Testimony by Tracey Elliott
Article originally published in the June 2026 issue of JOY! Magazine
I have had to walk through the valley of the shadow of death a few times in my life. Once in 2008, when I was involved in a serious car accident, and again in 2021, when I developed an adenoma on my parathyroid gland, which caused pancreatitis and thrombosis in my spleen. I was in and out of hospital for seven months. The word the Holy Spirit highlighted to me is “through”. In Psalm 23 we read, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” He brought me through, and He will bring me through every time. Jesus is a good Shepherd.
The day everything changed
Seventeen years ago (on 30 August 2008), my husband, our two small boys, and I were on our way to the zoo in Pretoria. We were at an intersection, and the robot was green for us to go. We had to wait for a pedestrian to cross the road. My husband, Mark, then proceeded through the intersection. A taxi full of passengers skipped the robot and crashed into the side of our car, pushing it 10 metres into the air.
The crash
I was trapped in my seat, pushed into the middle near the gear shift. I sustained 15 broken bones, including my pelvis and sacrum. My right arm was smashed, my left collarbone was broken, my neck was injured, and my bladder ruptured. My husband sustained head injuries, my youngest son had injuries to his face, and my oldest son hurt his ribs. We were all unconscious.
At the brink of death
That night I was bleeding internally, and the doctors were battling to stop the bleeding. My family and friends were praying, and they started a prayer chain. A few years later, my orthopaedic doctor told me that if he could not get the bleeding to stop, he was going to amputate my legs, and that I was almost at the pearly gates. At around midnight, the bleeding stopped.
The next day they operated on my arm and my bladder, but first they had to stabilise me. This journey of healing and wholeness has been a tough road, especially learning to walk again. I was in a wheelchair for almost a year.
God’s fingerprints
My husband, Mark, was amazing, bathing me almost every night and walking beside me every step of the way. Family and friends, who became family, were such incredible support. My rehabilitation consisted of biokinetics, hydrotherapy, counselling, and physiotherapy. Through all this, God never left me. I have so many wonderful stories of His kindness and goodness along this journey, which I call “God’s fingerprints”. I want to highlight today that no matter what you are going through, God the Father is faithful and loving.
A prophetic word
On 1 June 2008, three months before the accident, I received a prophetic word from the Lord through Pastor Mark Goodfellow. I had just finished leading worship, and he called me to the front of the church. He had just returned from a mission trip to Kigali, Rwanda. He said, “I was sitting in Kigali, and the Lord has something for you. He burdened me.”
Then he gave me this word: “My daughter, I want to raise you up. I have set you apart for a task that you know nothing of, but I have called you by name. My daughter, I’ve called you to be a voice to the nations. I’ve caused you to rise up in the power of My Spirit, and you will be My voice that will carry My anointing. You will declare My power; you will declare My Name in the nations. I’m going to raise you up, My daughter, and you are going to declare Me before the nations.” Ninety days later, the car accident happened.
Holding onto His character
Even when I did not fully understand why I was going through all this pain, one thing I was completely sure of was my Heavenly Father’s character. I became a born-again believer in Jesus when I was 12 years old. I knew He loved me, and I believed then, and still believe now, that He is a promise keeper. I held onto that.
Worshipping through the pain
I decided that I would continue to worship and live for my King Jesus, even if I did not get healed. I love Him as my Lord and my Healer, not for what He can do for me, but for Who He is to me. The truth is that healing is our portion and inheritance as children of God. I needed to trust Him and His timing.
Fighting lies with Scripture
While lying in ICU, unable to move and in excruciating pain, the devil came with lies, telling me that God did not love me. “God doesn’t love you. Why would God let this happen to you if He loves you?” Immediately, Scripture rose up in my spirit. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life … nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39). Then came, “The Lord is faithful in all His words, and gracious in all His works” (Psa 145:13).
Those Scriptures went round and round in my spirit and in my mind, fighting off the lies of the enemy when I could not even breathe from the pain. God’s Word is called a sword, and faith is called a shield to quench all the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph 6:10-18).
