A Grim Diagnosis Has Woman Seeking Healing

“I had a cough that was incessant. It just didn’t go away.”  

At first, Saundra Stebbing wasn’t too concerned about the cough that started in May of 2017. The vibrant 69-year-old had been the picture of health. Her doctor said it was allergies, even though it kept getting worse.

“I was almost having seizures of coughing that it would make me want to throw up. I had lost my appetite so I wasn’t really eating welI. I was so weak. I could just barely make it from point A to point B," said Saundra.  
 
"Wracked with pain, losing weight, (and) freezing because she couldn’t warm her body up," said Saundra’s husband, Barry.

Over the next year, Saundra was hospitalized half a dozen times.

“When I went into the hospital one time, they gave me three pints of blood. That’s because my blood count was so low. We got to the point that nothing was really helping," said Saundra.

Finally, in July 2017, doctors did a bone marrow biopsy that revealed she had a fatal illness.  

“The doctor walked into the room and he said, 'I am so very sorry to tell you this, but you’ve been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.' But he continued to tell me there was no cure for what I had and no chance for my recovery," said Saundra.

The recommended treatment, chemo, would only delay the inevitable. So, Saundra sought opinions from several hospitals, including a hospital known for its premier leukemia center.

“I was so exhausted and so down and all I had now was a second bad report confirming the first one," said Saundra.

Refusing to give up, Saundra began looking for hospitals conducting clinical trials. All of them told her she did not meet the basic health criteria to be accepted. Yet in the midst of the bad reports, Saundra said she heard a word from the Lord.

“But one thing bubbled up in my spirit, was in Psalms, it says, 'I will live and not die and declare the wonderful works of the Lord.' We are going to do everything we can to find a way to be healed," said Saundra.

For Saundra and Barry, doing everything they could meant going to the Lord in prayer. As they called on family, friends, and their church to join them, Saundra would spend time every day praying healing scriptures out loud, while Barry, cried out to God constantly for his wife of 30 years.

“The prayer was relentless and fervent. Many times she would wake me up moaning and crying. I had to take her hand and pray for her," said Barry.

Over the next seven months, Saundra was hospitalized multiple times for pneumonia. By then she was also receiving blood transfusions to ease the ravages of cancer, if only for a short while. 

“Everything inside me was so depleted. I was just being kept alive by the grace of God," said Saundra.

“We reached the point that there was nothing left in either one of us. She said, 'I can’t pray anymore,' and I said I can’t either," stated Barry.

By now, thousands of people on social media had joined in prayer and were believing for a miracle. Then, in December, 2017 Saundra received a word of hope through The 700 Club.
 
“We agree with those who are looking for healing for this leukemia, of any kind of cancer, we say to their bodies, be healed and made whole by the stripes of Jesus Christ," prayed Gordon.

"So, I took that word for me and I rejoiced," said Saundra.

A few days later, while getting another blood transfusion, Saundra’s doctor told her about a renowned hematologist who was conducting clinical research on stem cell treatments for leukemia patients. He agreed to treat her, confident there was a 50 percent chance of success. But first, she had to pass a barrage of tests and find a donor. She got both. In fact, the donor was a perfect match - Saundra’s younger brother Scott. Three months later, Saundra went in for the transplant.   

“Very slowly, the physical changes started manifesting. I began to have more strength. I began feeling better right away," said Saundra.

Then, just one year after Saundra was told she was dying, she received a report from her transplant doctor. Saundra was in remission!

“I was just filled with thanksgiving to God," said Saundra.
 
“Just turning this body over to Christ and taking his word and standing on it and having an unflinching faith that won’t move," said Barry.

Since 2018, Saundra has shown no signs of leukemia, and is again the picture of health, enjoying life with Barry on their beautiful North Carolina farm.

“So regardless of the report, just hang on to the word of the Lord, the promises of God. They will accomplish their purpose if you believe," said Saundra.