Toni Shiloh Interview -- Praying to Battle Sickle Cell

Author Toni Shiloh

Toni, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Thank you so much for having me.

Would you tell us about the one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? Answer:  I’m so thankful for God’s love and the gift of prayer. It has seen me through many illnesses with my youngest son, who has sickle cell. He’s only seven but has been through a lot these few years. At almost two years of age he had his first spleen crisis where it swelled up, causing intense pain and dropping his blood count in the low anemia stage. (Since he has sickle cell, he’s always anemic.) He spent a few days in ICU, got pneumonia from the stay, and finally a blood transfusion to make him feel better. After that he had pain crises in his legs and arms. I’m talking about the kind of pain that needs morphine to manage it. He’s had multiple spleen issues that finally had the doctors decide to remove it at age 5. Fevers that go over 103 and earn a trip to the ER for IV antibiotics.

This past summer he was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. Since he really needs oxygen (low oxygen can cause a pain crisis and other sickle cell related issues) they decided to remove his tonsils in hopes it will correct the issue. So surgery number two under his belt and another hospital stay (he’s had one every year except for one year since he’s been alive).

Through it all, I’ve prayed. Prayed that God would heal him. Pray that my son would feel God’s presence and rest in Him. Pray that my son would pray to God on his own free will. And most importantly, others have prayed for us. I can’t tell you what it means to feel the Body at work, knowing countless people are praying for your child. It’s comforting beyond measure and fortifies my strength. And I know it’s prayer because I’d be a nervous wreck without it.

So as I sit in a hospital room with my son, I know we will overcome illness with prayer.

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times? Philippians 4:6-7 is my go to verse. It reminds me to prayer with a grateful attitude and the beauty of the peace that follows.

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty? Prayer has always helped me. That and the love and prayer from friends and family. Knowing they are praying blesses me.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  In Returning Home, Evan loses his leg and has to deal with the struggles that brings. He also has to decide if God will be the forefront in his life. I hope that his struggles will help readers trust in God and look to Him through all things.

BIO: Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.

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Blurb for Returning Home

Jo Ellen Baker is shocked to find out that the boy who teased her mercilessly throughout high school, has returned to their hometown of Freedom Lake, and he’s missing a leg. When his mother asks her to renovate their carriage house to give him a place to gain his independence back, she wants to say no. But one look at him brings a rush of forgotten feelings.

Evan Carter can’t believe he has to return home and live with his parents. Every hope and dream he ever had dissipated in a car crash that cost him his leg. Stuck in a wheelchair, he’s forced to reexamine his relationship with God and the local carpenter, Jo Ellen Baker.

Will renovating his home open the door for a mended relationship, or are some wounds too deep to heal from?  

Question: Have you experienced the power of prayer?
Giveaway: Toni is offering an Ebook giveaway (in Mobi, Epub, or PDF format) to one of our readers.