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An extra grateful Thanksgiving: Celebrating Lori’s miracle

Posted at 9:42 PM, Nov 27, 2014
and last updated 2014-11-27 22:41:34-05

COOPERSVILLE, Mich.- She's calling it a miracle, a West Michigan grandmother suddenly able to use her hands and smile for the first time in 10 years.
Lori Hastings calls her improvement a miracle.
We've introduced you to her throughout the years through her organization "Lori's Voice," helping families with special needs children financially.
But this year, in particular, this Thanksgiving is different for the Hastings family. They graciously welcomed FOX 17 into their holiday celebration Thursday.
“Mom and Dad dealt with it with faith and a positive attitude,” daughter Valerie Kelly said. “Let’s focus on what we do have together, I think helped us kids to focus on the positives as well.”
Lori’s muscular dystrophy is a part of their lives.
“I had myasthenia gravis for 10 years, and anybody that knew me you could tell I had a real droopy eye, my smile was absolutely gone, the harder I tried to smile the uglier it got, I couldn’t use my hands,” Lori said.
Nine weeks ago Lori says she experienced a miracle.
“I totally believe a miracle happened, and I will share it with everybody, I’m not too proud, this is a God instance,” she said.
Something she says doctors can’t explain.
“He said then I can’t explain this scientifically, he said I know you have a lot of people praying for you and you’ve been surrounded by prayer and I believe this is a miracle,” she said.
Lori had been in hospice, enduring an extremely tough and scary summer, especially for family.
“She had a terrible, terrible summer,” Lori’s mom, Joanne Kluting, said. “So many times we left here with tears in our eyes thinking this was going to be it.”
Lori has a new grand baby she can now feed and hold when just a few months ago she feared she wouldn’t be around to meet him.
“If you see her now, it’s beyond words, it’s just truly amazing to see that,” son Dave Hastings II said. “We actually have a normal mom according to normal, whatever you call normal, what mom always said was normal is just a setting on your dryer so there’s no such thing as normal.”
Bringing a whole new meaning to gratitude this Thanksgiving.