One day in 1968 I lost control of the car I was driving down a...

Phyllis Ann Gibson

One day in 1968 I lost control of the car I was driving down a wet and winding hill, colliding with several oncoming cars. My young son was a passenger. I regained consciousness briefly in a nearby home and asked to use the telephone. At that point I was not aware of the physical injuries I had sustained in the accident and felt confident of the well-being of my child, whom I remembered warning about the impending collision. He was, in fact, unharmed.

Despite my condition I recall being very organized about what I needed to do. I called a Christian Science practitioner whose telephone number I knew by heart and asked her to begin Christian Science treatment on my behalf. I'm amazed that I remembered the phone number of a neighbor whom I had called only once before. I asked her to make the short trip to our home to notify my husband, as he was unreachable by phone.

When a paramedic arrived, I explained that I was a Christian Scientist, and he asked me to sign a form stating that I had voluntarily refused medical treatment. I did allow him to tape together the wounds on my face. That was the last I remembered for a while.

Although there was never a medical diagnosis of the injuries I sustained, the paramedic told my former husband that I would die if I did not receive immediate first aid. My husband later told me that when he first saw me, he could not see any signs of life. I regained consciousness a second time in my own bed. Both my husband and the practitioner were there.

My physical injuries appeared to include multiple lacerations, internal damage and hemorrhaging, a number of broken ribs, and a broken left hip.

Early on I was asked whether I wished to be taken to a Christian Science nursing home. I made the decision to stay where I was, however, relying on the dedicated practitioner for effective Christian Science treatment, and on my husband's practical support in making me as comfortable as possible.

Within the first few hours, I began to experience a movement throughout my body. It was so intense that I feared I might be dying. The practitioner quickly calmed this fear, declaring forcefully that there were no accidents in God's creation and that I had never spent a single moment outside of this creation, which included God's omnipotent care for me. In that instant I felt my ribs and hip move back into place. I was free from a great deal of the pain and able to remain conscious.

By the second morning the wounds on my face had completely closed up; brand new skin covered the places where the skin had been torn. All my teeth, which had been knocked loose in the accident, were firmly set. Later that very same day I walked with the aid of crutches. Within four days I was walking unassisted, and within one week there was no sign that any injury had ever taken place. I have never experienced any aftereffects from the accident whatsoever.

A wonderful aspect of this healing is that, when an insurance investigator came to question us, he became so convinced of the effectiveness of the Christian Science treatment that he made arrangements for his company to cover the practitioner's fees in full. This was the first time that particular company provided coverage for Christian Science treatment, and it was made a permanent provision.

Although I'd had many other healings in Christian Science, this potent reversal of what first appeared to be a lethal injury truly made me feel that, like Jacob, I had "seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis). I will be forever grateful for my husband's great courage in facing this experience with an unswerving reliance on God, and to the practitioner for her consecration and inspiration.

Phyllis Ann Gibson
Valley Village, California

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