Kyndall Stacey | FREE15

Red hair… green eyes….sunlight twinkling through the trees… a beautiful scar….

Kyndall smiled and turned around, standing with her back to me.  A large oak framed her right side and sunlight kissed her skin.  Her red hair came alive as the sun’s rays danced off of it.  She glowed.

I took my camera from my eye and just looked at her, appreciating all that God had done in and through this gorgeous girl…

Then I realized how incredible the photo opportunity was… so I took it.

Kyndall spent many nights laying in bed in intense pain.  Her body ached and she didn’t know what was wrong.  For years pain would pulse through her body, unexpectedly and unexplained.  On December 10th, 2012, a name was given to her cause of pain…

“You have Scheuermann’s Kyphosis.”

Scheuermann’s kyphosis is hunch back that can cause many problems, eventually leading to death. Her spin’s curve was a 70 (normal spins are between 20-40) which meant that it was crushing her heart and lungs.

Kyndall had expected to be excited to finally know the name and treatment methods of what plagued her…. but instead, she was numb.

Surgery was scheduled for a month later, and Kyndall was encouraged to visit a neighbor who had recently gone through the same surgery. Entering the hospital room, Kyndall found the patient screaming in pain.  Morphine wasn’t even touching the intensity of it.  Quietly, unsure of what else to do, Kyndall prayed with her and headed home.

Mixed emotions began to set in… nervousness being the biggest one.

The psalmist in Psalms 103:1-5 writes :

Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Kyndall found comfort in this verse, and after reading it all of her nervousness disappeared.  She realized that she had no idea what the future held for her, but she knew who held her future and because of that, she trusted him with everything.

She had many more visits to the hospital before her surgery.  Doctors took blood, MRI’s, and spinal examinations were common things in preparation for surgery.  But also, in Kyndall’s family, so was prayer.

The day of the surgery finally came and the doctor announced that the results from the MRI showed that Kyndall’s curve had increased from 70-84 – which is unheard of.  At this rate of increase, Kyndall wasn’t expected to live past the summer without the surgery.

Kyndall’s story is not one you would expect just by looking at her.  The days after the surgery were the most painful she had ever experienced.  She even had to walk from the fifth floor of the hospital, down to her car to go home because she couldn’t lower herself down to sit in a wheelchair!  But, despite the pain, she put her trust in Christ and his promises in Psalms 103…. and he responded to her trust…

Two weeks after surgery Kyndall started back at college. (Miracle!)

Two & a half weeks after, she was able to drive. (Miracle!)

Six weeks after surgery, Kyndalls back brace was removed and no longer needed. (Miracle!)

Now, almost fifteen weeks after her surgery, Kyndall is abounding with joy and stronger than ever.  She wouldn’t trade her surgery, nor her disease for anything in the world.  Her pain is gone, and in it’s place, a greater intimacy with her creator.