Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21:22

The night before I went into labor, Dan and I held hands with our children and prayed together before an outdoor shrine of the Holy Family that Dan’s parents had built on the farmland where they themselves raised twelve children. I lit two candles and left them burning there.

At 2 a.m., I went into labor. I called my doctor who told me to make the one-hour drive into Bismarck’s St. Alexius hospital where he and other specialists would be waiting. On the way to the hospital, I looked out the car window and noticed my candles still burning. I felt a warm glow in my heart and instinctively made the sign of the cross. Dan looked over at me, smiled, and said, “Everything is going to be all right.”

I was greeted at the hospital by my doctor, a delivery room nurse, two extra nurses and a neonatal specialist who were all prepared for a baby expected to struggle with life. After a short labor, baby Robert entered the world with a loud, healthy wail. Everyone was shocked. This little guy was not supposed to realize he had just been born. His piercing screams continued until he was placed into my arms. Then little Robert immediately quieted and gazed into my eyes. When he did that, I was the one who cried.

The medical personnel watched awestruck as Dan and I cooed over our new son. After a short while, Robert was taken for the standard APGAR testing. He passed with flying colors. The specialist did an ultrasound on his brain and announced with disbelief, “This baby is fine.” Handing him back to me he added, “We’re not going to do any more tests.” By now even the nurses were crying.

Dr. Fields said he could offer no explanation as to how three ultrasounds indicated there was little or no brain development and instead a healthy baby was born. Because three separate readings analyzed by several experts all pointed to the same conclusion, he said it seems impossible that any errors were made.

Dan and I are convinced that our little boy’s health is a miracle, a true gift from God. Today, at eight years old, Robert is perfectly healthy. Not a day goes by that I do not realize how blessed we are.

Marie Vetter, Mother of four children