Woman Battles Multiple Kidney Infections

As a diabetic, Bonnie Greunke has had her share of infections over the years. The one that hit her in September 2020, however, would require more than medical science to heal.

Bonnie recalls, “I woke my husband up and I said 'I think I really need to go to the hospital.' I could not stop trembling. I never had chills like this before in my life – it was terrible.” In the emergency room, doctors discovered an abscess on her kidney causing severe kidney infection.

“It covered 90% of my kidney. When I met the doctor, he said it was a good thing I came in when I did, if I had waited much longer – I could have died,” Bonnie says.

Bonnie was admitted and doctors gave her antibiotics to treat the infection and inserted a PICC line to drain the fluid from the abscess. When the one PICC line couldn’t keep up, doctors added another. “The second one was so painful. I cried and I said, 'Please, Lord stop this pain, just stop the pain.' I was in terrible, terrible pain,” says Bonnie.

Over the next several weeks, Bonnie would be in and out of the hospital. Every time doctors thought they had taken care of one infection another would take its place. “I didn’t have just one bacteria in there, I had several. The doctor told me he had never seen an infection like I had,” Bonnie says.

The PICC lines having failed, doctors took Bonnie into surgery to insert a stint to help drain the fluids. Still, the infection raged on, and Bonnie began losing hope.

“The house was a total disaster. I lived in the bedroom for three months. That was probably my low point. I felt hopeless and helpless. I was frightened. I didn’t want to die yet,” Bonnie remembers the pain she suffered.

Through it all, Bonnie turned to God for help and healing. In prayer, Bonnie said, “I would pray to the Lord. I would say to the Lord, 'Guide me, get me out of this,' but I would end with 'thy will be done. If it’s my time, I’m yours.' It’s not what I want, but what He wants. But I wanted to be healed.”

Then, on December 2, 2020 Bonnie was watching The 700 Club when hosts Pat Robertson and Wendy Griffith started praying for the audience.

“Somebody has a severe kidney infection. It’s really – use the term nephritis. It is really serious, and God right now, you will feel power in the small of your back. You will feel heat and you are healed in the name of Jesus,” prayed Pat.

Bonnie rejoiced, “Oh, my goodness that’s me. I am claiming this! I hollered to my husband Martin, I told him what Pat Robertson had said. That morning there was still all that nasty drainage coming out. It didn’t drain for a while and then all of sudden when it started draining, it was totally clear! I knew I was healed!”

Also gone was the pain. A month later at a follow-up appointment, Bonnie’s doctor confirmed the infection and abscess was gone, and removed the drainage tubes and stints from her kidney.

“The healing of my kidney has strengthed my faith. I knew there was no infection. I knew I was healed. And that brought my spirits up 110%. The Lord gives me my strength. Sometimes you may not feel Him, but know He is there, and He is carrying you through,” Bonnie says.