“If She Lives I Trust You, If She Dies I Trust You.”

“She sends me a text, and she said, Ma, I can hardly breathe,” said Carmel Wheaton. 
September 22, 2022, 17-year-old Camryn Wheaton passed out at school. 

The day before, she had taken herself out of a volleyball game for shortness of breath. An asthmatic, Camryn was used to days when her breathing was labored. 
Her mom, Carmel was told by EMS they were taking her daughter to Duke Medical Center as a precaution.

“EMS says we're going to take her to the hospital. Her blood pressure's a little low, but oh, she's fine. You'll be out of there in no time at all.”
At Duke, Camryn’s parents arrived ahead of their daughter and were escorted to a waiting room. All was calm until EMS rolled Camryn into the ER. Her dad, Wellington was troubled.

He said, “There was a sense of urgency among some of the people who let us in.”
Her mom, Carmel said, “Mre doctors and more machines started coming. So, I said, what's going on?” 

One of the medical staff spoke to the Wheaton’s – Camryn’s heart had stopped beating.
“She says they're giving her chest compressions,” said Carmel. “I said, for what?”
“She said, she can't breathe,” said Carmel. “I said, what do you mean she can't breathe? They said, Mrs. Wheaton, we've been giving her chest compressions, and we can't get a pulse.”

Wellington said, “We were just like, we just couldn’t believe this just like all of a sudden, you know?”  

Carmel had already reached out to prayer intercessors when Camryn passed out at school. Now, many others joined in to pray for Camryn. 
Carmel said, “I said, God, I said, this is your child. I said, I trust you. I said, if she lives, I trust you. If she dies, I trust you. I said, God, but I pray it's not your will that you take her today.”   

Finally, Camryn was necessitated and place on a heart lung machine to keep her alive. As friends and family gathered at the hospital scans were taken of Camryn’s brain, heart and lungs looking for answers. Medical staff warned that there was a high risk of brain damage because of the lack of blood flow to her brain. 
Carmel said, “We did ask if we could go in and see her, she just looked so lifeless. 
Like there was no, there was no life in her body.” 

“I just think it just took a deep breath, you know? and, uh, you go back to your faith and she's, she's still alive,” said Wellington. “She's still alive. So, at that point, I’m shifting from one gear to the next, and, you know, and, and I’m praising God.”
Tests revealed two large blood clots in Camryn’s lungs. Immediately, she was taken to surgery. Five hours later the surgeon spoke to her parents.

“He said, I want to show you what we took out of her,” said Carmel. “And then he showed me this picture, and he said, each one of these specks is a blood clot that was in her lungs.” 

Over 60 blood clots were removed. 

Wellington said, “I could not believe it. Cameron was great softball player, volleyball, involved in everything, cheerleading, you name it, she's in it. And, and she's, you know, vibrant. And I’m like, how did, where did this stuff come from? You know, all of this, these, all of this stuff was in her?” 
Camryn was taken off the vent the next day. A couple days later she was cutting up with family.

Honestly, I remember waking up in the hospital but not being like fully awake,” said Camryn. “Cause I remember having like the tubes on my face and everything.”
Wellington said, “To see her, and see the smile on her face, that was, that was just the greatest feeling of all that. She was okay.” 

In less than a week, Camryn was home, fully recovered. The cause of the blood clots is still unknown.

Camryn said, “A few weeks after I got out of the hospital and I looked up and I asked God, I said, why did this have to happen to me at this moment? During this time where it's my senior year? You know, I got to get my college applications in. And I remember Him telling me, why not? You know, why can't I show my glory through you at this very moment? And then I just started bawling out crying because I was like, okay, like, you know, this is in His plan. He's got something cooking up so it it's going to work out.” 

Camryn graduated that year and today is attending the University of North Carolina studying engineering.

“At that time, I knew it was the hand of God because everybody was where they needed to be,” said Carmel.

Camryn said, “I truly couldn't tell you what happened. Like I always say that my mom tells the story better, but I always say, you know, God had a purpose and a plan. And even though like I truly don't fully understand it to this day, I still know that like He had like something, He has something so much bigger in store for His, for His kingdom and it's not really about me and what happened to me, but like His glory and what He did.”