By now you must have
realised I’m into fiction. When I read,
I like to completely shut out reality and get lost in imaginary worlds. I don’t often read biographies or such, but I
do, however, like to read personal accounts of extraordinary events. To date, the most exceptional account I’ve
read was I have life by Alison Botha.
Every South African knows her extraordinary tale of survival. In Port Elizabeth in 1994 Alison was brutally
attacked by two men (later dubbed the ripper rapists) who overpowered her,
raped her, stabbed her 30 times and cut her throat 16 times. They left her to die in the dirt. By the grace of God, Alison’s aorta was not damaged! She could still
force oxygen into her lungs, and keeping her intestines inside her body with
one hand, and her head on her body with the other, Alison stumbled into the
road. A medical student found her and
raced her to the nearest hospital.
Alison survived this horrific event, recovered miraculously and is a
motivational speaker today.
After 18 years, I have found
an account to rival Alison’s in terms of an extraordinary survival and recovery. My sister-in-law, Taryn, gave me this book to
read. It was written by a friend of hers,
also a South African woman. The title Cut
in half: How God mended me with 23 miracles is pretty self-explanatory. This
book is Ana Le Roux’s testimony.
Nine years ago, in 2003,
young mother Ana Le Roux was involved in a head on collision. Just three weeks after the birth of her son,
Ana was literally cut in half by the force with which her body jack-knifed
around the lap seat belt she was wearing.
This book opened my eyes to the danger of lap belts – something I have
never been made aware of. I quite
frequently sit in the middle back-seat because I prefer the view, and as such I
often make use of the lap belt… or shall I say used to. I am grateful that Ana’s story made me aware
of the dangers surrounding the lap belt.
Ana was not expected to survive. Her body was literally cut in half; Her spine
was broken, her aorta was severed, her colon and small intestines were ripped. When it became apparent that she was pulling
through, the prognosis was that Ana’s right leg would be amputated and that she
would in all probability be paralised for the rest of her life. Ana’s internal injuries were extensive, and a
very long road of recovery loomed before her. As with Alison, God meant for Ana
to not only survive, but recover.
Cut in half: How God mended
me with 23 miracles tells Ana’s story of how God healed her physically,
spiritually and emotionally. Where some
might have shrugged events off as unimportant, credited luck or coincidence,
Ana saw the truth: miracles; God’s
personal intervention. In this day and
age people are quick to say things like “I was so lucky”, or “I was at the
right place at the right time”, or “What an amazing coincidence”. People credit luck, destiny or fate. So many phrases every single day diminish
God’s participation in our lives, and with this book Ana strives to remind
readers that miracles happen every single day – we just need to recognise them.
Ana doesn’t have the writing
style of an author, and she’ll tell you herself that she is not an author. You can tell Ana wrote these words
herself. Her writing is very forthright,
like she’s in an active conversation with the reader. This approach keeps the
reader rooted in reality. If the writing
had been too fussy and frilly, this story would have strayed too close to
fiction. With Ana’s direct approach the
reader never forgets that this miraculous event truly occurred, and that God is
active in our lives every single day.
Cut in half: How God mended
me with 23 miracles by Ana Le Roux is not only an inspirational story about
survival, it is a very touching testimony every Christian should read. Even better: share it with
non-believers. God might use you and
Ana’s story to bring a lost child home.
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