Tag Archive | glaucoma

Miracle Progress

Hello Reader,

I am excited to announce an update on the miracle God has been working in my eyes. If you are new to this blog, welcome! You may read about the origin of the miracle in the post titled, “A Miracle in Progress.” It details the event when I woke up in December, blind in both eyes. The Lord was so faithful in preparing me for that. Not that I knew I would wake up blind, but He told me to study about entering into His rest, two weeks ahead. That preparation so filled me with trust, that the morning I woke up not seeing I wasn’t afraid but spoke out loud, “This blindness will not remain. I will see again!”

And, I did.

I won’t go over that part anymore, but you may read about it by scrolling back to the original post. I urge you to do so–

His miracles are so great!

So, the last I left you, I was being seen by a cornea specialist–about every 4-5 days. In January, he determined the situation resolved, left me on an ointment for a week more and drops again–indefinitely. I tried to comply, but the drops were hurting my eyes again, much like before the blindness. I actually had prayed before all this blindness had happened, asking the Lord to get me off the drops because they were hurting me; and to bring forth the full manifestation of my healing–no more glaucoma!

One day, I was really wrestling with the fact that God had restored my vision, so much that I no longer needed to wear any correction, even though my eyes had been worse than 20/400 throughout my life; but I was still on drops! I wanted to take the leap, but the doctors have always said you can’t feel the pressure and you can go blind from the damage of high pressure.

Basically, I believed, but I was chicken.

I went to work that day and a guy I work with came by and out of the blue said, “Are you still taking those drops?” When I replied yes, he said it again, leaning in and looking me straight in the eye, with a look that said, Why? I knew it was from the Lord encouraging me to leap, and stopped them that night. Ironically, a month later, I told the same guy that I stopped them, figuring he would be excited about it, but he became a bit upset. He quickly backtracked and said I should talk to my doctor about it. I told him I had an appointment; I just didn’t tell him that my appointment was for 5 months away.

In May I took a vacation. . .

and met some wonderful people from Dublin, who were on vacation as well. It’s a long story, but the short version is the Lord drew me to buy a t-shirt that I didn’t like, so I would take it back the next day and, therefore, meet these people. I know it was His plan, because they didn’t have the size I needed for my Granddaughter, 5-6. Then the Lord said, “There is one, but it’s in the wrong place.” He indicated that it was in the size 1-3 stack. I told the lady I believed there was one in the wrong size and when I went for that 1-3 size stack, she became upset. “Well, it’s not in there!” I paid her no mind, but went right for the color I wanted, half way down the stack, plucked it out from the middle and it was indeed a 5-6! The Lord had hidden it there for me!

The lady’s mouth dropped right open!

Anyway, all this put me walking with these 3 lovely people from Dublin and we got to talking. The man said something like it must have been hard to come all this way by myself. My opening to tell him about the blindness. “Not as hard as it could have been before my miracle.” They became very alert and wanted details. It turns out the woman is an ophthalmologist and her son is medical as well. She was on her way to a 2-day ophthalmology conference. After hearing my testimony, she replied, “That’s impossible.” “You can never get rid of Glaucoma.” I replied, “Nothing is impossible with God.” She seemed bristled, and I understand. She is defending what she knows to be true, but at the same time, I was defending what I know to be TRUE–and it’s a higher Truth that trumps all!

If I hadn’t had to go back and return the t-shirt, I never would have met new friends from Dublin.

The doctors are wrong about not being able to feel glaucoma pressure. After leaving those people, I had a battle of faith. I could feel the pressure so strong, at times it felt like my eyes would explode. I expect there was likely much discussion about it at that medical conference and likely mostly nay-saying. Our words and even the words of others are not to be taken lightly. Words are powerful. Don’t negate someone’s healing by your words. Pray for them. Encourage them. Speak the Word to them; but don’t tell them it can’t be done.

Nothing is impossible with God!

Sometimes we aren’t handed our miracle on a platter, but must take a stance! You see the enemy wanted me back in bondage to those drops. I refused to budge. I spoke my healing and spoke to my eyes–stood my ground.

Never give up!

You were healed when Jesus bore that beating to pay the price for your healing. By faith you bring that promise into this realm. When you pray–receive! Believe and receive it done, right then! I have said it before and I will keep saying it–so many live by their senses. They will believe it, when they see it or feel it. Until then, they don’t think they are healed. Sadly, that kind of mindset usually doesn’t produce healing. That is more doubt than faith. It is challenging the Word, expecting it not to happen, rather than believing that it will–that it is already True! It’s a “prove it to me” attitude that doesn’t please Him, because it’s not truly faith.

He acts on His Word–Unwavering Faith–Trust.

So, I ended up seeing those lovely people many times on that trip, and I hope that one day I can go visit them in Dublin. We exchanged information and I was elated to send them a text today with my news!

Drum Roll Please . . .

