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‘Before I Formed You In The Womb, I Knew You’

A Denver pastor recalls the amazing survival story of his parishioner Petra Anderson, whose brain was pierced by a buckshot pellet (the pastor calls it a “bullet,” a misidentification, I believe) fired by the Batman shooter. She was in critical condition at the hospital, and if she survived, was expected to have brain damage. She’s […]

A Denver pastor recalls the amazing survival story of his parishioner Petra Anderson, whose brain was pierced by a buckshot pellet (the pastor calls it a “bullet,” a misidentification, I believe) fired by the Batman shooter. She was in critical condition at the hospital, and if she survived, was expected to have brain damage.

She’s going to be fine. Here’s why:

It seems as if the bullet traveled through Petra’s brain without hitting any significant brain areas. The doctor explains that Petra’s brain has had from birth a small “defect” in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like a tiny vein through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, winding from front to rear.  Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.

But in Petra’s case, the shotgun buck shot, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, enters her brain from the exact point of this defect. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain. In many ways, it almost misses the brain itself.  Like a giant BB though a straw created in Petra’s brain before she was born, it follows the route of the defect. It is channeled in the least harmful way. A millimeter in any direction and the channel is missed.  The brain is destroyed. Evil wins a round.

As he shares, the doctor seems taken aback. It is an odd thing to have a surgeon show a bit of wonder. Professionally, these guys own the universe, it seems, and take everything in stride. He is obviously gifted as a surgeon, and is kind in his manner. “It couldn’t have gone better. If it were my daughter,” he says quietly, glancing around to see if any of his colleagues might be watching him, “I’d be ecstatic. I’d be dancing a jig.”

Some people would say, “If God did that for Petra, why didn’t He do that for all the others killed at the theater.” Others would say, “Thank you, God, for doing that miracle for Petra,” and leave it at that. Jeremiah 1:5, and all that.

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