherine. “The people that prayed for me have no idea of how much of an impact they have had on my life. I just so much wanted to have this opportunity to thank them.”
   The prayer effort surrounding Catherine was powerful, immediate and bold. According to Cynthia, “When my older daughter arrived at the hospital, as the elevator doors opened, she saw her uncle [Pastor Jim Daulton from Flagstaff Tabernacle] with his arms stretched to the sky, calling out Catherine’s name to the Lord.”
   As Catherine laid in a deep coma, a prayer network that stretched across the churches of Northern Arizona, and the world, was mobilized. “At the hospital, the cell phones were burning, getting the word out. People were praying everywhere,” said Cynthia.

One of her doctors, who said Catherine would spend the rest of her life in a nursing home as a vegetable, said “You blew my prognosis out of the water.”

   During the nearly 4 months Catherine was in the hospital, the prayer effort expanded even more. Family members took pieces of Catherine’s jewelry to keep with them and pray over. Scriptures were written on posters and placed above her bed. Christian music was played to her. A member of her church would come and sit by her hospital bed to sing songs of praise and worship. A web site was even created to give people updates and to let people agree in prayer for her healing.
   Even in the midst of this outpouring of faith, the medical community remained pessimistic. “They told us her brain injury was like a stalk of broccoli that had been separated from the florets ... they said the damage was very, very severe,” said Cynthia.
   The family chose not to believe these reports. “When I had to go to the medical meetings, I would take a list of scriptures with me. I said them. I had them. I knew this is what the medical professionals are telling me, but this is what the Word tells me ... We knew that the doctor’s bottom line was not God’s bottom line’,” said Cynthia. “I firmly believe that when Christ took those stripes on Him, it was because He wanted us to be healed."
   Today, Catherine still has to attend therapy sessions to aid in her rehabilitation. There are some lingering problems that make her life difficult, but she said, “I am claiming 300% recovery -100% physically, 100% mentally and 100% spiritually. I am expecting it and seeing it manifest in my life.”
   One of her doctors, who said Catherine would spend the rest of her life in a nursing home as a vegetable, said “You blew my prognosis out of the water.”
   Even with all the struggles and pain, Catherine looks back and says, “This has been the greatest 3 years of my life because I have gotten closer to God … can’t even go one day without prayer. God is my life, all that I’m living for.”
   Catherine’s long-term goals include getting a degree in Elementary Education, becoming a working teacher and, one day, getting married.
   According to Catherine, she does have one major obstacle, which she struggles with on a daily basis - a severe addiction to M&Ms. But she remains characteristically optimistic, “I’m claiming victory over my sweet tooth.”
   For more information on Catherine’s accident and recovery, you can log onto ArizonaChristian.com and click on the “From The Summit” link.