God Kept Me Alive

In 2023, while writing my final exam for my first year of studies, my life changed in a moment. As I was seated in the exam room, a sudden and overwhelming headache filled my entire head. The pain was unlike anything I had ever experienced—so severe that it made me feel sick. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I pushed through and completed my exam.

When I finished, I went to my car and called my sister. My body became numb, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Yet, in that moment, I heard a voice urging me to hold on and not fall asleep. My dad then called me, but I struggled to speak. All I could say was, “Please come, I’m not feeling well.” With what little strength I had left, I stepped out of the car and waved at security, asking them to call an ambulance because I truly felt like I was dying. God had already placed the right people around me—there was even a nurse present who assisted until my dad and sister arrived and took me to the doctor.

By the time we reached the doctor, I had lost my eyesight. The pain in my head was unbearable, and I pressed on my head just to find some relief. I don’t remember being taken to the hospital, but my dad later told me I was transported there. I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I was in the hospital—confused, frightened, and calling out for my dad. The nurses calmed me and took care of me.

I remained in the hospital for 10 days, where I was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. I was placed on antibiotics, but on the fifth day, the pain became so intense that my body could no longer endure it. In front of doctors and nurses, I suffered a seizure. I felt my hands and feet turning inward uncontrollably before blacking out. Despite still being in pain, I was discharged and reassured that I would be fine.
However, that Saturday morning, the pain returned with force, and I experienced another seizure. I was rushed back to the hospital, where further tests revealed that I had been given the wrong antibiotics.

A new medical team took over my care. One Wednesday morning, a female doctor stood by my bed and waited for me to wake up. She said words I will never forget: “Miss Beukes, you are a miracle. You should have been dead. The swelling on your brain was so severe that a vein should have burst. It is only by a miracle that you are alive.”
I was overwhelmed and immediately began to cry.

The doctors placed me on two strong antibiotics and steroid medication daily to reduce the swelling on my brain. I was hospitalised for a full month. Before my discharge, the doctor kept me an extra week to ensure that I left completely healed. Sitting by my bedside, he told me they were still running tests because they could not medically explain how I survived such a deadly form of meningitis without any lasting damage. He said that in his medical experience, people either do not survive or are left with permanent effects such as blindness or disability—yet I walked out whole.

In that moment, Scripture flooded my heart: “What the enemy meant for evil, God turned it for good.”
“No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” God’s hand was over me from the exam room to the hospital bed. He preserved my life, protected my mind, and restored my body. And as if to seal His faithfulness, when my exam results were released, I discovered that I had passed that very subject—with a distinction.

All glory, honour, and praise belong to God alone. I am living proof that miracles still happen, that God still heals, and that when He has a purpose for your life, no sickness, no diagnosis, and no weapon of the enemy can stop it.

I am alive because God said so. 🙏✨