Verdict Just In: Prayer Heals!

On July 3rd, 2003, LaTau Martin and her boyfriend drove down I-75 to spend the 4th of July with LaTau’s family in Orlando. It had been raining and LaTau’s parents, Michael and Francina Norman, along with her sister called to check on her, but there was no answer.

Francina recalls, “And I said, ‘Something is not right.’”

When Francina tried again, this time a state trooper answered.

Francina remembers, “And he said, ‘Your daughter has been involved in an accident.’ In fact, they had to airlift her to the hospital. And I just started screaming.”

LaTau’s car had hydroplaned, spun out and flipped several times before landing upside down. While LaTau’s boyfriend escaped with minor injuries, LaTau was airlifted to the Orlando Regional Medical Center unconscious and in critical condition. When her parents arrived they learned LaTau was in a medically induced coma and was on life support.

Francina says, “What I saw with my physical eyes was a death sentence.”

Michael shares, “No father's ever imagined one day to walk into a hospital room to see your daughter in a coma.”

Doctors told them LaTau had bleeding on the brain and punctured lungs. They also said her chances of survival were slim and even if she did live her cognitive abilities would be severely affected for the rest of her life. At once Francina, a minister, contacted her ministry partners around the world to pray, believing God had plans for LaTau, a bright college student working towards her law degree.

Francina says, “And I said, 'But God. I'm looking at you, Jesus, as my friend. And I want to say to you, if you take my child, that's going to hurt me. So God I need you to heal my child.' A peace came over me and I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, ‘I got this.’”

Seven days later, LaTau was back home. Still, she needed prayer, as the injury had affected her short-term memory, her mobility, and personality.

Francina recalls, “And I was just like, ‘God, this is so hard. And I need you to give her back her memory.’”

LaTau shares, “When I didn't know what to do, I didn't have the answers, and I didn't remember - I remembered God. I remembered His Word, and I remembered who He was.”

Through weeks of therapy and prayer, LaTau was able to return to college to continue her last year. Despite recovering nearly 40% of her short-term memory, she maintained an “A” average.

Then in 2004, 15 months later, LaTau was in another near fatal car accident. She was with a friend when the tire blew, causing the car to flip several times landing in a canal. Paramedics arrived to find her friend, who was driving, thrown from the car with minor injuries. LaTau, dazed was still in the car.

LaTau remembers, “When the paramedics came, I heard them say something about my head and my eyes. They knew I had another head injury because I burst the blood vessels in my eyes.”

LaTau was airlifted to a nearby hospital with two broken wrists, a broken left forearm, a brain injury and a fractured skull. Doctors said this time she likely would not recover her cognitive or reasoning skills.

Michael shares, “It's something you will never really get over.”

Francina says, “I said, ‘What is she carrying that's going to make a difference with her generation, that the enemy wants to take her out?’ The Lord began to show me how she was gonna make a difference in law, that she was going to be a judge, and she was going to judge righteously.”

After six hours of surgery on her wrists and forearm LaTau faced months of cognitive and physical therapy. Drawing on the faith and prayers of thousands around the world, LaTau and her family refused to give up.

Francina shares, “It was me and my husband's responsibility to war for her. To make sure that the enemy knew that we going to fight for every single thing that's supposed to happen in her life.”

LaTau says, “I would have those thoughts that I have to accept this. This is going to be my life. 'What if actually my brain's getting worse?' I knew I can't give up. I have to keep pushing. I have to keep persevering. I have to be determined and I have to stand on His Word and stand on the purpose and what I'm called to be.”

LaTau continued her relentless pursuit of getting her degree and graduated cum laude. Then, after getting her MBA at the Royal Holloway, University of London, LaTau and her family say their prayers were answered when she earned her law degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Lousiana in 2016.

Francina recalls, “I was thanking God because I said, ‘Oh, look what the Lord has done. She finished law school.’ It was so emotional.”

LaTau remembers, “I was just so thankful and so overjoyed by the miracle that I've seen manifested in my own life.”

Today, LaTau has no brain damage and has regained 70% of her short term memory and her cognitive skills. She’s looking forward to passing the bar and practicing criminal law. She and her family know the power of prayer can change any situation.

Michael says, “God truly answers prayer.”

Francina shares, “When I look at my daughter today, I admire the tenacity that she had. God hears your prayers. You're going to see the manifestation of God's power to heal you, any difficult situation, because if He can do it for us, He can do it for you.”

LaTau says, “I just want to tell those who were going through trauma, tribulations, and trials, don't give up. God's gonna' answer your prayers. He’s gonna' heal you.”