Unconscious, Ema McKinley dangled upside-down from a ladder for 2 1/2 hours before one of her co-workers discovered her. By then, permanent damage had already been done.
Soon after McKinley’s April 1993 accident, she was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a rare nerve disorder that cripples limbs and causes extreme sensitivity to touch. With no cure and no effective way to manage the pain, she lived for 18 years in severe pain—16 of them in a wheelchair.
Yet even though her husband left her shortly after her diagnosis, McKinley still found hope.
“What brought me through my days was my faith and my best friend, [Jesus, whom] I relied on each day to get me through,” she told Charisma.
McKinley had been a Christian since her teenage years, but she drew even closer to Jesus after the accident.
McKinley’s life took a dramatic turn on Christmas Eve 2011 when she suffered another fall, this time rendering her unable to get up from her floor for eight hours. After crying out to Jesus, she noticed a “swirling wind sound” that filled up her whole house and she soon saw a figure a few feet away.
That morning, Jesus began to heal her body. She says He reached out His hand and she placed her hand in His, then He took her other hand and they stood together.
Now McKinley is able to walk and has not used her wheelchair in nearly three years. Though the pain from RSD still affects her, it is more manageable. Thankful for the healing and miracle she received, McKinley is eager to share her story.
