JULIANA’S STORY
At 17.4 weeks pregnant on January 25, 2011 we found out our daughter was terminally sick. The high-risk specialist said she would surely die in 1-3 weeks. We did an amniocentesis right then because then we would have legitimate answers as to why, and what to plan for future pregnancies. She was diagnosed with a large multi-septated cystic hygroma (fluid filled cysts all around her neck and head), hydrops (fluid filling her whole body) and heart defects. We were sent home to wait for her to die. We screamed and cried and grieved. My husband called a funeral home. I alternated between bargaining with God for her life and being mad at him that we were going through this.
A couple days later we found out she had Turner’s Syndrome, a non-genetic chromosomal disorder that only affects females. Even given her terminal diagnosis I scanned the internet searching for hope. I found www.rosiefoster.org; which has a few success stories of babies that survived the same diagnosis. I knew right then and there what to pray for. I gave my baby girl, whom we had named Juliana, to God that day. It was no longer in my hands. If she was meant to survive it would only be by the grace of God. My dad invited me to his church to have his Sunday school members pray for us. We went when I was 19.2 weeks pregnant. That day I had the first moment of peace, the first glimmer of hope that Juliana might survive. By then I had 3 doctors who had told me there was no hope but I felt in my gut that they were wrong!
I joined support groups online and emailed other pregnant moms and moms of girls who had been through the same thing. I grieved as most of the pregnant women I communicated with lost their precious girls. Still I had hope. A woman who had an infant daughter with TS (Turner’s Syndrome) emailed me and at the bottom of the email was the scripture James 5:14 “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up…….The prayer of a righteous man is powerful an effective.” Hope swelled inside me! I had gone to church and had many Godly people pray for me and Juliana! God was answering their prayers!
We had weekly Doctor’s appointments and ultrasounds and every time we watched our daughter’s heart continue to beat. She was fighting! Week by week we saw the fluid gradually decrease throughout her body. At 27.5 weeks on April 6, 2011 the ultrasound tech placed the probe on my belly and proclaimed “what a miracle!!!!” The hydrops were gone!!! The Doctor came in and this time he was smiling! Our daughter was still very sick but instead of waiting for her to die we would be having a baby!!!!!
I cry as I write this, as my beautiful daughter is sleeping in her bouncy seat next to me. How did we receive this beautiful miracle? I feel so undeserving. God chose us for a reason to raise this very special girl, so many good things have happened already. We taught our son Will the power of prayer. He knows that God healed Juliana. We know that God healed Juliana. It is only by his Grace that she is here.
Juliana Grace was born ALIVE on June 2, 2011 at 35.6 weeks. She was transferred the next day to U of M, Motts Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI to have open heart surgery. Her actual surgery took place on June 6, 2011. Juliana came home on July 7, 2011. She is our miracle, she is beautiful in every way. Never again will I doubt our God or the power of prayer. Every time I look at her I am so thankful. I pray that God touches the hearts of everyone who reads her story. He is alive and powerful and still working miracles everyday!!!!
James 5:14 “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up…….The prayer of a righteous man is powerful an effective.”
I want you to know how encouraging it is for me to read your blog. I found out a couple of weeks ago that our daughter has Turner Syndrome. This is my 18th week in the pregnancy. Last week it looked like the hydrops were getting worse than the week before. I am holding onto hope though, as long as her heart keeps beating! Thank you for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I had a sonogram this past Tuesday 4/10/12. The results were that our baby had a large septated cystic hygroma as well as hydrops in her lungs. It was very confusing to both of us since we have 3 healthy kids at home. The doctors gave us no hope however after reading your stories my hope is restored. We go for a cvs and 2nd sonogram either today or Monday, I am waiting on the phone call now. I'm 43 and at my age this would've been our last child. I couldn't bare to think that we would lose our baby when our other children are perfectly healthy and was not prepared for what the doctors had to tell us. Please pray for our baby and our family. This is in God's hands now.
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