When a couple stands at the altar they are charged by the minister to be ready to stay together: "for richer and for poorer, for better and for worse." The couple expects to encounter some of those "worse" moments somewhere down the road of their marriage.

The wedding took place on June 17, 2006.  Exactly a week after, on June 24, 2006, our new family was involved in a terrible car accident. My husband was driving the car, his sister Tracy was sitting behind him; I was sitting in the passenger side, and my mother, who came from Ukraine to attend the wedding of her only child, was sitting behind me. A drunk driver, who ran the red light, hit our car at a speed of 60 mph at a 35 mph speed-limit. Our car spun several times, hit the bridge, and ended up jumping over the opposite median. We were taken to two different hospitals: my mum and my sister-in-law to Baylor hospital, and my husband and I to Parkland hospital in Dallas. My condition was the most critical: I had a brain injury. Doctors had to perform surgery on my brain immediately. I also had a bad pelvis injury. My husband sustained a broken right arm. My mum had a broken ankle and a broken pelvis.

The "worse" had come but thankfully, the "better" was right there. Tracy, my husband's sister, was about 41/2 months pregnant at the time. My mum remembers Tracy flying over her during the accident, hitting the window, and flying all the way back to her seat. In spite of the impact, Tracy was the only person who came out of the accident without any injury.  She had bruises but nothing was damaged or broken, and most importantly the pregnancy was unaffected. Today, Tracy is happily awaiting the arrival of her baby sometime in the month of December.

As critical as my situation was, my recovery was the most amazing. The doctors performed my brain surgery before blood entered the parts of the brain it should not go into.  More miraculous is the fact that I recovered speedily without consequences.  One of my doctors, who is a believer himself, told us that my story needs to be testified about. He said that people who had similar brain injuries took at least 6 months if not longer to come to where I was in a month.  Despite the impact on my brain, I was still able to speak all three languages that I know, interpret English for my mum, retain a photographic memory and control all of my body movements and functions.

Today, my husband's right arm is healed. My mum and I are walking although we still need to use the canes, but we are doing fine. We have learned so much from this "worse" experience. The most important lesson, is the fact that we became closer as one big family.

My husband's parents, Pastor David and Dorothy, stayed after the accident to help us around the house because my mum and I were wheelchair-bound for several months. My mum was prevented from going back home and resuming her ministry in Ukraine. She will probably stay with us for a while until she recovers completely.  During the several months we spent together as one family under the same roof, my self, my husband, his parents and my mum, learned to love each other despite our cultural differences. We spent a lot of time praying and seeking the face of God together and indeed, God moved in his power during this time. 

On the 17th of each month, my husband and I promised each other to celebrate our anniversary but with the accident the celebration was limited. On September 17, our three-month anniversary, we decided to have a special time together. I was still in a wheelchair, but my husband decided to take me to the mall, and then to La Madeleine for dinner. We had a wonderful time together. My husband borrowed his younger sister's car for this outing. We got home around nine that evening and while my husband was helping me into the house, he forgot his bunch of keys in the door.  When we woke up the next morning, his younger sister's car was gone. It was then that my husband realized that he forgot his set of keys in the door the night before, and somebody must have stolen it.  We were devastated by the loss since Renee's 2005 Honda was the best car our family had ever since we lost our Nissan Pathfinder during the accident.  We decided to pray that the Lord would cause the people who stole the car to bring it back.

We prayed with boldness and expectation for the next three days. On the third day, the Lord moved!  A young man knocked on our door and asked if we were looking for a missing car. My husband said that we were. The man promised that he would bring the car in half an hour and in less than twenty minutes our car was brought back in good condition.  To God be the glory. 

This is how God's love and faithfulness works, and how the Lord takes care of those who love Him even in the "worse" time. Today, our "worse has moved to better." We moved to a new apartment and are trying to start a new life with a little baby on the way!  Join us in thanking God for His care and the great things He has done and is still doing for my family!

As of June 2010, the Ogoizee's are blessed with three beautiful children. Olena went back to school and graduated with a Master's degree. Olena's mother stayed back in the United States, enrolled in Christ for the nations institute and has finished a Masters degree in Theology. Emmanuel, her husband established a growing media company called Victory Media Company. Their worse definitely turned to a big better that is permanent in their lives, in Jesus' name.

Written by :

MannaEXPRESSOnline Staff