The Hem of His Robe

Ildiko Carpenter (Ildi) established and oversees Kelsee’s Purse, a boutique thrift shop that supports compassionate outreach and a clothing ministry to people in need in Sacramento, California. Read this  inspiring story about how God miraculously intervened in Ildi’s life and her faithful response to his healing love.

 Ildi’s troubles started over two years ago. Chronic menstrual bleeding made her so anemic that she landed in the emergency room needing  a blood transfusion. She was diagnosed with multiple fibroid tumors in her uterus but was not provided any treatment for this condition for several months. As her chronic bleeding worsened, she lost all energy.

“I became so anemic and weak that I couldn’t work at all,” Ildi explained. “I couldn’t cook or even shower. I had to take breaths between my words when I spoke. When I caught glimpses of my face in the mirror, I resembled my mother when she was going through chemotherapy. I looked and felt like I was dying.”

At last her doctor prescribed an intrauterine device (IUD) as a remedy to stop Ildi’s heavy bleeding. The IUD worked as prescribed and for over a year Ildi’s monthly periods were light and easy to manage. Her hemoglobin levels increased to normal and she was able to resume her normal life activities.

Although her health had improved, Ildi began to experience difficult side effects from the IUD.

“I started having stabbing pains in my uterus like the device was out of position. I also had intense pain in my right hip that made it difficult for me to work.”

Like before, Ildi’s doctor couldn’t see her for over a month. So she did what believers are encouraged to do—she asked God to heal her. She was relieved to learn that her new church offered a healing service which she attended with great hope and anticipation.

“I was in so much pain. I knew for certain that I needed to be there. I wanted so badly to be in God’s presence,” Ildi explained. But Ildi also sensed a great deal of spiritual opposition during the service. “I knew the enemy didn’t want me there. During worship I had to sit down because the pain in my hip was so bad, it was radiating down my femur.”

At the end of the service, Ildi went to the front of the church where three different people prayed for her. “I felt the IUD moving inside me which I had never felt before. I also felt the Holy Spirit showing me that the IUD and the hip pain were related. Although I left church with even more pain than when I arrived, I decided to thank the Lord for what He started in me. I prayed for faith to believe that He was going to finish it.”

After the church service, Ildi did a quick internet search and learned that many women who use IUDs experience hip pain. She thanked God that he had revealed this truth her, which she would never have learned any other way.

The next morning Ildi rose from bed with ease and with little pain. She scheduled an appointment for the following week to have the IUD removed.

Ildi arrived at her medical appointment the following Wednesday full of hope. Ildi recalls that the nurse practitioner who prepared her for the procedure asked what she would do when the heavy bleeding returned, since her uterus was full of fibroid tumors. “I didn’t worry about her negativity—I told her I wanted to let my body heal and would follow up with my doctors at the end of the month,” Ildi said.

Ildi didn’t have to wait for the end of the month to need further medical treatment.

Her period began within 48 hours and by mid-afternoon she was passing enormous blood clots, causing her to rush home from work. As she hemorrhaged, passing one clot after another, Ildi began to panic. Her mind raced with all the negative outcomes she had desperately tried to avoid over the last two years.

What if I become anemic and need blood transfusions?

If I have an emergency hysterectomy, who will take care of the store and all the folks who need my services?

Who is going to look after my family?

And then, the most difficult question of all. What is happening God? I thought you wanted to heal me.

Over the previous two years, Ildi had often reflected on the Bible story in Luke chapter 8 of how Jesus healed the woman who had suffered from a similar bleeding disorder for twelve years. Ildi marveled at the strength and faith of the woman who believed that just touching the hem of Jesus’ robe would be enough to heal her.

“In that moment, all alone in my bathroom, I knew that Jesus was my only hope. So I prayed. ‘Jesus, I don’t know what to do. Please make the bleeding stop.’

Then I closed my eyes and visualized him walking by. I imagined stretching out my hand and touching the hem of his cloak. Immediately the bleeding stopped. It was like a faucet turned off.”

In the midst of this miraculous answer to her desperate prayer, Ildi lay in shock and fear, wondering what she should do next. So she called her daughter and asked her to drive her to the emergency room, terrified that she would bleed all over the car and make a mess of herself in front of everyone at the hospital. Even when God shows up, it can sometimes be hard to believe.

Not a single drop of blood appeared while at the ER, even during a pelvic ultrasound. Ildi returned to the waiting room to await the ultrasound results.

After about 45 minutes, a woman doctor called Ildi into the hallway. The doctor dropped her head and stared at the sheaf of papers in her hand. “I cannot determine why you bled so heavily and lost so much blood,” she said, her voice brisk.

Ildi sighed, wondering why they were having so much trouble figuring her out. “It’s because my uterus is full of fibroid tumors.”

The doctor looked at the report again and said, “No, you don’t have any tumors.” Her words  sounded more like a challenge than a fact, like Ildi might be seeking attention by making things up. “Let’s get a pelvic exam to be sure.”

The pelvic exam didn’t reveal anything extraordinary and the doctor discharged Ildi and sent her home.

Ildi’s heavy bleeding never returned.

Ildi expressed the same faith as the woman in Luke chapter 8, but she didn’t perceive immediately that Jesus had healed her. Confirmation of true healing occurred when medical  examinations revealed that there was no evidence of disease in Ildi’s body. It took Ildi awhile to process all that happened and realize that God had miraculously healed her. Not only had the bleeding stopped, but Jesus had removed all the tumors from her body that were causing the problem.

It took very little time for Ildi to resume her regular duties at the thrift shop. “Three days after my bleeding stopped I picked up and unloaded an abundance of donations, including furniture, by myself. Hallelujah! That’s the power of Jesus!”

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said,

“Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet.

In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.

Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Like the woman in this ancient story, Ildi openly shares how she reached out to Jesus and he instantly healed her from this desperate condition. May her true story of faith inspire you to draw close to Jesus and invite him into your places of illness, pain, and suffering. He still works miracles!