My Life As a Mom of a Miracle

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Sara and her amazing mom story.  Sara is a mom to 4 adorable kids.  She is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet and has a beautiful heart for prayer ministry.

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I know we’ve all had them. That life-altering event that changes you so much that you can’t remember the person you were before it happened. For me, that event was the birth of my second son, Graham.

It was about 5 years ago now, but the memories are still vivid. I remember being in the OB/GYN's office and having my second ultrasound done at 10 weeks to check for a heartbeat. Extra cautions were being taken because I had just had a miscarriage the month before. I could see immediately that something was not right. My doctor tried to put on a calm face, but she sent me to see a specialist immediately. I can remember going home after that appointment and looking up the different possibilities on the internet (never a good idea by the way!). All of the information I could find looked very grim. Over our many months of weekly ultrasounds we were told so many scarey things - that he might have Down syndrome, that he might have another chromosomal abnormality that was incompatible with life, that he would have kidney failure, be on dialysis, need a kidney transplant or may not live long enough to receive one.

Thankfully we found out through a biopsy of the placenta a few weeks later that he had no chromosomal abnormalities and that we would be having a baby boy. It was a relief, but it was still hard to have the normal excitement you get when having a baby. We were sent to see all the different specialists before he was born so that we could be prepared for what may happen after his birth. They told us about what happens in the NICU and how things proceed when the baby doesn't survive. The nephrologist told us about how it would be when he was on dialysis and how big he would have to be to receive a transplant. Lastly, we saw our urologist, whom we have grown to love over the past 5 years. I sat there 20 weeks pregnant while he looked at our ultrasound pictures. We were on information overload after the previous 2 consults. He just looked at us and basically said that everything would be okay, and he thought we were going to have a great kid. He was a gift from God. We needed that encouraging word, and it gave us hope.

We had weekly ultrasounds, but basically, to the surprise of many doctors, we made it though the pregnancy uneventfully. At 35 weeks, the real adventure began. We went to the specialist for our routine appointment. I could tell the doctor was watching the blood flow in the placenta for way too long. He didn't think the placenta was functioning well anymore, and told us to go straight to the hospital to deliver. We came to find out later that as many as 80% of babies with Graham’s condition are stillborn.

At the hospital I was induced, and Graham made his appearance in the morning. It was a beautiful delivery, didn't even have to push once. It was all such a blur after that. The extent of his problems was far beyond what we had seen on the ultrasound. After holding him for just a few minutes, he was immediately transferred to Children’s Hospital for the first of many extensive surgeries.

Needless to say, we survived that surgery and many others after it. Graham is truly one of kind. God has surpassed every expectation we could have had for him. It hasn't been easy at all, but every experience has been a blessing. We have learned more about ourselves and our God than we could have ever imaged. When something like this happens in your life, you can't deny the hand of God moving over and over again. More than anything, it has taught me that in my life I cannot trust my own limited understanding. I need to cast my cares on my Savior, acknowledging that his understanding is far greater than mine. When I am able to do that, I am blessed beyond what I could have imaged.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

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Thanks, Sara!  You have such a special little boy.  God is so good and I can't wait to see what He has in store for your family.