Edmund Øygarden was born and raised on a farm by Marifjøra in Luster municipality.
Besides working as a junior high teacher, he works as a sheep and cattle farmer.
Øygarden had always been in good shape and has been an active person, but on 31 January 1994 something happened that would change his daily life. It had been snowing for a long time in his town and there were great amounts of snow on the rooftops. Because of the great impact this had on the roof, it was important to remove the heavy snow, and Øygarden climbed up on the roof and started shoveling.
-As I stood there shoveling, the snow suddenly loosened, and a large snow-slip came towards me. I therefore jumped away and dropped three meters down. Unfortunately there was ice on the ground, and I fell and hurt my right foot.
Øygarden eventually got help and was taken to the doctor. The doctor believed that the damage was not a big deal, and sent him home again. The next day Øygarden went to the hospital and had X-rays performed. The pictures showed something completely different than the doctor had thought. The heel was crushed and the ankle destroyed.
-The damage was extensive. The doctor said that it was a complicated and difficult fracture. He operated in eight to ten screws in all possible angles to get the ankle in place.
Help with the animals
The following year Øygarden spent training his foot, but the pain made it difficult to move very much.
-Because of the screws the ankle was stiff and not very movable. The pain caused me to limp when I walked. Every time I walked down a staircase, I had to step with the left foot first and take one step at a time going down to relieve the foot. Sometimes I felt pain from the screws in my foot.
It was a rough time for Øygarden. He had always been an active man, but now he had to take it easy. He could not run, and he could just forget about skiing in the winter. Driving a car was also a challenge, because it hurt when he stepped on the foot pedals. He also had to use soft and roomy shoes.
-Another challenge was my job as a farmer. At the time I had eight cows and I ran a dairy. In addition I had many sheep. Now I needed help with the upkeep of the barn, and had to have substitutes to help me, plus I got a lot of help from my mother. Several of the animals grazed in the mountains, and it was hard to walk there because of the rugged terrain. Now I wondered if I really could work as a farmer anymore, he says.
After about two years the doctor wanted to stiffen his foot, since he was not satisfied with the outcome after surgery. It was an unpleasant message to receive, since the ankle would then become stiff and unmovable for the rest of his life. Fortunately, something was going to happen that would eliminate the need for Øygarden to contact the hospital again.
Ants in the foot
Friday March 7, 1997 Svein-Magne was the guest on a nationwide television program on the television channel TV2 regarding healing through prayer, and Øygarden was sitting at home watching this program. Pedersen encouraged people to join in the prayer. He would pray for the sick while they laid a hand on the television.
-I walked over and put my hand on my foot while he prayed. Then I suddenly felt a violent tingling in the foot. It felt as if a thousand ants moved inside my foot. The swelling and pain disappeared instantly. The following day I could walk completely normally. I was able to move my foot in all directions, something I could not do before. It was amazing!
Fine form
It has now been more than 17 years since Øygarden was healed, and he has not felt pain in the foot. He currently has around 100 sheep, including lambs that he runs after in the mountain.
-Everyday life has become new for me. Now I can move around in the mountains problem free. I have not been to the doctor with my foot after 1997. I cannot feel the screws in my foot at all, and maybe they have disappeared? It would be interesting to take a radiograph of my foot now. I have always had hope and faith in God that something could happen, and fortunately I was healed, he says happily.
