In 1987 a problem occurred in my home. I was afflicted with a paralysis while I was living in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The doctors gave me a frightful diagnosis—multiple sclerosis. After the second attack, my illness became severe, and I was declared an invalid, meaning I needed constant care. I would no longer be able to walk. I lost my job which I loved very much, and my best friends also left me. My interest in life was vanishing away. Life had no more meaning to me. My apartment, located on the fourth floor, became a prison cell, being in a building without any elevator. I was restricted to my wheelchair and could do very little. I was not able to go out to contemplate nature, to breathe the fresh air, and listen to the warbling of the birds.
However, God did not forsake me. I prayed to Him who could help me and I felt His presence near me. In answer to my prayers I had a dream in which a voice said to me: “I will heal you among My people.”
I was attending an evangelical church before I became ill. Afterwards, I was visited by Protestants and Catholics. I had not enough knowledge to differentiate between truth and error, and so I could not tell who were God’s people. I was continually concerned about this problem, and I insistently asked God in prayer, that He would put me in contact with His people. One day I opened the Bible in Revelation 14 and read verse 12, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” I read and reread this verse and the reference to the commandments of God called my attention. Then I understood that the true people of God are identified by the keeping of the divine commandments, and I also understood that those who do not keep all ten are considered as despising all of them (James 2:10). I also saw that the fourth commandment, which is a part of the Decalogue, could not have been done away with on the cross.
With this revelation God opened the way for me to find His people. In 1994 I became a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement in Russia. I read the writings of Ellen G. White on the value of natural healing, and was informed of the existence of a naturopathic sanitarium in Curitiba, Parana State, Brazil. I requested more information about it from the brethren of the General Conference (Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.A.) and through them I contacted the sanitarium. I arrived in Curitiba on December 29, 1997, in the evening. Brother Josif Tuleu was waiting for me at the airport, and he transferred me from my wheelchair to his car.
The next morning I had a consultation with the physicians of the sanitarium, and they prescribed a treatment for five months. I was treated as a little sick child—with much attention, kindness and love. The sanitarium became my second home; the physiotherapy room, my lounge room. The physiotherapist, Brother Luiz Farit, applied his methods with great patience and skill. First he taught me to crawl. Then he taught me to stand on my feet. After that he taught me to take my first steps. It was not easy for my paralyzed feet to move!
At the beginning, while I still could not move, I wept often like a child—so great was my desire to walk. I did my exercises daily, two hours in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. After awhile my legs began to have feeling (before they were numb), and for the first time I was able to stand firmly, on April 6, 1998. All those around me shed tears of joy, especially me.
On May 16, God performed a miracle. I rose up from the wheelchair and did not need it any longer, because I was able to walk. How happy I was! God had promised to heal me and He fulfilled His promise. Let His name be praised forever! When I entered the dining room of the sanitarium, walking, I was greeted with a round of applause. All those present approached me and greeted me astonished for the miracle that God had performed, with the help of the physicians and nurses who, with self-denying efforts, had done all that was humanly possible to do.
I am very thankful to God for His great mercy extended towards me, making it possible for me to go to Brazil, where He performed the promised healing. I also take this opportunity to thank all the medical team, nurses, and administrators of Hospital Oasis Paranaense for their love and self-denial. I thank, too, the brethren and sisters who prayed for me, having compassion and understanding towards me. I also thank the brethren of the General Conference that have shown great interest in my case. My feelings are described in Psalm 145:7–9 and in Proverbs 17:17. There is no doubt, the merciful hand of God still performs miracles.