My father, Roy Wattchow, experienced a number of miracles shortly after hearing the gospel and receiving the Holy Spirit. While working as a Real Estate agent he once had a prospective buyer die of what appears to have been a heart attack while viewing a property. (There was some later confirmation of this.) The man was an older man who had come to view the house with his wife, daughter and son-in-law. As the group moved up the driveway towards the house, the grandfather held back at the gate. He had his hand to his head and had pushed up his hat. On seeing him hang back they asked him if he was all right. He said, “No, I don’t feel too good.” He then collapsed and began to convulse with what is sometimes called the “death rattle” or last breath and then went still.

Dad had been present when my grandfather had died of a heart attack at age 69, and had heard the same sound on that occasion also. The man on the driveway was in my father’s words, “as white as a sheet”. While my father put his hand under the old man’s head to cushion it from the concrete beneath, the son-in-law, who was a chemist, and the daughter checked for breathing and pulse. There was no breathing or pulse. While an ambulance was called, the son-in-law attempted to resuscitate the man while the daughter continued to check for a pulse. After trying resuscitation for some time there was still no breathing or pulse. Eventually, they gave up the attempt and the daughter and wife began to cry over the man’s body, “He’s dead! He’s dead!”

At this point my father was uncertain what to do. Should he gently remove his hand from under the old man’s head, offer his condolences and leave them to their grief? While thinking these things the thought struck him that he could try praying for the man. With this thought came a touch of fear and the feeling that “no, this was too big”. But simultaneously came the thought that he had nothing to lose if the man was dead.

My father then asked the women if they minded if he prayed for him. They did not reply, being caught up in their outpouring of grief, but later said that they had heard him ask the question. My father, as he was asking the question, became annoyed with himself for doing so, reasoning “What difference does it make? He’s dead!” He then, with one hand still underneath the man’s head, moved his other hand to lay it on the man’s forehead, and said, “Lord, raise this man up!” As he laid his hand on the man’s forehead and spoke these words, the colour came back into the old man’s face, he took a breath, opened his eyes and sat up, asking, “What’s going on?” Dad, from childhood to the day he died, had very curly hair. He always said that on that day he felt it stood straight up. When he came home that day, my mother instantly knew from the look on his face that something big had happened.

The old man was taken to hospital when the ambulance arrived, after the events and symptoms were related to the ambulance men. The hospital sent him home the same day in the afternoon, saying he was fine, and with the reassurance that they hadn’t examined a healthier man for his age.

Dad went around to see the whole family, including the grandfather, later that day and their reaction was one of great thanks. They, though lost in grief, had heard dad ask to pray and witnessed the whole event right in front of their faces. They all believed it was a miracle. My father then began to explain to them the gospel, and while amazed and moved they did not ultimately pursue it. They did end up buying the house though after viewing it again later on.

After the sale of the house my father eventually lost touch with the family. Some time later he was low on properties to sell and his habit at such times was to contact old clients, in case some were thinking of moving house again. He was also feeling a bit despondent at the time. He went around to the house where the miracle had taken place and knocked on the door. The wife of the old man answered the door and immediately recognized him. He asked her how she was and she replied, “Oh fine, I’m getting over it now.” He asked what she meant and she replied, “Oh, didn’t you know? My husband died a few months ago.”

Without any further prompting from my father, she went on to explain that he had died under almost identical circumstances as the day my father prayed for him. The same family members had been together at a picnic and her husband had again suddenly felt unwell. He had collapsed and convulsed and resuscitation had not brought him back. He had died of a heart attack. When the doctors had performed an autopsy on him they had found not only had he died of a heart attack, but he had healed scar tissue on his heart which was evidence of a previous heart attack. Noting that there was no record of this in his medical records they asked his wife if she knew when this had taken place. Her reply was that there was only one time it could have been and that was the day my father had prayed for him.

My father’s despondency left him as he recalled the miracle those years before.

If you would like to see an old video of my father personally talking about this miracle and others in his life, you can see it below.

Recounted by Mark Wattchow