(Fox News) There were few things that ruined a family’s weekend more than losing one of their loved ones to an unexpected illness. But one Arkansas couple’s mother fell ill quickly and disappeared all together. At first, the couple feared she might be suffering from a tragic cancer diagnosis. But soon, the story took a terrifying turn as a single yellow cab found them making a run to emergency care. Together. Unaware of how close they were. John and Melanie Meyer didn’t know one another when, over 24 hours, they would be walking down a long hallway toward each other, on one flight of stairs, in the darkest of dark, that day in May. Their stories have been told before, but their reunion is almost as well known.
“It’s been 24 years since I saw her alive, and I felt like I knew her, like it was like she was speaking, you know? I just remember looking in there and she just looked so innocent and warm and pure and so true,” said Melanie. She’d felt the same way about John, but he’d only seen her in a picture from her high school days. To him, she was different.
“She was just a very beautiful face,” said John.
And they both looked like they had always looked. The fact that they were strangers when they met that day, was hardly a mystery. But when Melanie opened the door after that taxi picked them up at their house, the doorbell rang and opened up a nurse.
“And we looked at each other and I said, ‘You are someone’s mother’,” said Melanie. John had closed the door shortly before she opened it and didn’t see her step in. He thought they’d lost her. But 24 hours of prayers, bringing them together, only strengthened their bond. They hope their story can help others in their place.
“It was a lot about what we were praying for, and then, you know, John and I when we were on the journey and we were talking to each other, even our conversation on the way back. It was almost like he said, ‘you have all the answers for me’,” said Melanie.
Now they’re praying for their daughter, who’s still living with a debilitating brain disorder but is making progress.
“I pray for her and I just hope that she’s healthy and she’s able to go home and tell us what happened and we can begin the healing process. Because it is getting better, it’s getting better,” said Melanie.
John and Melanie are both outspoken about their Christian faith and traveling is just another of their beliefs. They say they will continue to travel as long as they’re healthy.