The Most Amazing Miracle - Revealed

Finally! I didn't really want to leave so many of you hanging on this one. As writing is not my forte, I must be motivated or it just doesn't happen. Warning. This is LONG, but you definitely will want to read it. Here goes!


The "Most Amazing Miracle" is the birth of my friend Beka's baby girl (#2) who I will call Grace. After you read this story, I encourage you to go back and read A Most Amazing Miracle, as I am not repeating much of what I wrote there, and that post will make a lot of sense once you read the story below. While you read, you can listen to excerpts of the applicable songs here.

I will preface this story by pointing out that Beka supported me and was present along with HotSauce for the birth of both of my boys. I also was present with Beka, AskJeev and AskJeev's mother two years ago for the birth of their first daughter, who I will call Faith.

Faith was also a complete miracle, conceived three years after a miscarriage. Miscarriage threatened Faith as well during the first couple of months, but thereafter things went well. Faith was born three weeks early after a grueling 36 hour labor. She was just over 6 lbs, healthy and strong; her mama recovered quickly. She is a bright and beautiful little girl.

For Grace's birth, Beka and I hadn't decided for sure if I would be with her, but I was going to be available. Originally we planned that I would be the primary caregiver for Faith, but grandparents on both sides ended up stepping in to fulfill that role, which left me free to do as I pleased.

We were hosting a Life Group Christmas Party the evening that Beka went to the hospital in labor, so I told her to call if she wanted me and I would leave our guests with HotSauce, who is a great host. Well, I'm sure the Lord had something to do with our guests all leaving by 8:30 pm! 10-15 minutes later I had a strong urge to go to the hospital, even if it was just to sit in the waiting room. When I arrived I was ushered right in... the security guard was even amazed at the speed with which I was approved (at 10:30 pm, well past visiting hours).

When I arrived my dear friend Beka was in hard labor, on pitocin but without any pain meds. AskJeev was doing a great job supporting her, and as I came around and saw her, I was struck by how beautiful my friend could look even in the midst of all the hard work she was doing! Later she told me that she knew the Lord had coordinated my arrival to be at the perfect time. I actively assisted AskJeev in supporting her during her labor.

About an hour after I arrived, my friend was ready to push. With her first baby she was an excellent pusher, so I figured this one might be quick. She probably pushed about a half-hour and almost had the head out when the doctor started to intervene (in a good way... it was needed). Then head came the rest of the way out and then... push, push, push... nothing. push again. push again. nothing.

The baby was stuck. Head out. Shoulders and body in. not budging. The doctor tried all sorts of maneuvers. After just a minute or two, about six hospital personnel were assisting, pushing on my friends belly, yelling at her to push harder, stronger, again (with no breaks, mind you). My friend came to a point where she couldn't breathe... I looked up and she was purple. This was probably after 6-7 minutes of the baby being stuck. I began counting for her pushes and coaching her to breathe, hoping it would help. They had already called anesthesia (for emergency c-section?) and pediatrics. I could see the fear on their faces... especially the doctor whom I was right next to.

I was holding Beka's left foot and supporting her back throughout the pushing stage, and for some reason, somehow, I was still there in the midst of this trauma. AskJeev had been crowded out by all the extra personel earlier, so he was sitting across the room where he had a great view of everything. I could see him, and knew he was praying intensely, all the while watching everything happen.

I was praying so hard in my head, heart, soul, all the while coaching my friend. The doctor had tried everything... she was reaching way up inside to try to reposition the baby's arms and shoulders (remember... Beka had no pain meds!). To no avail, she could not grasp anything on that baby to help her come out. Then she was pulling on the baby's neck and head in as safe a manner as she could (but I was so afraid the baby's neck would snap... it just looked awful.)

I kept glancing at the clock. I'm no medical expert, but through some past family tragedies and some things I remember from researching childbirth in the past, I just knew that it had been way too long. I know it was longer than 10 minutes, maybe 12 or 13. If anyone out there is a medical professional, can you tell me how long a baby can be in this position (shoulder dystocia), with the head out, and survive? without after-effects?

I was faced with the reality of this world versus the reality of Christ and his power. While I fully know that God can perform miracles and heal people, I also know and have personally experienced times when it just doesn't happen... even when people are believing as fully as they know how. I likened it to the situation of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as they were about to be thrown in the fiery furnace:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18 NLT)

So while we can build ourselves up in faith, we don't have to completely deny the possibility that our hopes may not be realized. So what I came to was this:

"God, I trust you. You know what is about to transpire. Your hand is all over this situation and Your presence is here. I trust the outcome to you. I know with all my being that you can save this baby. But even if you don't, We will praise you nonetheless. My dear friends, Beka and AskJeev, will get through this. Oh such a great loss, but You will hold us, comfort us, get us through it. Right now I will focus on believing that you can and will save this little one."

