Maria and I were engaged on the 2nd of March 2016 and we headed off to Goa to attend a friend’s wedding. On the 4th onwards I started falling seriously ill with plenty of vomiting. I couldn't eat or drink any fluids and was completely exhausted. 

I was admitted to a private hospital (Wockhardt) in the Intensive Care Unit where it was found that all my internal organs were failing. My kreatine levels were high, my lungs were filled, my kidney had stones so also my gall bladder and my platelet count dropped to less than 30K which was dangerously low.

To top it the doctor in charge was more money minded and interested in extracting the most while I was on my death bed.

Poor Maria struggled all alone by herself and had to rush 50 kms away to get platelets from Goa Medical College and had to face bureaucracy and shouts. Since there was no agitator, she had to shake the platelet bags by hand all the way to the hospital. And she did this all by herself twice. As the first set of platelets did not bring the count up, they had to inject another set.

She was at her wits end and kept praying to Jesus while at the same time being asked by the hospital to sign various forms, including a form that absolved the hospital of all issues in case of death of patient and a form that gives permission to attendant to take the dead body away.

On the 7^th evening after much discussions and urgings with the doctor and convincing her to let the patient go, Maria with the help of CD shifted me to Goa Medical College.

We had to wait in the out patient department for more than an hour waiting for x rays etc. As it was a serious case Maria tried to get me admitted in the ICU along with the help of Dr. Suhel. Unfortunately all the beds were occupied. So they shifted me to the secondary ICU ward. After sometime we were informed that we may have to be shifted to a private hospital as they could not guarantee any beds in the ICU.

Maria prayed to the Lord. Around 12 she got a call from the chief doctor in charge of the ICU, who said that a patient had just passed away and they could give me a bed in the ICU.

Once I was shifted to the ICU, for the next 30-60 mins all types of tests were done. They were poking all sorts of needles and injections in my arms trying to find a vein in vain.

At first it was painful but the pain vanished when all I thought about at that time was the Jesus suffered more when he had to carry the crown of thorns and the the cross up the hill of Calvary and his hands were nailed to the cross.

All I could think of then was that he suffered so much more for us, the pain of the nurses poking me was of no comparison.

I did not know or realise at that point that this was the Holy season of Lent.

After the tests etc all the nurses went away to their respective stations and the ICU was quiet.

Around 3 am, I felt a hand touch my back around the area of the heart. In my sleepy state I first thought that a nurse has come to wake me up to take blood samples. But when I opened my eyes, there was no one around. The lights were dim and the whole ICU was quiet. I could hear my own breathing and I was sleeping on my back.

And then I felt the touch again. And then again. Three times I felt that hand on my shoulder. I felt the Lord’s presence with me. And I went to sleep.

In the morning at 6 am, the nurses came around to do their usual tests before the duty doctors came around for their visit.

By 8 am the doctors were on their rounds. When they came to my bed sometime later, they were as surprised to find out that all my parameters were back to normal. My platelet counts had gone up. My liver was better, my kidney had started functioning again, and my lungs were clearing up.

I spent another day & night in the ICU without any problems or medical flare ups.

The next day (3^rd day in GMC) I was transferred to the secondary ICU. Over here I was finally able to start eating some solid food as all the previous days I was only on liquid diet, mostly saline and medication, given intravenously.

On the second day of my internment at the secondary ICU, during noon, I was fast asleep. I felt a sharp slap on my left hand. I was sleeping on my back and I woke up with a start thinking why a nurse was hitting me on my hand. When I opened my eyes I couldn’t see anyone. In fact the ward was buzzing with patients and their attendants.

Again I felt a sharp slap on my left hand. I tried to lift it but it felt extremely heavy like some weight was holding it pinned down. I tried to lift my right hand to touch my left hand. I was shocked to find that my right hand was pinned to the bed by an unseen force. I could feel the fingers of an unseen hand dig into my right hand and holding it down.

I immediately prayed to Jesus to help me. Within seconds the resistance that I felt trying to lift both my hands, lifted. My hands rose in the air with a jerk.

I was overcome with emotion. Both these episodes overwhelmed me and put me into a very contemplative state. I had only heard or read about such incidents but having experienced it first hand was a new experience.