There was a man in Puerto Rico named Juan Santos. During WWII he had been
hit by a bullet in the spine and become a paraplegic from the waist down. His life was a
torture and he tried to commit suicide several times. He had to be carried by his family to even go to the toilet. Once when he tried to commit suicide, it so damaged his larynx, he could no longer speak clearly. He could only crawl from one place to another. He would use a stick and a block of wood to move around. His right arm was drawn up so that it could not move and his left shook uncontrollably. He felt intense shame about his condition. He became a very angry and bitter man.
In 1950 T. L. Osborn went to Puerto Rico to hold a crusade. His ministry was
marked by remarkable healings and miracles. Juan’s family encouraged him to go but he refused. When the crusade moved to a larger location it turned out to be close to the
Santos home. Juan could hear Osborn’s sermons from his house. One of the sermons
was on the paralytic that had been let down through the roof to Jesus to be healed. Juan
announced that he would to attend a service and that he was planning on walking home
that night! His family was worried that he would be further emotionally wounded and his wife refused to go with him.
Juan’s son-in-laws took him to the meeting. They often had to put him over their
heads to get him through the crowd. They laid him next to a speaker where one of them
stayed with him. A blind woman sat next to him and leaned on him. When the altar call was given, people rushed forward but Juan was not able to. He prayed the prayers that Osborn was having those who responded pray. Suddenly the blind woman next to him started screaming that she could see. His son-in-law looked at Juan and said “Look, Dad your legs are moving get up!” Juan stood up for the first time in 16 years. After he returned home his wife was asleep. He did not wake her but decided to
surprise her in the morning. He got up after she was awake and followed her into the
kitchen. She did not recognize him and thought someone had broken into the house. She fainted and fell to the floor. Juan Santos was a veteran and seen many doctors over the years. His miracle was fully documented by a mountain of historic paperwork.
This story was summarized from a longer version in “Only Believe” by Don Stewart in his discussion of T. L. Osborn.
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