CINCINNATI -- Thousands of Crossroads attendees came to their feet as Libby Tome joined her husband, Senior Pastor Brian Tome, on stage for Sunday's service.
Libby Tome, 54, doesn't usually do the talking, but she had quite a message to share with the Crossroads community. It was a little over a week since she had suffered a severe stroke.
She suffered the sudden massive stroke amid her morning workout March 9.
Quickly, people were signing up for intense prayer, hour by hour.
A clot had blocked blood flow to much of Libby's brain.
"There she was in the bed, lying there with her eyes open, couldn't move her right side, couldn't talk at all, wasn't sure if she understood anything," Brian recalled.
In most best case scenarios, a trauma that serious would mean months of rehab, doctors said. But just 24 hours later, Libby was up and walking.
"In my 21 years as a nurse, I have never seen a recovery quite like that," a nurse said in a video they shot in the hospital. "As fast as she recovered, in my book, that's a miracle."
Brian is sensitive to that word. Miracles are rare.
"There's a lot of things we have prayed for and God has said 'no' to, he said."
The Tomes are feeling blessed that they got this "yes" and believe the Tri-State's prayers mattered.
"I am very incredibly grateful, so I would just say 'Thank you, thank you with all my heart to everybody who did pray," Libby said.
Along with their gratitude for those who prayed, the Tomes are giving a big shoutout to the staff at Good Samaritan Hospital, several of whom, it turns out, attend Crossroads.
