Prayer Blocks COVID’s Fatal Blow

Dallas, TX

July 2020. The McCrary family were making great memories on their vacation in the Florida Keys. But soon, those memories would take a terrible turn.  

Rick McCrary explained, “On July 4th, Saturday morning, I knew something hit me early that morning. I was nauseated, it hit me in the stomach, and it was like turning a light switch on.”

71-year-old Rick McCrary, husband, father, and grandfather had contracted Covid-19. Within a week of coming home, Kay, his wife of 52 years, was dropping him off at the Baylor Hospital emergency room in Dallas, Texas.

Kay said, “And I tried to be strong, but I didn’t really know if I would ever see him again.”

Rick said, “We held hands, we hugged, and we said our good byes, and I’ll never forget the feeling of leaving my sweetheart in the parking lot.”

By then, Rick had developed double Pneumonia and Sepsis. To make matters worse, Rick was pre-diabetic, had a pace maker, and had gone through numerous heart surgeries and Prostate Cancer. His odds of surviving were very slim. Meanwhile, Kay, and their daughter, Kristie, had also tested positive for Covid. Although neither were hospitalized, their symptoms were brutal.  

Kay explained, “The aches and the pains were literally unbearable, and I didn’t think I could stand it.”

Despite her pain, Kay still managed to pray for Rick.

Kay said, “I remember saying the scripture, ‘Rick will live, not die and declare the glory of the Lord.’ I mean screaming it.”

Kristie also reached out to a handful of friends to pray.

Kristie said, “All I could do was lift my head up and try to make text messages that would bullet-point our prayer requests. I was so sick, that’s all I could handle. Next thing I know, a day or two has gone by, and hundreds of people across the country are getting these prayer texts!”

Still in the ER, Rick was declining. His oxygen levels plummeted, and the Sepsis was spreading. Doctors put him on oxygen and strong medications, and they worked at first.  

Rick explained, “I had stabilized those first two days and then I had a crash. My body rejected the medicines, my temperature went up, my breathing became to where I couldn’t breathe.”

Doctors moved Rick to the ICU and managed to get him stabilized again. That night, Rick said he had a terrifying encounter. 

“I could see pitch dark, black skies,” said Rick. “And then I would see what looked like lightning, but it lit up the whole sky. And in the background, when it was lit up, I could see a skeleton, and it was the Death Angel who had come for me.”

At exactly 3:18 that morning, a woman who had been praying for Rick said she heard from God. 

Kristie explained, “God said, ‘Wake up now. Rick is in trouble. Go pray.’”

She wasn’t the only one.

Kristie continued, “Another lady, that’s not connected, had woken up at 3:18 in the morning. God said, ‘Go get in your prayer chair. Someone can’t breathe.’”

Rick said, “And then I could see people pointing their fingers, shaking their fists, violently praying that, ‘You’re not going to take this life, that Rick is going to live, and Rick is not going to die.’”

Rick woke up that morning determined to fight.

“I said, ‘The devil, you’re not going to win. You do not have my number,’” explained Rick.

In the coming week, Rick’s lungs began to clear. But now, his sugar levels were spiking, and he was still fighting Sepsis, causing his white blood cell counts to rise to dangerously high levels. Weak, and isolated with only brief visits from nurses, Rick’s only contact with family was through FaceTime.

As tears formed in Kristie’s eyes, she said, “And I thought, ‘What am I going to do? My rock is leaving right before my eyes.’”

Meanwhile, Kay, at home under a nurse’s care, had become so ill she couldn’t even pray for her husband. 

Kristie said, “And I thought, ‘Am I going to lose my father, and now I’m going to lose my mother?’”

But, through prayer, Kristie and others around the country continued to fight. Gradually, all three of them improved. On day 12 of Rick’s hospital stay, a doctor came into his room. Rick was being released. 

Rick said, “It was a joyous day. It was a fun day. They brought me home in a Covid approved vehicle.” 

Kay said, “And he walked through the door, we embraced and cried and cried.”

Rick explained, “Many days, we thought we’d never be able to touch or feel, or hold each other again, and to experience that was just something that, that it’s hard to describe.”

Kay said, “It was glorious, because it was life again. God had defeated death.”

After a couple of months, they had regained their health. Today, they’re thankful that the Lord has given them more time to make many more memories.
   
Kristie said, “My friends are in awe. We all are in awe, because we’ve seen remarkable things today!”
 
Kay said, “Jesus has given us hope. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.”
 
Rick said, “Without prayer warriors that were stronger than I was, I would have never lived through my experience. And I thank God that He’s brought up friends of the family that know how to pray.”