Article March 11, 2002 Issue

A life-transforming spiritual healing

By Kim Shippey Sentinel staff

The Zyndas are about as happy a family as you'll find in Vista, California. Tom (an independent trucking contractor) and Debra (a real estate notary), love the movies, tennis, and travel. Their 19-year-old son, Nick, is an artist who is crazy about 1950s automobiles and "food—any food." Sixteen-year-old Holly is a voracious reader, plays basketball, and enjoys "goofing off with friends." They go to church together. They're healthy, noisy, full of fun.

But it wasn't always that way. Fifteen years ago, they were in turmoil. Holly, then 20 months old, was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP), a blood disease that has some of the same characteristics as leukemia.

Both Holly and Nick visited a pediatrician's office for regular infant immunizations. One day Deb began noticing that Holly was bruising severely with even minor bumps and falls. She mentioned her concerns to her friend and neighbor, Kimberly Brown. An experienced intensive care and emergency room nurse, Brown had observed that a little knock on Holly's head would swell into a goose egg. She recognized these as signs of a "potentially fatal problem," and recommended immediate medical attention.

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