His presence in the pain
On the seventh day, the reality of what had happened dawned on me. I was heavily sedated and had been moved out of ICU. I felt overwhelmed. I could not move except for my feet and my left arm. I spoke to the Lord, thanked Him for saving my family, and gave Him all my questions. Then I began to cry and asked Him to reveal His presence to me.
He came near
Not long after that, the nurses came to give me a bed bath. This used to send me into an absolute panic because they needed two nurses to turn me with the sheets, and when I was turned onto my broken side, I would scream in agony. One nurse, Karen, said to me, “Don’t scream, just breathe.” Then the other nurse said to her, “Sing for her.” And she did. She started singing from the top of her lungs, “Then sings my soul…” Then the other nurse joined in, and the presence of God filled that room. His love poured over me. What a beautiful God we serve. He is so faithful to come when we call on Him.
Step by step
When I took my first step on a broken pelvis, with perspiration running down my face and body, Philippians 4:13 carried me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I would say that Scripture with every agonising step I took. Then I would look back and realise I had taken five steps. Hallelujah!
Know that God’s timing is always perfect, and He desires to heal you and heal your brokenness. He is trustworthy. He works everything together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
Millimetres away
Three years later, I went for a second opinion from a doctor at Fourways Hospital. I had a 4D scan done on my pelvis because my physio could not figure out why I was still having such shooting pain in my sacrum. At my feedback session, he said, “Someone was looking after you, Mrs Elliott. Your S1 nerve is obliterated.” I have numbness down the left side of my leg. “However, the S2 nerve is still intact.” He then told me that I was millimetres away from being a paraplegic. Only God. Hallelujah!
Through the valley again
Fast-forward to 2021, and I walked through the valley again. I developed an adenoma on my parathyroid, which caused kidney stones, pancreatitis, and thrombosis in my spleen. I spent seven months in and out of hospital. I lost 20 kg because of the vomiting. I could not keep anything down. Cysts developed in my pancreas, which caused fluid to build up in my abdominal cavity and lungs. I needed drains and stents. I had three litres of fluid drained from my lungs.
Choosing faith again
When I had my last stent taken out in April 2022, the doctor said that the fluid was digesting my organs, but somehow it was contained. That somehow is God. The doctor gave me a bad prognosis, and Mark and I walked to the car in shock. In the parking lot, faith rose up inside my heart, and I shouted, “No! I do not accept the doctor’s report. Father God, You are in charge of my days, and I speak life over my body and healing over my pancreas, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Your promises are true, and I claim them.” Do not accept any word of death from anyone. Speak life. Speak God’s Word and His promises over your body and your situation.
A fresh battle
What the doctors did not realise was that my pancreas had been damaged in the car accident. Prof Jonas from UCT Private Hospital advised that my pancreas and spleen be removed because they were not functioning well. I also had a neuroendocrine tumour in my pancreas, and my spleen was enlarged and had developed splenic vein thrombosis. In February 2025, I had my pancreas and spleen removed. It was an eight-hour operation. Prof Jonas battled to get the pancreas out because of all the scar tissue. I am now diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I inject insulin and take Creon, a digestive enzyme, to digest my food.
Answered prayer
In January, I had written a prayer to my Abba in my Bible journal: “I pray for a supernatural, speedy recovery in Jesus’ Name.” Hallelujah! Thank You, my faithful Father. My prayer has been answered. I am thriving. I am enjoying cooking for my family and eating delicious food.
Hope after brokenness
God might not heal you in the way you imagine, but trust Him. He will bring about healing in His way, for His plans and purposes to be outworked in your life. There is purpose in the pain, in the crushing, and in the fire – refining, moulding, and making us into His image. “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). You are not your diagnosis or what has happened to you. This does not need to define you. God has written a beautiful story for your life. Trust Him. He is faithful.
This article appears in the June 2026 issue of JOY! Magazine. Read the digital version of this magazine here: joygifts.co.za
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Date published: 05/06/2026
Feature image: Sourced from original article published in JOY! Magazine June issue, provided by Tracey Elliott
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