Larry Hart, Kokomo, IN

In September 2012, my wife and I were investigating methods of handling health care costs. I had blood pressure issues and my wife had arthritis.

Shortly after, Sharon learned about Christian Healthcare Ministries and showed me the website. I remember sitting in front of my computer thinking, “Praise God! There is something Christians can turn to.”

Meanwhile, I’d felt pressure in my chest on and off for 26 years. Doctors had never found anything wrong and I was tired of spending money and taking tests with no diagnosis. However, things became so bad that if I did a physical activity for two hours, it took me 24 hours to recover. I began to suspect that something was really wrong.

We had a time of prayer at church the following Sunday. My wife and I prayed with another couple; the woman was a school nurse. I told her what was happening and that I was hesitant to go to the emergency room because we were new CHM members and didn’t know how well the program worked. “Don’t let that stop you from getting the help you need, Larry,” she told me. I know now that the Lord was speaking through her because that night I began to feel chest pressure.

Tests done in the emergency room showed I hadn’t had a heart attack. In fact, my initial EKG was normal but the pressure remained. The medical staff gave me medication to relieve some of it.

Not long after, my heart stopped.

The staff was able to get my heart beating again. They did another series of tests and everything was okay—my arteries were not blocked. I don’t see how my arteries could have been completely clean, so maybe God performed a miracle in that hospital room.

Medical staff determined that my heart stopped because of sick sinus syndrome (the name for a group of heart arrhythmias in which the sinus node—the heart’s natural pacemaker—doesn’t work properly). The cause of my chest pressure, however, is still unknown.

My medical bills totaled over $93,000 and I qualified for a 40 percent discount on my hospital bill through federal aid. After additional discounts, the total reduced charges were nearly $70,000 and CHM shared the remaining $23,000. I was overwhelmed.

It was important to me to keep the cost down because I didn’t want to be a burden to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I knew people were praying for me and I was confident the Lord was going to take care of me financially through His people at CHM.

Christian Healthcare Ministries went beyond anything I could have ever expected. I received my first medical bill in late June 2013, the full hospital bill in July and received my first check from CHM in August. The hospital staff was amazed.

With CHM, I have yet to pay a penny out of my own pocket thanks to my discounts. I’m convinced that CHM is the way the Lord provides for His children’s health care costs.

I can’t express enough gratitude for the ministry. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

And special thanks to my amazing family, church family and friends who have shown me such an outpouring of love.