Preamble: July 19, 2024 was the eve of our departure to India from the US after a month with our children and their families.  That morning our son, Deepak, 41 years old, began his day as he did three times a week with gym and devotions with neighborhood Christian friends who met next door to their house in Cheverly, MD. 

Normally, this would soon be followed by his online work, etc. Nothing prepared him or Leighann, his wife, or us - his parents, for what was to come that day.

Deepak had complained about a chest pain which he mistook for a muscular pain, due to weightlifting. About 2 weeks prior to July 19, Leighann, his wife, had called 911 when he had this pain, but after examination at the hospital, the Emergency Team (ET) found his vital signs were fine, but just to be safe referred him to a cardiologist.  The consultation and tests  like ECG, etc. were scheduled in due course. Deepak had a family history of heart disease. My mother, my wife and I suffered from coronary heart disease.

On July 19 my son had another episode of chest pain and Leighann called the ET.  The ET on arrival advised immediate hospitalization. Deepak opted to travel with Leighann, who had more than a decade of experience in nursing, many of them with cardiac patients.  What better person could accompany him?

They sent the ET away and Leighann took a few seconds to prepare to take Deepak. He had already come downstairs and that’s when he experienced excruciating chest pain and suffered a massive heart attack. 

Deepak was groaning loudly and rolling on the floor, clutching his chest and suddenly blacked out (my thoughts flashed back almost 30 years earlier, when I suffered a heart attack at 47 while in my PhD program at Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia!).  Leighann, on finding that he had no pulse, began CPR.  By this time the ET was recalled to the house and took over the CPR from Leighann.  Despite these efforts there was still no pulse – Deepak was rushed to the hospital by the ET.  The last words my wife and I heard before Leighann left for the hospital following Deepak in the ambulance were, “He isn’t responding.”   My mind was in shock; Annamma broke into tears. We knew what this meant.  This was around 9 am.  The next news came around 3 pm when Leighann informed us that he revived after being without a pulse for 44 minutes.

Family and friends responded quickly. Leighann would spend the rest of the days at ICU with Deepak 24/7.    Roshini, Deepak’s sister, flew to DC from New Hampshire. Her husband Renny and son Matthew would drive down the next day and stay for two weeks.  Leighann’s mother Shannon and two sisters Becca and Bailey came to stay with Leighann and the kids.  Deepak’s closest friends drove from as far as Illinois and Maine to be close to the family. 

My wife Annamma, Roshini and I had a daily routine when Deepak was in ICU - to be at ICU during the day and in the evening report the progress to the Cheverly neighborhood daily night prayer vigil and post online updates for praise and prayer (We rebooked our return flight for Aug 5). 

Attending the prayer vigils was a wonderful experience.  Deepak’s friends were praying with tears; they talked of family values that he encouraged his friends to cultivate.  Testimony after testimony poured in, often in tears, how he had in some way enriched their spiritual life.  (He never discussed this side of his life with us.). His local church , The evangelical Anglican ‘Church of the Resurrection’ (Rez) in Washington DC, hosted prayer vigils for Deepak’s recovery.  Being a part of the music team he was quite popular in the community.  His pastor came every day to the ICU and prayed on his knees for Deepak’s recovery.  The response of the online prayer group was overwhelming!  Each update was met with one unanimous exclamation of praise and prayer. Those in the prayer groups seemed to know that their prayers would be answered.

Interlude

Annamma and I have experienced the goodness of God in many situations in our missional lives, so our first thought was pray!   We have seen God answering prayer in unimaginable ways – whether this was for our two children, our ministry, our relationships, our needs, etc.  When Deepak was around one year old, we lived in a small section of an old British bungalow in Dehradun that was extremely damp. Winters were particularly challenging.  Space heaters simply could not match the cold.  Due to this, Deepak developed a bronchial condition that resulted in almost asthmatic labored breathing.  Several times we had rushed him to a Child specialist at 5 am, who would treat him for these episodes.

Whenever Deepak got this attack, his little body would rock because of his effort to breathe.  One day, Annamma and I woke up to the baby’s labored breathing.  Seeing this little baby suffering was too much for us as parents.  Unknown to each other and sitting at two separate places, troubled by the child’s suffering, we prayed fervently.  The Lord answered our prayers.  That was the end of the Deepak’s labored breathing.  We never had to rush him to the doctor anymore!  Does God work miracles?  Yes, he does! How does He answer us?  According to His will, in His time, and for the glory of His Name! 

The Reality of Prayer

I am told that CPR is tried on patients for a maximum of 30 minutes.  God in His mercy overruled this so that the hospital team located Deepak’s pulse after 44 minutes.  Our thoughts often went to John 11 and the raising of Lazarus.  Deepak was in fact raised to life - in God’s own way.

Being in the medical field herself Leighann had questions that she quietly processed in her heart.  What next?  A brain without blood supply for 44 minutes – will he wake up?   The intervention proposed was to lower his body temperature to almost freezing point, to protect his vital organs from exertion, and after about 36 hours to gradually bring him to normal body temperature.   Would his weakened body be able to bear this?  What if he doesn’t wake up after this procedure?  What if. . . .