My doctor, when she heard that I was off the drops, said she respected my faith but couldn’t sleep nights if my pressure is high. That day her tech had taken the pressure with a hand-held instrument and it read high. For some reason she didn’t re-take the pressure, which she always does. I expect, knowing I was off the drops, that she expected it to be high so didn’t question it. She said that she respected my faith, but asked that we meet in the middle. She wanted to send me to a specialist/surgeon to evaluate. Her intent was that he could put tubes in my eyes to drain and relieve the pressure or a stent. I agreed to go.

I am sure this was all in God’s plan!

You see, in going there, I was taken care of by 5 different techs. They all had a job to do and put me through a battery of tests and full dilation. Each one heard my testimony and then looked astounded when they entered my new stats along side the prior records. “Wow, that’s quite a difference!”

The specialist listened, examined, took pressure, took it again. I continued the story as he typed in findings, and as he started typing a letter to my eye doctor, also a glaucoma specialist, his smile got broader and broader with each new fact.

The FACT of the matter is . . .

He turned and said to me. “You don’t need surgery. You don’t need drops. You don’t need anything because you don’t have glaucoma! You have been off drops for 5 months and your pressure is in the low teens–normal. Your eyes are healthy. You haven’t lost vision. There is only one tiny spot, in the left eye, that had prior nerve damage from years ago that has not gotten any worse.”

“You don’t have glaucoma!”

He also said that those hand-held instruments are not reliable. I agreed. Another time that it was used on me, the reading then as well, was tremendously higher than the re-take ten minutes later.

With a big smile on his face, he sent the letter off to my doctor and said he wanted me to follow up with her in 3-4 months. I can’t wait! I want to see her reaction to all the Lord has done. I know she will be happy for me because she was the one that, twice, saw from field testing that I had regained peripheral vision. Twice! The first time she said, “You’ve regained vision, but that’s impossible.” I replied . . .

Nothing is impossible with God!

She agreed.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but now have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” I Peter 2:24-25

“And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:22-26

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.'” Matthew 19:26

Please continue to keep me in your prayers as my miracle continues. There is just a bit more ‘tweaking’ to be done for it to be fully manifested. My left eye sees perfectly, but the right eye is 20/40. This is a huge change from the 20/400 it used to be!

I am fully expecting it to be 20/20 when all is said and done. Thank you so much readers, for your faithfulness!

Lori J. O’Neil

All Glory Be to God!

A Miracle in Progress

Jan10

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15 TPT

We surely don’t know what tomorrow will bring . . .

On December 14th, 2023, I played Scrabble© with my mom. It was just an ordinary day or so I thought. However, I went to bed that night feeling totally fine, but woke up blind. It was such a shock! I could see absolutely nothing out of my right eye and only a little bit of light and shadow with my left; but the Lord is so good, and this didn’t surprise Him at all. He knows everything that’s going to happen to you ‘tomorrow’.

A couple of weeks before that it had been strong on my heart to enter into the rest of God, resting in His completed work. In advance provision, He had prepared my heart–for my heart to trust.

When a crisis happens, the first words out of our mouths are critical. . .

as is every single word you say thereafter about the subject.

You can’t say you have faith one moment, but speak unbelief the next. In other words, if your words are not lining up with the faith you say you have, then you are not truly in faith. You might think you are, but you can’t be expecting one result if you are speaking another.

The Lord knew this blindness was coming and His preparation to fill my heart with trust gave me the gift of faith and no fear. Right in that critical moment, I couldn’t see with my eyes but my mouth could speak; I spoke out loud, “This blindness will not remain, my eyes will see!”

“For the overflow of what has been stored in your heart will be seen by your fruit and will be heard in your words.” Luke 6:45b TPT

Immediately after speaking that, I got an inkling of vision in my left eye. It took many attempts but I managed to maneuver through my phone to call my prayer partner. It was like punching around in a closet. I was grateful to have her in speed dial, because I could recognize the color that went with her name. As we prayed, more vision came in that left eye, enabling me to call my eye doctor. They got me in right away.

I had had a laser on my right eye, to lower the pressure of glaucoma, just 4 days before. One would think this was all stemming from this but I only had it in one eye and both eyes were affected. They tested my eyes and I couldn’t even see the great big E with my right eye, it just wasn’t even there. My left eye could see black, but it was a blur, so I consider it a miracle that I was able to call those two numbers. I had prayed a couple weeks prior to this and asked the Lord to get me off glaucoma drops. My prayer all along has been for my healing of glaucoma to fully manifest. This has been a progressive journey. I have regained peripheral vision (twice) that my doc said was impossible. I told her that nothing is impossible with God and the tests have proven it. Now, she immediately took me off one of the glaucoma drops, that was the strongest, the one she figured was the culprit, and put me on steroid drops and ointment. Thus began a whirlwind of doctor appointments every 4-5 days and a cornea specialist was brought into the mix. He took me off the other glaucoma drop in the right eye as well and prescribed a milder steroid and a different ointment.

In the midst of this drama . . .

