Meet johnny wheels

Well, my story is a simple one, but it is full of God’s grace. I grew up in Bowmanville, and we had a very wonderful family life with my mom, dad, three sisters and two brothers. I’m the third oldest.  We all attended the Salvation Army church, except for my father. While there, I belonged to the Junior Soldiers during my teens, and played the tuba in the band.  By the age of 19, I left the Salvation Army because I didn’t agree with all its doctrines. You see, I liked dancing and having a few drinks, something the church forbade. I also did not believe that going to church was necessary, just so long as you believed in God and that Jesus had given his life for our sins.   

All my life God has been with me.  He has given me more abilities than I can count, as well as great knowledge and understanding of almost everything—things that most people cannot even imagine. But the biggest gift He has given me is the ability to learn anything by just watching someone do it first. In fact, God has given me the ability to create things in my head and then build them without even drawing out plans. For example, He has given me the ability to repair almost anything on which I put my hands: cars, motors, electronics, machinery; you name it, I have probably repaired it. When people ask me how I learned to do these things, I always say it is a gift from God. Yes, I give Him praise for my gifts.  And since they are gifts, I always give my abilities free to people who can’t afford it. And the ones who can afford it I charge very little, just for the love of being able to do it.  

In 1983, I decided to go to church again. So I joined the Faith Baptist Church in Oshawa.  It was there that I was baptized.  My mother was present for this, and it made her day. It made mine too. But I found that I did not believe in that church’s doctrines, either. They were too restrictive. What’s more, one of the pastors told me that I would have to get back with my ex-wife before I could go to heaven, even though she left me for another man!  Naturally, I did not agree with him.  For the Bible says that if a spouse cheats on the other spouse, that spouse is free to marry again.   

I have lived my life to the fullest, and I have never stopped giving God thanks for everything He has given me.   

I have lived here at White Oaks now for 16 years. I sold my home of 10 years up in Cameron on Sturgeon Lake because I was diagnosed with Multiple Mylanoma and was given up to four years to live. The doctor gave me one treatment of oral chemo pills for 6 weeks and left it at that. He said I was going to die. Well, science failed, and God prevailed. To have full blown Multiple Mylanoma, the Blood M Protein must be over seven.  It has now been 16 years and I am still 6.8. That is 10 years more than they gave me.  Praise God for that!   

For the first nine years living here I had problems walking. So I always used a cane. Plus I had problems with seizures when I’d try to stand. At times I would lose complete function of my body and fall forward, breaking bones in my feet and ankles. The last time my right ankle shattered it ended my walking days. After that, I was put into a power wheelchair in April 2015.    

Having to rely on a power wheelchair would put most people into a deep depression. But that was not the case with me. This turned out to be a real blessing. It gave me back my freedom. It gave me the ability to do things for myself again. And it gave me the freedom to travel around anywhere I wanted to go without relying on anybody.  But by early spring of 2016, I had a respiratory attack, for which I was hospitalized. While there, I had a coughing attack, so my nurse got permission to give me some codeine-based cough syrup, which I had never taken before.  Well, it turned out I was allergic to codeine, and I fell into a coma that lasted four days. When I came out of the coma, the doctors informed me that I had end of life COPD. They further informed me that I would not make it to my next birthday, which was less than five months away. I was not worried about dying because of my faith in God. The only thing that bothered me was that I was about to turn 59, and I was not going to see 60.  So I decided to have an early 59 and 60th birthday. This turned out to be one heck of a birthday party.  I had over 45 people there, including my wife, my daughter and all my grandchildren. Even my ex-wife and her husband were there! My two stepsons and their wives and two step grandchildren attended also.  It was a great party. Everyone had a super time, and they loved the fact that I added my 60th birthday to it. Well, I had turned 59 and I was still breathing. Even more astounding to the doctors is the fact that I’m about to turn 66 on August 14 and now I’m breathing even better and no longer require oxygen. In fact, I only use it once every two to three weeks for about 10 minutes.  As always, God has me in His tender, loving hands…a big AMEN to Him!  

However, I still have other health issues. For instance, back on June 25, at 1 am, I was in so much pain that on a scale of one to 10, my pain level was between 8 to 10.  I could hardly bear it anymore!  So I did something that I have never done for myself: I prayed to God to help me find a doctor who could amputate my left leg so I could be without all that pain in my upper leg and hip. Well, the next morning at about 5 am, I woke up and as I was just sitting there in my recliner rubbing the sleep from my eyes, a total calm enveloped me. Then it hit me.  There was absolutely no pain, ANYWHERE, in my legs, hips, feet, neck and shoulders. Not one ounce of pain!  Next, I decided to get up, but fear suddenly gripped me. I must be dead, I thought.  But I stood up, slowly turned my head and looked back to see if my body was still sitting in the chair.  Thank God it wasn’t!  So, I decided to try something that I could never do—a leg squat. Gently, I went down and came back up with absolutely no effort.   

Then I tried another thing I could never do my whole life—touch my toes. So, I bent over and guess what?  I could touch my toes and even put my palms on the floor.  Then I decided to try walking freely. This I have not been able to do since I moved here some 14 years ago. So, I took a few steps and noticed my left leg was still shorter.  I thought, “God you are somewhat of a practical joker—You left my leg short still.  It must be a reminder of what You have done in four hours!”  So, in his honor, I created a walking stick, totally hand finished in His name.  It was my way to talk with him.  And I find that as I’m holding the staff, God, will answer me. If the answer is yes, I get a warm feeling around my heart; if the answer is no, I get a pit feeling in my stomach. I have always had great conversations with God. And we talk about anything. I also use the staff to help keep my balance when I walk. A big AMEN for this, too!  

Well, after a few weeks the pain started slowly to return, but I was still able to walk and do other things. However, by the end of the summer the pain was back full force, only now it came while sitting.  It seems that the longer I sit the worse the pain gets. Now I can only sit for a couple hours a week. The rest of the time I must lie perfectly still because too much movement brings on pain.  I’m still trying to get my left leg amputated.  This alone will relieve a good 75 to 80% of my pain.  This will also give me my life back.  I hope God will help make this happen.   

This picture was taken in the beginning of September 2020. It’s a photo of me and one my best friends, Que. His real name is Benjamin. He is 6 feet tall! 

Sadly, since October 2020, I have been confined to bed completely because the pain is so bad. Even just a little movement makes me jump, so I must lie perfectly still to keep the pain level below a five to six. It was not until January this year that I ventured out of bed to see my doctors. Now I only go out one day a week, Wednesday, to see my pain management doctor in Oshawa to get nerve blocks in my neck and shoulders. Then I go back to Whitby to get my cigarettes. Next, I go to the drug store. After that, I head over to the grocery store. Finally, I come back home and back to bed. The hardest thing to live with is the loneliness. I do have one friend that comes over every four to five weeks, or when I need something done. And lately, Ron and Norm come by Tuesday to play Cribbage with me for about an hour. And Norm comes by Monday and Friday mornings to play Cribbage for a couple of hours. And sweet Lori stops by every few days to bring me flowers. And if that weren’t enough to ease the loneliness, now that I’m able to join in on church service on Sunday, via streaming, I am feeling much chipper these days. I thank, God for bringing them to me.  

Well, this is my story. I could tell you a lot more, but it would take too long.  My main point is that God has always watched out for me and has constantly had His guiding hand upon me. Praise be to God!                                                                                  

Johan Van Heiningen                                                                                  

AKA Johnny Wheels