In a hospital, caregivers are surrounded by exciting new technology that seems to change by the minute. Adventist Health is no exception. But even medications that lower cholesterol in a matter of weeks or whole body scanners that render 3-D images are handily trumped by the rare human story that defies explanation.

Christmas miracles aren’t just for the big screen, Ernie Pilgrim would tell you. He experienced one of his own in December 2003 when he found himself at Hanford Community Medical Center in California’s Central Valley suffering a heart attack.

Pilgrim had a 25-year history of heart problems and was functioning on just one unblocked artery at the time of his attack. “He was unrecoverable,” said Pilgrim’s cardiologist Dr. Frank Gavini.

Still, Gavini did what he could to bring Pilgrim back. He administered a series of shocks for a full 30 minutes after Pilgrim’s heart had stopped, when, to his surprise, it started beating again.

“I’ve never gone as far as I did for him,” Gavini said of Pilgrim. “We’ve seen this kind of thing before, but with a patient like him, it’s extremely rare. Some things are beyond scientific explanation.”

“I give all the credit to God, because He gives me strength,” Pilgrim said. “Fifteen months ago, God told me He was going to create a new heart in me… and I know He is. I can feel it.”

A week after his heart attack, Pilgrim was back at home, standing on his own. And in his still beating heart, he knew that his recovery was a miracle, a gift from God.

When Roy Gaton, director of Chaplain Services at Castle Medical Center on Oahu, was summoned to the emergency department, he found a family in disarray. A perfectly healthy 40-something man had suffered a massive stroke and now lay comatose between starched white hospital sheets. The odds weren’t good, and doctors predicted that even if Paul** managed to emerge from the coma, he likely “wouldn’t be all there.”

Over the next couple of months, Gaton spent countless hours with Paul’s large family, helping them deal with their grief through counseling and prayer. At one point, he even anointed Paul, when the family feared their husband and father might not recover.

But behind Paul’s expressionless face, he was fighting for his life. Months and many prayers later, he finally broke through the fog and began the healing process.

“Going through this incredible journey with this family reminded me that healing comes at many levels,” reflects Gaton. “It’s not just physical, but emotional and spiritual as well.”

Despite his doctors’ dire predictions, Paul’s mind is clear today. Though his speech is limited, he has found other ways to communicate with his family. And while confined to a wheelchair, he still regularly crosses paths with his favorite chaplain, thanks to ongoing physical therapy.

But the story doesn’t end here. Between counseling sessions and therapy, Gaton shared bits and pieces of his faith with Paul and his family. Already Christians, they began to show an interest in Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. When Paul recovered, the grateful family began attending the local Adventist church, and today Paul’s son is enrolled at Windward Adventist Academy in Kailua.

“It’s beautiful when crisis brings us closer to God,” added Gaton. “While tragic, this experience ended up being a blessing for Paul and his entire family.”

* Based on the article “Local man credits his faith in recent survival of heart attack,” published in the Hanford Sentinel, Dec. 21, 2003.

** Paul is a pseudonym.