Da’dra Greathouse is an award-winning gospel and contemporary Christian singer whose powerhouse vocals have lead thousands of people into God’s presence for more than 30 years.

In 2007, she accepted a prestigious position to lead worship at Lakewood Church, the largest church venue in America with lead pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen.

Pregnant with her second child and eager to move from Nashville to Houston, doctors gave her devastating news. She had developed hypothyroidism that caused a goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland. It grew to the size of two fists on her neck.

Surgery was needed to remove it, but because of its proximity to her vocal cords, doctors warned her she may never sing again.

Without surgery, the goiter would eventually grow large enough to block her windpipe and kill her.

Da’dra met with a surgeon and explained the complexity of the situation. Singing is more than her weekend gig, it’s her career and calling. The surgeon refused to operate on her and walked out of the room.

“I got up and ran to the doorway and yelled down the hall, ‘hey doc, do you know anyone else who can help me?’” He hold her no and kept walking.

“I cried the whole way home. I was sobbing because I felt hopeless.”

Finding the right doctor

In that moment Da’dra had two choices. She could wallow in despair, or keep seeking answers. Da’dra chose the latter.

She sat down at her computer and started Googling laryngologists. Her search query returned thousands of doctors.

“I said, ”God, I need you to show me who my surgeon is.”

One name stood out – Dr. James Netterville from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where Da’dra lived at the time.

“All of a sudden, it was almost if God took a highlighter and highlighted the screen,” Da’dra remembers. “I just knew I had to call him.”

It turns out that Dr. Netterville had invented a procedure to reverse vocal cord paralysis. He also took medical mission trips to Africa where he operated on goiters like Da’dra’s. Dr. Netterville was more than qualified to take on Da’dra case – and he did!

Learning how to sing again

The surgery was medically successful, but it resulted in a loss of Da’dra muscle music memory. When she’d start to sing a song, she could no longer find the notes. She had to learn how to sing all over again.

“I sounded like a seal at first. I’d just cry.”

She experienced fear and negative thoughts each time she tried to sing: “You’re never going to sing again.”

Da’dra countered every negative thought with scripture: “God says I am more than a conqueror. I am going to overcome this. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

“I said, ‘God you would not bless me with an opportunity to lead worship at Lakewood Church and not have a voice,” Da’dra remembers.

Each week she met with a vocal therapist. Da’dra remembers crying during every session. She made gradual improvements. Her voice was getting stronger. The notes that she could sing before the surgery were slowly returning.

Two months later, Da’dra was on stage singing again, now at Lakewood. Her full soprano vocal range had returned six months after the surgery.

“God is able to bring you through things that you can’t even imagine having to come through. When you’re in a trial, you’re going to experience negative thoughts. But you have to do what the Bible says and cast down those negative thoughts. It’s what gave me hope. It’s what reminded me of just how strong faith is – to overcome any challenge.”

Follow Da’dra Crawford Greathouse on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Her debut album “All of Me” is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music and Spotify.