Way back in early September, when Colin was still in the Indy hospital, his kidneys were only barely functioning, and he had been put on dialysis every other day. Four hours each time, and unlike for most people, this procedure was extremely painful for Colin, so much so, that after the fourth time, he told brother Sean and me that he didn’t know if he was going to make it. By which he meant that he could sense that the pain of dialysis was so acute that he could feel his life force draining away, and wanted to say goodbye to us beforehand.

(In fact, during the fourth dialysis, there had been two wonderful black nurses in the dialysis room who both came up to him and, sensing his life force leaving, had asked him if he would like them to pray with him. Which they then did, one on each side of him, for the entire dialysis session.)

I was so shaken by Colin’s obvious distress that I immediately called his healer cousin Megan, who drove from her home in northern Indiana to see him the next day. That evening she worked on his kidneys with both hands. 

The next day, the kidney doc came in and told him that he had some good news. That his kidneys were improving! That they were going to postpone his scheduled dialysis for a few days to see if continued improvement.

A couple of days later, they were so certain of kidney improvement that they took out the dialysis port. When he left the hospital, soon after, for Majestic, his kidneys were functioning at 50%, still at disease level, however, but better.

Three months later, he had an appointment with a kidney doc here in Bloomington, transported there by the Majestic bus in his chair. The doc did the necessary tests, the results of which wouldn’t come back for ten days, and told Colin that hopefully his kidneys were now at 60%. Colin, so sure of Megan’s efficacy, scoffed, telling the doc he bet they were in the 70s or even 80s, because of his cousin’s miraculous powers. Now it was turn for the doc to scoff, told Colin he was being too optimistic. “Oh yeah, doc? I bet you $5 they will be in the 70s or 80s.”

“Well, that’s a bet that I will take,” replied the doc, so sure of his own prediction.

Ten days later, the results came back. Colin’s kidneys were in the 90s! i.e. normal.

Ok, fast forward to today, and his second three month kidney check up. Again, transported in his chair by the Majestic bus. He sat there in the waiting room, answering a slew of questions for a form the nurse was filling out, waiting for the doc.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The doc came through the door, a $5 bill in his hand.

He asked Colin what he was going to spend the money on.

“Nothin’. I’m going to frame it!”

Yes. That actually happened. This morning.

Assuming the tests they took today are good (again, results in ten days), he doesn’t have to see the kidney doc for another year.