Eleanor Becker - Burned and Unbroken: A True Story of Pain, Courage, and Miracles.

Survive the Shock of Unexpected Trauma

ELEANOR BECKER

Copyright 2018

by Eleanor Becker

ISBN: 978-1-7326101-0-1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, and recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

All Scripture quoted is from the Holy Bible, the New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures designated NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scriptures designated NASB are taken from the Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Scriptures designated NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scriptures designated MSG are taken from the Holy Bible, The Message, Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.

Printed in the United States

To Yolandie, Niel, Heinz, Matt, Wyatt, Wesley and Walter

Facing Realities and Questions When Disaster Strikes

Trusting People You Love When Tragedy Hits

Letting Deep Wounds Lead to Deep Healing

Celebrating Good Moments Even When Life Hurts

Redefining What It Means to Win in Life

Staying the Course When the Road Gets Long

Holding on When Faith Runs Low

Fighting the Fury of the Unexpected Complications

Surviving the Trauma Even After the Fight Is Won

Overcoming Pain that Lingers in the Aftermath

Expecting God to Restore to More Than Before

Staying Alive and Thrive When Trouble Hits

Evaluating the Roles of People and Seasons in Your Life

The Bible is filled with promises of Gods mercy, help, and deliverance in times of trouble, and its easy to accept and believe those promises in the absence of trials. But how is it when the testing time comes, especially in overwhelming proportion that leaves little or no room for hope of deliverance? How can you trust God when you see medical authorities casting sympathetic glances at you, shaking their heads and whispering among themselves, and at the same time, the person you love most is in an agonizing fight with death? To make matters worse, you are all alone in a strange country with thousands of miles separating you from the loving support of family and close friends.

This was the experience of Eleanor Becker, and in this book, she reveals the reality of the statement found in Psalm 34:19, which says, Many are the afflictions of the righteous..... She and her two-year-old daughter witnessed the tragedy that brought her husband to the precipice of death, where he lingered in indescribable suffering for months. During that time, Eleanor was with her husband in the valley of the shadow of death, and she experienced the reality of the rest of Psalm 34:19 (ESV), The Lord delivers him out of them all.

Everyone knows the story told in Daniel 3 about the three young Hebrews in the fiery furnace. They said, Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... (v. 17), and thats about as far as most people read. But the three young men went on to say, But if not, thats all right too. It doesnt make any difference. Anybody can trust God in the light of deliverance, but how is it in the darkness of hopelessness?

Eleanors story leaves no doubt that for every shadow there must be a light. Christ is the light of the world, and that includes every dark valley; if you keep your face toward the light, the shadow will fall behind you. This book is a testimony to every person experiencing grief that, if you trust God, He will turn every hurt into a hallelujah and every Calvary into an Easter. He will take every tear and change it into a pearl and make it a diadem for you to wear.

Because of its graphic descriptions of suffering, some of which are beyond imagination, this is not an easy book to read. When you do read it, however, your hope in God will reach a higher level and joyful praise will spring from the depths of your soul. You will agree that it is better to be in a dark valley with Jesus than on a sunlit mountain without Him.

-Jerry Horner, B.A., B.D., M.Div., Th.D.

This story of faith, hope and love is the story of a young couple whose faith in the Lord is so strong that it creates miracles which are biblical in nature. Your faith has made you well is a statement that Jesus made on numerous occasions when healing people who were afflicted with incurable diseases, even unto death (Mark 5:34, 36; 10:52; Luke 17:19; 18:42; etc). Theirs is also a story of hope, which never falters even when entering the valley of the shadow of death, the patients condition is deteriorating, and the chance of survival seems hopeless to the doctors.

This book is a story of love so deep and strong that regardless of the pain, suffering and complications, the love of the Lord and the love of the married couple for each other only grows stronger the worse it gets. Finally, along the way, it is a story of miracles large and small each of which is vital for the next stage of the journey.

In February 1987, my wife and I received a phone call from a friend who was a professor at Regent University to say that a young student couple had recently arrived from South Africa who would appreciate getting to meet us. My wife Tessa called the number he gave us that evening, and they promptly accepted our invitation to join us for Sunday lunch that weekend.

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Hennie and Eleanor Becker and their two-year-old daughter Yolandie. We learned that Hennie had recently graduated from Bible college in South Africa and was planning to earn a masters degree in Biblical Studies before returning to their ministry in South Africa. They were a very engaging and enthusiastic family, and since Easter was not too far off, we invited them to spend Easter with our familya suggestion they immediately accepted.

As the family became more settled, the weather warmed, and they made new friends. We saw them less often, especially as they took the opportunity to tour the USA during the summer. Therefore, when my pager went off one September afternoon, I was surprised to hear Eleanors voice, calling to say that Hennie had been severely burned in a gasoline explosion and was on his way to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital by helicopter. Can you please help? she asked.

As the pediatric surgeon-in-chief at the Childrens Hospital of the Kings Daughters, immediately adjacent to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (NGH), I had no jurisdiction over adult care at NGH, but I did have hospital privileges there, and I did take pediatric trauma calls there on a rotation basis. Consequently, I was familiar with the trauma unit. Also during my pediatric surgery fellowship, I spent a considerable amount of time overseeing the very busy, 30-bed burn unit at the Red Cross Childrens Hospital in Cape Town.