Unrelenting Stomach Pain Called for Desperate Measures

“If it was possible for God to become more real….”

In January 2020, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, what began as a mild stomach virus would usher Nadia Astudillo and her family into a yearlong season of pain, confusion, and a desperate cry for divine intervention.  “We had some stomach virus --- I don't know what it was it was pretty severe. Everyone recovered, but Nadia never recovered…”, says Keri Astudillo, mother of Nadia Astudillo.  She was living virtually every day in persistent nausea and abdominal pain, so her parents, Keri and Alberto, rushed her to multiple emergency rooms. Weeks turned into months as she was in and out of the emergency room —but still had no answers or solutions. Eventually a visit to a major children’s hospital finally brought a diagnosis— post-infectious gastroparesis. In other words, her digestive system had shut down. Doctors offered medications, but said Nadia might be like this indefinitely. Her father Alberto says, “I was asking the Lord, so, you know, why this happening? I felt powerless, like,  how can I help my daughter? I cannot help my daughter.” The Astudillo family had to adjust to a new normal and it was heartbreaking, watching their once vibrant daughter, become bedridden and despondent. 

After nearly a year, just as things seemed to improve with Nadia, a severe relapse left her unable to walk, eat, or stand. Then, the night before they planned to leave on a 16-hour car ride to a prayer conference in Louisiana, Nadia’s condition declined even more. 

In faith, the Astudillo family hit the road to Louisiana, with their severely sick daughter. The couple continued to pray and believe for a healing miracle. Then, Saturday, April 3rd—it was easter weekend at the church prayer meeting. Nadia stood before the altar, surrounded by her parents in prayer, and a pastor then placed his hands on her and began to pray. According to Nadia herself, “It was all gone. All the pain was gone. I didn't feel nauseous, and I felt hungry, which I hadn't felt hungry, all this all that time. Then her mom Keri shared, “when the altar call was over, I saw her face, it looked completely different. It just looked like a whole different person. The look she had before that and the look after, was completely different, and she had said that the Lord had healed her.”

From that moment, something spiritually changed in Nadia – she had a renewed faith, believing that no matter how long the struggle lasted, miracles were still possible. 

Today, Nadia is thriving—refereeing soccer games, playing piano, running her own photography business, and living out her faith with joy and boldness. Her story is a living testimony that through the power of prayer, God is still resurrecting hopeless situations.

Nadia Astudillo can be booked for photography via her website! www.nadiamicaelaphotography.com