Christmas miracle David Etter goes home for the holidays

Retired University of the Cumberlands music teacher Dr. David Etter is no stranger to playing Christmas carols on the piano. However, last Wednesday’s performance on the piano in the lobby of Baptist Health Corbin was a little different.

David Etter played the piano in the lobby of Baptist Health Corbin last Wednesday before being discharged following a 100-plus day stay. His caregiver turned out to see him off.

Etter’s playing of “Joy to the World” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” was before a crowd of friends, family, and the caretakers, who had overseen his recovery from near death.

“I am a little embarrassed doing this, but there are a lot of you that had so much to do with my being here,” Etter told the crowd, particularly his caregivers some of whom came in on their day off to see Etter discharged.

“All of it is God’s doing,” Etter said. “The people that really know their stuff on the medical aspect, they are telling me it is a miracle. Who am I to argue. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas. I get to go home for Christmas.”

Dr. Karl Heinss, one of the physicians over the rehabilitation unit at Baptist Health Corbin who treated Etter, agreed.

“It is Christmas. It is a Christmas miracle,” Heinss told Etter. “You are a living testament that prayers are still answered.”

How it started

Etter, 74, said that he had been experiencing some discomfort and went to Baptist Health Corbin on Sept 4 not knowing what was wrong.

Etter is pictured with his two grandchildren during his going home party.

Doctors discovered there was a cyst or tumor attached to his bowels, which obstructed the bowels. They determined that it was probably benign, but still needed to be removed.

Early in the day on Sept. 7, hospital staff performed surgery and removed the cyst. At first, everything seemed fine.

Then about 4 p.m., doctors determined that he was septic.

He aspirated, vomited, and then his kidneys stopped.

“He basically went into shock and that is why the kidneys shutdown,” Heinss explained.

Etter was then placed on a ventilator.

Etter said there were a few times where hospital staff didn’t think he was going to make it.

“I was basically out of it for the better part of two months. There were moments where I was awake sort of, but that was few and far between,” Etter said. “The one time that I was aware of what was going on, a friend of mine was praying for me. He had come from Louisville just to see me here. His face was close to mine. I sensed that. He was praying for me. I don’t know the specifics that he said, but I know he was praying for me, and I felt God’s spirit warm and precious. At that moment – this is the way I remember it – I decided I was going to live.”

Eventually, doctors were able to ween him off the respirator, and his kidney function returned, which Heinss noted is rare and can be a miracle in and of itself.

Everything took its toll on Etter.

When he finally got to rehabilitation, he wasn’t even able to stand.

David Etter is seen with his wife, Terresa Etter.

“We actually worked through the process of really relearning to stand, to work with his hands, to work with his arms. Now he is able to walk about 300 feet with some assistance. He is doing very well with that. His hands are back to working. He is playing the piano,” Heinss said.

Heinss noted that it is “very rare” to see someone come so far back from the condition Etter was in. “This is certainly answered prayers. He worked very hard. Rehab can be somewhat frustrating because you don’t progress as well as you want to. He worked very hard. All the therapists really worked to push him very hard. Through all that and through Jesus…” Heinss said overcome with emotion and breaking down in tears unable to complete the sentence.

Heinss, who has been working in medicine for 30 years, said that seeing a patient come back from something like this is really good to see.

“It makes what we do worth doing,” he said. “This is one of the rare cases where we are just blessed.”

Christmas homecoming

One of the things that Etter did as part of his therapy to get ready to come home was go out to the lobby and practice playing the piano to get his hands working again properly.

While Etter felt like playing last Wednesday, he wasn’t quite up to singing too, but the crowd of more than 60 people gathered there for the occasion took care of the lyrics for him.

Etter finally gets wheeled out of the hospital so he can go home.

“The big thing I can say to everybody, it is because of God and all of your prayers. You had a hand in this. I am here in front of you because you prayed for me. You shared it with hundreds of other people that became thousands of people, who were praying for me. It was people, who don’t know me, but they cared about the people, who shared it with them,” Etter said fighting back tears.

“They obviously thought that if my friend cares for this guy then I need to pray for him. That was just amazing. I am just floored. Astounded. Thank you for your prayers and coming today.”

Etter said that when the doctors initially told him he could go home for Christmas, he wasn’t sure that was possible.

“Even a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t really sure that was doable. I thought OK maybe we are making enough progress, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to handle going home and going up just the two steps. It just felt like maybe but maybe not,” Etter said.

“It is lovely to be able to gift my dear wife, as some have said to us, my best Christmas gift to her. I guess you could say that I worked so hard so she could have me back home for Christmas.”

His wife, Terresa Etter, loved the present, which was a good thing since David hadn’t done any shopping yet and didn’t plan to either this year.

“I think everybody has a crisis in their life sometime that rocks them to the core. This was ours. All of the people prayed and God heard that. All of the people in the hospital used their skills and God saw that and he gave us a blessing and a gift. I am so thankful,” added Terresa Etter. “God gets all the glory today.”

Etter experienced an emotional moment with his family before leaving the hospital.