The Miraculous Story Of Barbra Cummiskey

This story is from a collection of articles that recorded this event when it first took place. Some of the articles I pulled from included Miracles Today, God Reports, The Case for Miracles, and Chicago Tribune, as well as the WMBI Broadcast, Christianity Today, Instant Recovery Called a Miracle, and the Barbara J. Snyder Obituary.

Barbra Cummiskey was born in Berwyn, Illinois, on February 1, 1968. Her parents, Eugene and Agnes Cummiskey, raised Barbra and her sister in Wheaton, Illinois, where they attended the Wesleyan Church and went to school at Wheaton Central High School. When Barbra was 15, her muscles began to slowly move out of control. She would be in gymnastics, reaching for the ring when her hand would not respond, and she would fall to the floor. Or she would be doing everyday things around the house and suddenly just drop to the ground. She, along with her family, just thought that it had something to do with her turning into a teenager. However, when it started to occur more often, her family began to worry. Then, when she was participating in a Bible trivia tournament, she went to jump up to answer when again she ended up collapsed on the floor. When they went to the doctor in search of answers, they discovered that she had acquired multiple sclerosis (MS).

According to google:

''Definition of Sclerosis: In MS, "sclerosis" refers to the scarring or hardening of nerve tissue caused by the immune system destroying the myelin sheath.

• Immune System Dysfunction:

  The immune system mistakenly attacks healthy nerve cells, leading to inflammation and damage

• Disease Mechanisms: Damage results in lesions (plaques) that interrupt, slow down, or block nerve impulses.

• Common Symptoms:

  • Vision Issues: Blurry or double vision.

  • Mobility Issues: Muscle weakness, spasms (spasticity), and balance problems.

  • Sensory Changes: Numbness, tingling, or "pins and needles".

  • Cognitive & Emotional: Fatigue, memory problems, and depression.

• Types of MS:

  • Relapsing-Remitting MS (RRMS): Marked by temporary flare-ups (relapses) followed by recovery periods (remission).

  • Primary-Progressive MS (PPMS): Symptoms gradually worsen over time without distinct relapses. ''

In this case, they hoped it was just a temporary occurrence, but as time progressed, Barbara's symptoms got worse. For the next 16 years of her life, she could no longer do things without constant care and assistance. She went through multiple procedures, and she was hospitalized for long periods of time. Around the time when she turned twenty, she decided that even if her condition would hinder her from doing physical things, she would not allow it to hinder her from having a life in Christ. Her flesh was deteriorating, but her spirit was strong, and she was filled with joy.

In 1978 she was admitted into the Mayo Hospital where the doctors said that she did not have much longer to live. She had to be hooked up to multiple machines because most of her body could not function. She could not walk, her intestines were swollen, her bladder did not function, her hands were perpetually bent down and touching her wrists, she had one collapsed lung, and her vision was only limited to blurry shapes. In the summer of 1981 her condition was terminal. The doctors sent her home saying that she only had a few days left to live and this would be the last time her family would see her. One of her friends from her church phoned the WMBI radio station and asked that people would pray for her because she was on her deathbed. When this news was released people began to pray. They wrote letters telling Barbara that she was not alone and that they were interceding for her but it wasn't until the next Sunday that they got to her.

It was June 7, 1981, that day was Pentecost Sunday and two of her friends went to visit her and deliver the 450 prayer letters that had been written. Because of her collapsed lung she could barely speak and because of all the tubes she could only speak when one of the air tubes was plugged. As her friends read the prayers to her, she hears an audible voice from behind her tell her to get up and walk. She had not walked in 15 years and she had no leg muscles as well as this perpetual curve in her feet that would not allow her to stand. But when she heard the voice, she knew it was God telling her to get up and be healed. Her friends saw her acting frantic and they closed the tube to allow her to speak. She tells them that God just told her to get up, and so they need to go get her family who were in the other room. Then she jumps out of the bed towards the voice behind her.

The first thing she realizes is that she can see her feet standing, as they should be, flat on the ground and no pain. The next thing she realizes is that she can see her hands perfectly healed and as they were before she ever had the sickness! Then she realizes that her eyes are healed too and she can see! In this moment her friends are screaming with excitement and her mother runs into the room. She is so surprised and starts shouting, "Calves, you have calves!" Barbara then says to go get her dad and she runs out into the living room where her dad is standing in shock. They run to each other and he embraces her and they do the waltz around their living room. Then she runs outside skipping and dancing, so joyful and happy for the new life she gets to live. When the family makes it to the hospital, Doctor Thomas is shocked and amazed. He didn't believe what he saw, and when he tested her, he found out that she had no more symptoms and her lungs looked like they had never even collapsed. Amazed, he tells her that there is no medical explanation for what happened and that this was a miracle. Throughout the next week she gets all her tubes removed and her testimony is shared all over the place. The Chicago Tribune writes about what happened and multiple articles are written. So many people were shocked and amazed at what God did and many who believed that God does not still perform miracles were convinced otherwise.

When she got married in 1986, she partnered with her husband in multiple areas of ministry, and from that time she has shared her story countless times.

It is amazing hearing what God did and God is still doing the impossible today. The only reason we would think He is not is because we are not with Him. But when you are walking in a life that is in Him and with Him, you will see, and you will begin to be a part of what He does.