A New Way to Pray

Linda Newell

The first time I tried praying with the laying on of hands was for my daughter, Linda, one Sunday afternoon when she was four years old. That afternoon Linda suddenly began to cry hard, complaining her head hurt. I do not really remember thinking about laying my hands on her before I did it. I only remember I was distraught over seeing Linda in so much pain. While she was lying on the bed I started to soothe her as mothers naturally do when their children cry. It seemed natural to lay my hand on her forehead and pray, "God, please take away her pain." Soon after I prayed for her she stopped complaining of the pain.

It was about a year after Linda's initial treatment for acute lymphocyte leukemia. We believed Linda was still in remission because she was going for regular check-ups to her doctors and they did not find any signs the leukemia was coming back.

Although Linda had no more headaches a second symptom of illness appeared. Linda, with no preceding nausea or retching, suddenly vomited in the car as we drove her to Philadelphia for her regular check up. I never connected the vomiting with her earlier bad headache. The vomiting was more or less like an infant spitting up, but of course, she was no longer at that stage. I reported the vomiting to her doctor, but he did not act concerned. He thought she must have been carsick. Linda never got carsick, so I did not agree with him, but I kept silent. He was the doctor.

The second time she vomited we were at home. When I reported that incident to him he said she likely had a little virus. I doubted that because she exhibited no other symptoms. Then just before Linda vomited for third time I saw the pupil of one of her eyes briefly wander. It was then I became concerned something was really wrong. Yet Linda still seemed to feel well most of the time.

Linda was to be the flower girl in my sister Janice's wedding to Howard Toms in Connecticut on June 5, 1965. I had made her a lovely pink organza dress to wear, which she loved. Janice had made an appointment for Linda's hair to be styled at the beauty parlor for the morning of the wedding and had ordered the flowers Linda was to carry.

The morning of the wedding Linda awakened feeling too ill to take part in the ceremony. My sister cancelled her hair appointment, but gave her the flowers to cheer her. We reluctantly left her at my in-laws' home on the couch while the rest of us attended the wedding. In the afternoon she seemed a little better and we allowed her to come to the reception. As the day progressed, however, it was clear she was not her usual perky self.

As we drove back to Pennsylvania I was worried, but I knew she would see Dr. Beizer early the next week for her regular check up. When we met with him I reported she had vomited again, that she had not felt well enough to be in the wedding and I had noticed the pupil of one of her eyes wander. He examined her, had his lab technician do her regular blood testing, then put out the lights. Shining a flashlight into eyes, he looked into them. When he was finished examining her he reported she was still doing fine.

By that point I just knew something wasn't right and said, "Doctor, I know something is wrong with this child and I'm not taking her home until you tell me what it is." He responded by telling me that sometimes leukemia showed up in the spinal fluid after chemotherapy, but he really did not see any signs of it with Linda. However, to rule it out he would send her next door to the hospital for a spinal tap. When he received the results of the lab tests from the spinal tap he was amazed to learn there was a very high number of immature cells in her spinal fluid.

Linda remained hospitalized for three weeks during which she endured several painful spinal taps through which she received injections of methotrexate. The treatments brought about a remission of the leukemia in the spinal fluid, but by September the leukemia was found again in her bone marrow.

I have pondered many times why my prayer to alleviate Linda's pain was answered and the symptoms of disease were not as severe as would be expected, but our prayers for a cure were not answered. I still do not know the answer. All I do know is I've seen many recipients of such prayer relax in complete peace, their pain alleviated and their symptoms reduced in severity. I've also noticed that those who receive ongoing prayers for healing seem to live longer than expected.