I was privileged to share in a wonderful experience recently that left me speechless – but not wordless.

I traveled to Coldwater, Mich., to the Eagles Lodge for a benefit for Heath Penick. Most of you remember Heath, the dairyman from Orland, Ind., who fell off a silo a couple of days after the World Dairy Expo, who has been miraculously recovering in the hospital ever since.

(Mark Mohney of Purdy Ford New Holland in Hillsdale, Mich., spearheaded the event, but won’t take any credit for it. So I’m telling you here so he can’t dispute it – he did a great job, and I want to go on record as saying THANK YOU!)

Not having any idea how many folks would turn out, when I pulled into the driveway, I was stunned to see it nearly full. When I entered the dining hall, almost every table was filled with some familiar and some unfamiliar faces.

People from all over Michigan, Ohio and Indiana showed up to support this benefit and to help the Penicks with the financial nightmare Heath’s hospitalization has created.

I mingled with the crowd, took some pictures and visited with folks, gathering information for a story. But when Heath’s sister, Chris, approached me, I was overjoyed to be able to talk with her firsthand and have all my questions answered about Heath’s condition.

I went from top to bottom with my interrogation, asking her about his face – was it as disfigured as I had heard? She told me he was missing just a few teeth and the only scar he had was under his eye; otherwise, Heath looked like Heath.

Then she told me his trachea tube had been removed and even though his mouth was still wired shut because of a broken jaw, he could talk clearly enough to be understood.

Wow ... this was a miracle.

Moving to his body, one arm had been broken, but was healing and he had no injuries to his torso: no broken ribs, no internal injuries, no broken hips, nothing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Then I asked about his legs. One femur was broken and his feet were crushed. But, because they were aligned perfectly, his feet required no rods or pins, they just needed to be still and heal.
No, this is not possible – how does a guy fall 60 feet from a silo and survive?

She told me he is the same Heath. He recognizes people, but sometimes has to have his memory jogged.

And of course, being the strong-willed man he is, he refuses to stay down – literally – and while he is not supposed to be bearing any weight on his feet, he continues to try to stand up and has done so a couple of times, only to have his sisters calmly but firmly tell him to sit back down.

Chris told me the family goal is to have him back home for a visit by Christmas, but he will more than likely be in rehabilitation for a while.

Wow. There are no words to describe the miracle God has performed in Heath’s life. Nothing we can say will do this gracious act justice.

We can only marvel at how God answers prayer and have our faith reaffirmed that He wants to hear from us – and when we talk to Him, he wants to tell us to live fearlessly because He loves us and will take care of us.

Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.