We began writing to our many friends to pray for Deepak.  Pray they did, but not before an incredulous response of how it happened to young Deepak – he’s too young to have a heart attack!  After writing up a gist of what had happened I copied a few friends.  My wife suggested starting a group, which I did – ‘Deepak Prayer Partners’. Soon friends started joining the group and with each new update we would rejoice together in what God was doing – and of course, it was abundantly more that we could ever ask or think (Eph 3:20).

Answers to prayer happened in a predictable manner.  Sometimes the prayer warriors themselves did not know the gravity of what we were asking prayer for.  One morning, after the pastors of the Church of the Resurrection had prayed for Deepak, the Neurologist observed in a matter-of-fact way, “We don’t look for miracles – we only need time!”  (Until that morning, Deepak’s eyes were closed and his body was slowly being brought back to normal body temperature.) He was scheduled for an MRI the next day.  The very same day, an exceptionally kind and friendly nurse observed that he opened his eyes!  Not only that, he began responding to her commands:  “Deepak, look to the left; look to your right; give me a thumbs up, wiggle your toes . . .”   – absolutely overcome with joy she videotaped this with the help of another nurse for Leighann who had just left the ICU to get some coffee!

The next day, the Neurologist came to check on Deepak.  He observed that, his eyes began, not only to show response, but also moved to commands, look left, look right, give a thumbs up etc.  Seeing this he exclaimed, “This is a miracle!”   He also cancelled the scheduled MRI.   What a testimony!

There were some tense moments of waiting for something to happen.  Since Deepak was intubated his oxygen, food, medicines (and monitoring probes) were administered through this life saving intrusion in his body.  Intubation even for a few days causes much discomfort. On several occasions Deepak tried to take the tubes away by himself; another time he made gestures to write and when given a pen and paper, he wrote ‘water’.  In this condition he was intubated for 17 days!  We prayed fervently for these tubes to be removed; and finally we asked the Lord that we would be able to see him without the tubes before we finally left for India.  He mercifully answered our prayers. On Aug 5, the morning of our return to India, the tubes were removed!

The Praying Church

As the prayer group grew larger I tried to count the different denominations that were praying and the locations all over the world they were praying from.  There were at least two Evangelical Episcopalian denominations, Greek Orthodox turned Lutherans, Anglicans, Syrian Orthodox, believers from the Mar Thoma  Church, Presbyterian and Congregational churches, Christian Reformed, Methodists, Charismatics, Pentecostals, Brethren, several independent churches and non-denominational churches, and there were also godly Roman Catholics. All these joined in prayer from all corners of the world.  What a family we are in Christ!  The prayer group saw praying friends and relatives post their own experiences in order to encourage each other and Deepak’s family. The prayers were from the US, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Germany, and from several Gulf States such as Kuwait, and UAE, connected by their own prayer chains.  Deepak’s cousin in Australia organized two 24 hour prayer chains in which each participant prayed for 15 minutes in the selected time slot.  Our Indian/Brazilian missionary friends were ministering in a youth camp in Sao Paulo, Brazil at that time. The young people not only joined in prayer they kept enquiring about Deepak’s progress. The prayer requests were shared in small prayer groups and larger churches. There was united prayer asking for God’s intervention and with each answer there was a united praise on the lips of all the prayers. What a family we are in Christ!

The prayer group itself saw Deepak’s praying friends and relatives post their own experiences to encourage Deepak, some shared songs, some shared clips of Deepak singing, others shared prayers, thoughts, other similar happenings where God did the impossible. All this showed us that Deepak and all of us were part of one big family. – the family of God!  Thank you praying friends, most of whom we haven’t met or don’t know personally, we love you and look forward to meet you on that day!

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.””   Revelation 7:9-12 ESV

Postscript:  Deepak was discharged from cardio rehab on August 28.  Leighann and the children Ben (9), Ava Joy (6) and Mae (2) brought him home.  As their car entered Cheverly Town the streets were lined with neighbors and friends with posters of welcome!  Just outside their house the community was led in praise and prayer by Pastor Andrew; they joined together to sing the doxology.  What a beautiful testimony!  Please continue to pray for Deepak, his throat / vocal cords are swollen, his voice is a whisper, but in recent days we feel his voice is improving and becoming more audible.  Please pray that the Lord will restore his memory – short term as well as long term – so that he can once again be fully functional and fulfill his obligations as the head of the family; be a blessing to his family and to the church and use his voice in praise and worship to the Triune God who alone did the impossible?  All praise and glory to the Lord God Almighty!

Dr. Matthew Ebenezer served as a Member of the WRF Board of Directors until 2023 ans is now transitioning to the WRF Reference Council. He is an ordained teaching elder of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of India (RPCI). He served on the Board of the WRF since 2006. Matthew began teaching at Presbyterian Theological Seminary (PTS), Dehra Dun, India in 1982.  Between 2004 and 2014 he was engaged in other ministry opportunities that included serving as Country Director for Mission to the World (MTW) in his native Sri Lanka, overseeing Tsunami rehabilitation; Director for Theological Education for MTW’s church planting work in India, and Adjunct Professor of Church History and Practical Theology at the New Theological College, Dehra Dun.  He rejoined PTS in 2014 as Interim Principal and was later appointed Principal. Since 2020 he is Principal Emeritus of the Seminary. He continues to teach at PTS and NTC as a guest faculty.