I went for a scheduled dental appointment. I would have liked to have canceled but it is so hard to get in. Praise God for my friend that waited patiently for me. I have been believing for my tooth to heal for 2 1/2 years. They wanted to do a root canal and crown. The x-ray showed the root had shrunk up and was blunt. It hurt terribly but I refused. I stood in faith for the root to re-grow and be rooted as normal. The first year I couldn’t eat on that side at all. Even soft foods made the tooth throb. Second year, occasional soft foods, but it still pained so I stayed away from it. They tried to do another x-ray midway but their machine malfunctioned and they had to skip it. The last 6 months I have been able to eat on that side, even really hard stuff with no pain at all. They took another x-ray on this visit and it showed the root, re-grown, seated, and totally normal. The dentist made no comment, but started to poke, prod and tap hard on that tooth and the two on either side. She kept saying, “Does that hurt?” “Does that hurt?” No, no, NO. There were also three teeth they wanted to fill above the teeth, where gums had receded. I said no and have believed for the gums to come back down. Now she only finds one that “troubles” her. “The other two I’m not concerned with.” she said. “I still want to fill the third one.” No, no, NO!

My eyes improved with every visit, but it was one visit in particular that there could be no explanation but a miracle from God. In 4 days time my right eye went from seeing 20/90 to 20/40 and my left eye went from seeing 20/80 to 20/12.5. I had never heard of 20/12.5 but this is what they termed seeing two lines better than 20/15, whereas 20/20 is perfect vision! In that same 4-day period, my pressure went from 22 and 26 to 12 and 15. The miracle of that is that my left eye had a detached retina years ago. It not only detached, but the surgeon said my retina had shattered and it was a very difficult surgery. He was ecstatic that I came to see 20/25 after it healed, which I praise God for, and the expertise of that surgeon, but it didn’t stop there. That eye also underwent laser to bring the pressure down and when that didn’t work, a Trabeculectomy; surgery to create a mesh-like pathway for the eye to drain fluid. A pressure reading in that eye of 12 was only seen briefly after that surgery and then it started to climb once again. Even with those strong drops and two different kinds, continuously, she couldn’t get it below 22 anymore. Now, with the strongest drop taken away, the pressure is 12.

Praise Jesus!

So this incredible vision in my left eye enabled me to return to work. I knew it was going to be hard, but I wasn’t prepaing for just how hard. Both days were super busy, and though I could see really well up close, anything beyond a few feet was a blur. I could know people, from memory and of their shape but their faces were a blur. I didn’t realize how much I read lips when it’s too noisy to hear. Keeping up with the stamina required of the job and the constant struggle to see, absolutely exhausted me; and by the end of the second day I was fighting tears.

The 3rd day was a milder day and though it was still hard to see, I was enjoying the calm and my wonderful co-working family. I love my job!

But, this is the exciting part. . .

At 8:20pm, suddenly, I could see a co-workers face from about 8 feet away!!! It was still a lil blurry, but I could make out his features and see expressions. Wow! I was like a kid again, looking around, everywhere, to see what I could see. Later I realized that 8:20pm is 2020 military time, which is what we go by at work and 20/20 is perfect vision!

I take that as a confirmation, because ‘perfect’ hasn’t manifested yet, but it’s coming!

Exuberant with my newly-minted sight, my son took me grocery shopping. I have not yet attempted to drive; my work takes me into the dark, and the lights when driving at night are quite the distraction. There was a snow storm predicted, so every store was packed out. The noise, people, shapes, colors and florescent lights was just too much for my brain to cope with. I went home traumatized, exhausted, slept fitfully, and I woke up with a splitting headache. I have come to realize that with every new level of vision, my brain has to re-calibrate and learn how to see with that particular vision, because the two eyes are not in sync with each other. I would have thought this would be easy, because I have done mono-vision for years but it seems to be different with an eye that is trying to heal.

So, here we are. It was a very long story to tell you that I have learned to rest in Him. I fully expect my total healing to come. My right eye has already had a miracle as well, for before the blindness, my eyes were off the charts; worse than 20/400 I was told, but correctable. Now, after my suddenly, at 2020 the other night, I expect I am seeing 20/25 in that eye without correction! Glory to God!!

Which reminds me . . .

You didn’t know this, but remember Nicholas? He is the prisoner I wrote about in another post, “Genuine Fruit”. Nicholas is part of “Project Turn” a partnership with Duke University Grad School, Divinity Program. He was one of 6,000 inmates chosen to be in this program. They chose ten inmates to take classes side-by-side with ten Duke Grad students. He came up with the idea of an education class needed in the prison and was given the go-ahead to help develop it. They have asked to use my books for the class, as mandatory reading. Glory to God! Well, that class started that night that I had the sudden vision. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had asked those men to pray for me that night. He knows of the issue I’m having. Wouldn’t that just be incredibly wonderful for them to see a miracle happen as a direct answer to their prayers! Will you join them and believe for a miracle? I want to see perfectly and no more glaucoma–at all!

Thank you for your prayers!

A special thank you to my dad, my son, and my friend Jamie for their incredible patience in hauling me around to appointments, waiting through them, and running me around for prescriptions. Thank you so very much!

No one is an island. We need each other!

God Bless You Reader,

Lori J. O’Neil