At some point toward the end of this ordeal, I had this silly thought, "stick your hand in there." I quickly dismissed it with all the rules and regulations I'm more aware of than the average medical consumer... "non-employees may not intervene, interfere, etc. etc." I just as quickly shot back at my own dismisall, "Who cares what man thinks? This is life or death, for this baby and mama!" And I stuck my hand in there. And the doctor could see what she was doing (up to this point, she had been feeling her way). She made a little adjustment and with another push, out came beautiful Grace!

Everyone knew that this baby would need to be resuscitated. None of us knew if she would live. "Cut the cord! Cut it now!" yelled the doctor. They didn't clamp it or anything. It wasn't cutting through, so I reached over and shoved the cord into the scissors. Then I reached out and placed my hand, in faith, on Grace's back, just as they were whisking her over to the warmer table to revive her. I didn't say anything, like "be healed" or "live" or "in the name of Jesus" or anything. I just touched her, in faith that she would live.

It was so quiet in the room. I sang very quietly, almost timidly but with as much faith as I had, "Our God is mighty to save, he is mighty to save." I repeated those same eleven words, over and over, for the 2-3 minutes it took until I heard one of the nurses say... "we have a heartbeat!"

A couple more minutes passed. Beka commented to me, "I don't hear her". I looked over. They were bagging her and I could see her chest rise and fall with each forced breath they gave her. She was not breathing yet. What could I say to my friend in this moment? I said, "She's getting air. I can see it. She's getting air." It was eight minutes after birth when she took her first breaths on her own. They gave her oxygen. She still lay there motionless. I think I heard them giver her a 4 for her 10-minute Apgar (for those of you who know what that means). Sometime soon after that I saw her feet and legs twitch, so I promptly told Beka.

I was literally holding Beka on her bed so she didn't fall off (you know those birthing beds that come apart). All focus was on the baby. Soon after she was revived, Beka asked AskJeev to stay with Grace while I stayed with Beka (all in the same room). We heard the faintest little sound about 15 minutes after birth. Beka asked me if it was Grace. "I heard it too. I think it was her," I said. It was so faint, and the only sound we heard from her in the 20 minutes after birth that I was in the room. At that point, I left the room to call grandparents and notify them of the birth.

When I came back, we had the baby's weight... less than an ounce shy of 10 lbs! (Remember, baby #1 was just over 6 lbs). Well, no wonder she was stuck! That is one large baby!

• Three hours after birth, Grace was weaned off of her oxygen, completely breathing on her own.
  
• She had the normal newborn reflexes/twitches.


• She responded to others, especially to mom and dad.


• She was "routing" (making mouth movements that are signs of hunger), although the hospital was not letting her eat (they gave her IV instead).


• The lab tests looking for oxygen deprivation damage to intestines and kidneys came back negative, (which is definitely positive! :) )


• In the second 12 hours of life, she experienced what looked to the hospital like two small seizures, so they transferred her to a Children's hospital NICU.


• The NICU doctors observed her carefully, and had her on a compressed EKG of the brain. All brain activity was normal. They could see no evidence of past seizures or of brain damage.


• She amazed the NICU staff with a huge long alert time with mommy and daddy when she was only 1 1/2 days old.


• She had extensive bruising from all the efforts of delivery, so she did need Bili lights to help with jaundice, but she needed them for less than half the expected treatement time.


• She had a stretched nerve, which is common in shoulder dystocia cases. It caused weakness from birth in the shoulder and elbow, although her hand and wrist movements were fine. The Children's hospital scheduled a physical therapist to come and see her on day 5 of her life, but alas, by day 5 her arm was doing so well that they said she didn't need any physical therapy.


• She wasn't allowed to eat until day 3 or 4, but learned quickly, ate enough to satisfy the doctors and switched well to nursing before going home on day 6.


• My dear friend Beka, whose body went through so much trauma, was well enough to be released early, and to travel with AskJeev the hour back and forth each day from home and daughter #1, Faith, to the NICU until day 6, when she came home.

At four weeks old, Grace is smiling already. Not just once, or from gas. I was holding her and wondering if she was really trying to smile (I had seen what looked like three attempts.) Then AskJeev got near and was playing with Faith and talking about kissing her in a very playful tone, and boy did Grace's face light up with a smile. She knew Daddy's voice and responded to it with a big smile. My friends confirmed that they had seen her smile a few times in the couple of days prior. Developmentally... she's already beating all odds! (I think the average time for first smile is 6 weeks old--again medical professionals, please correct or confirm.)

So we praise you oh Lord. Thank you Jesus, for beautiful Grace. And for Faith. Two miracles reflecting Your glory. You are worthy of all praise!

We don't have any recent pictures, as my friends are in the middle of switching computers, but here are some from her first week of life:

So alert in the NICU, less than 2 days old. Isn't she beautiful? (and big!)

The two little miracles. Proud big sister Faith (almost 2 yrs old)
holding baby Grace (6 days old)

If you have time, go back now and read A Most Amazing Miracle to see how the Lord prepared me and my friends for this ordeal, and more things he showed us during it.