When his beloved wife Annamma passed away on April 1st 1997, he was faced with unanswerable questions. He felt that this bereavement hurled him into the depths of loneliness and despair. But he was not going to yield. He had the backing of the wealth accumulated in nine years as a company manager in the Gulf. The Heaven Valley Estate in Peerumade was his. But a riotous life and alcoholism destroyed all his assets. A life that challenged fate was suddenly caught up in the whirlpool of helplessness. It all started with a tooth ache. Extracting that tooth only aggravated the situation.Swelling and festering spread from his chin down to his neck. In a few months the dashing David was bed- ridden.

A medical test confirmed David’s worst fears - cancer had attacked his body.While under treatment in the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, he realised he was on the threshold of death, a false rumour spread like wild fire, that David had expired. His house was ransacked and valuables looted. Anyway he had no one to claim his property-so thought the rabble . But David did not die. A little life remained in him. His neck became a great wound. Every breath produced a fresh outpouring of blood. Medical science gave him up as a lost case. Some one compelled him to go to Divine. He wrote out his will and went to Divine with no hope of coming back. The voice of Jesus whom he had ignored for so long began resounding in his ears.

David had a home nurse, Jayasree, with him. That week in October 1997, it was Bro Thomas Paul who directed the retreat. The wound in his neck had widened and David was unable even to swallow his saliva. Chin and neck were one wound. While he was writhing in agony, helpless and abandoned, the Hindu home nurse immersed in prayer by his bedside had a vision of Jesus. She saw Jesus standing near David, caressing his neck. The wounds were being healed. She saw Jesus’ face very clearly. There were three rays of light where his hands ran along David’s neck.

With joy and surprise she shouted "Jesus has healed you. I saw him." She removed the bandage on David’s neck. The usual stench or oozing of blood was not there and the wounds were healed. But the three rays of light that Jayasree saw in the vision were there. She burst out crying and began praising Jesus. During the remaining three days the healing was confirmed. David recalled that here was one who blesses more than we can ever expect or hope. He experienced the presence of Jesus who went to the man lying ill for 38 years near the pool of Bethsaida. David, who found Jesus, gave up liquor and all other vices. The doctors, who never expected to see him back alive, were astounded.

Though David was healed of cancer there were other diseases that affected him. The forefinger of his left hand was stiff. But at the retreat of November 1998 at Pathanamthitta, conducted by Frs Mathew Naikomparambil and Augustine Mundackatt, he was healed during the Holy Hour. David’s teeth always gave him trouble. It was the extraction of one that caused cancer. So no dentist would dare take up his case. During the retreat David prayed in agonising pain-not to be healed but for the conversion and healing of others. Back home while gargling the troublesome tooth gently fell into his hand. How wonderful are God’s ways! In April 1999 while attending the retreat given by Fr Antony Payappily, David gave his testimony to Vachanotsavam with great faith and zeal. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits- who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases-who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy"(Ps 103:1-4).