Many years ago my mother was healed of the effects of a stroke through Christian Science. Witnessing her healing was one of the most important experiences in my life. At the time, I was attending graduate school in California, and my mother was living in London. We were both familiar with Christian Science and valued its teachings, but neither of us attended church regularly or practiced Christian Science consistently.
In December 1976, both of us went to spend Christmas with relatives in California. Early on Christmas morning, my mother came to my bedroom and woke me to say that she had been tidying up the house when she felt a strange sensation in her head, and her arm had begun to go numb. Before long, the right side of her body became completely paralyzed. She was taken to a local hospital, where doctors told her that she’d had a stroke. They didn’t give her any medical treatment, saying there was really nothing they could do for her.
She quickly decided that she wanted to rely on Christian Science to heal her. The next day, I made arrangements for her to be taken back to our relatives’ house, and we engaged a Christian Science nurse to assist her. When the New Year arrived, I had to get back to school, so my mother came to stay with me.
