Christopher Gunderson lived sixteen years unable to eat due to a rare condition that paralyzed his stomach, until a prayer encounter changed everything in a single moment.
We’ve all faced situations that seemed impossible to overcome. Those moments when doctors deliver difficult news or when our bodies fail us in ways we never imagined.
Christopher’s story reminds us that even when medical science reaches its limits, God often has other plans that defy human understanding.
Living With A Rare Condition
Christopher was born with chronic pseudo-obstruction syndrome, which completely paralyzed his stomach. “I was born… basically, where my stomach was completely paralyzed,” Christopher told CBN News.
“They call it complete gastroparesis, and it wouldn’t pump anything from my stomach to my small intestine.”
This condition meant Christopher would vomit whenever he tried to eat. After many tests, doctors confirmed the reality of his condition and took drastic action.
They surgically placed two tubes in his body – one connected to his stomach to drain what he swallowed, and another linked to his small intestine to deliver formula nutrients. These tubes became his lifeline for sixteen years.
“My small intestine had never had to take anything on aside from just formula,” Christopher explained. As he grew older, his condition became harder to manage.
“I would have bile actually back up into my stomach and cause severe heartburn on a daily basis,” he said. “I’d have to constantly drain that out throughout the night and throughout the day.”
The outlook was grim. “My parents were told multiple times that the doctors didn’t know how long I was going to live for,” he shared, mentioning past bouts of sepsis and infections. “They never exposed that to me, which I’m grateful for.”
Despite these challenges, Christopher lived an active life.
His mother, LeAnne, remembered hearing a comforting voice during hard times: “Don’t worry, it’ll all work out in the end.”
Christopher pointed out that he could do almost everything others could, just differently. When with friends, he sometimes took small bites of food to fit in, later emptying his stomach through the tube.
He wore a backpack during the day that pumped formula into his feeding tube and used an IV pole at night.
The Encounter That Changed Everything
Christopher was raised in a Christian home but admitted he doubted modern miracles happened. His perspective was about to change completely.
In November 2011, his parents attended a fundraising dinner for Christian outreach. The speaker was Bruce Van Natta, a former truck repair business owner who had survived a near-fatal accident when a logging truck fell on him, almost cutting his body in half and severing five arteries. Bruce shared his miraculous recovery story.
As LeAnne listened, she felt God speaking to her. “My mom was hearing his testimony, and during the whole time that Bruce was talking my mom was hearing God tell her to go talk to him,” Christopher said.
LeAnne approached Bruce, who seemed to be expecting her. After hearing about Christopher’s condition, Bruce invited them to bring him to a meeting the next day.
LeAnne later called this “an invitation to a miracle,” though she struggled with mixed feelings. “There was a tug of war going on inside my heart,” she said, “a hushed apprehension vs. a quiet excitement… My mind had doubt percolating inside it, but my soul was screaming to trust God and RSVP his invitation with obedience.”
The Moment of Miracle
The next day, the family attended Bruce’s meeting at a local school. When they approached Bruce afterward, Christopher and Bruce connected instantly, comparing their medical histories and scars.
Bruce made it clear he had no special powers, emphasizing that only God could heal.
What happened next defied medical explanation. When Bruce began praying for Christopher, something extraordinary happened. “When we were there at that church the next day I had this pulsating sensation in my abdomen that I hadn’t had before,”
Christopher recalled. “And I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ And God said, He’s preparing me.”
During these moments, Christopher made a promise: “If you heal me, I will not be quiet about it. I’ll tell anyone and everyone about this testimony, about this miracle that you did for me.”
As Bruce continued praying, the sensation grew stronger. “He started to pray for me, and I started to feel that pulsating sensation that I was talking about before, but to like the 10th degree,” Christopher described.
“It feels like when you flex your abdomen, which is like over, and over, and over again.”
Both parents witnessed physical signs of this miracle. Mike had his hand on Christopher’s shoulder and felt his whole body shaking. The tubes visibly moved beneath Christopher’s shirt, following the pattern of his intestines.
LeAnne watched with amazement, noting, “It was like God had a laser beam aimed directly at Christopher’s abdomen, and He was healing him.”
Christopher experienced the climax of this miraculous moment: “I actually felt this lightning bolt electric shock go from my right shoulder, down through my chest, and down through my abdomen, and I felt like God jumpstarted my stomach back up with a shock.”
A New Life Begins
That very evening, Christopher attended a basketball game and afterward did something he had never done before in his sixteen years of life – he ate a complete meal at a restaurant. He ordered a cheeseburger and began eating, feeling no pain whatsoever.
“My small intestine had never had to take anything on aside from just formula,” he reflected. “I wasn’t scared. I was more filled with excitement and joy, and it felt like it was very surreal.” He later called it one of the best days of his life.
In the following weeks, Christopher cautiously began normal eating. Eventually, the feeding tubes that had sustained him for sixteen years were removed, leaving only two small scars as reminders of his former condition.
The medical professionals who had treated Christopher were amazed by his recovery and unable to explain it. For Christopher and his family, the explanation was clear: God had performed a miracle.
This healing completely transformed Christopher’s view of God. “Before my tubes, I saw God as this higher being that’s just kind of up there and not really having a deep, meaningful relationship with us,” he shared. “And, now, I actually have this inner dialect with Him.”
Finding Hope in the Impossible
Christopher Gunderson’s story shows us that God’s power works beyond medical limits and human understanding. His journey from years of suffering to complete healing proves that divine intervention is just as real today as in biblical times.
As Mike Gunderson said through tears, “The harder the journey, the better the reward.”
LeAnne added words that capture the heart of this testimony: “God is so good and he is so big and so compassionate and he can heal anything… What is impossible for man is not impossible for God. Everything’s possible for him.”
When we face our own impossible challenges, we can remember Christopher’s story and come to God with new hope, knowing that the same power that healed him is available to us today.
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