I met him today...

I am in a profession where one could say I see miracles every day. Indeed, every birth is an amazing event and I am incredibly honored to be a part of these experiences. In my years of practice I have seen the human spirit at its very best and its very worst. I have seen incredible turn-arounds in precarious situations. Miracles? I am a scientific-minded gal. No doubt about it. I have not personally seen things in practice that could not be explained by good medical care, timely intervention and, my last preferred explanation, some shades of luck. I love my job. I am sensible and good at what I do. I believe in God but explained it in the sense that He often puts the right people where they need to be at the right time. That was how this 'God stuff' worked in my mind. Until now.

Some months back, I was caring for a particular gal during her pregnancy. I had delivered her prior healthy children. This is, no doubt, a very special woman. She has that kind of faith that is just something fine, rare and profoundly deep. She is completely genuine and that's what makes her so incredible to me. At risk of sounding jaded, I have met so many who claim deep devotion but actions speak of hypocrisy. This gal is the real deal and there isn't a person alive who could dislike her for anything. During her routine ultrasound a very complex birth defect was noted. The severity was such that death or profound disability for the child was a medical given. This gal and her husband would never have considered termination and believed that whatever life the child had was the one meant to be. Then she started to say things such as 'God made the world in seven days, He could surely cure my baby in the months ahead'. I'll be honest, it broke my heart when she said this because test after test and specialist after specialist prepared them for the worst of outcomes. I hated the idea of her heart being ripped out of her chest and her faith being put on trial like that. From a medical-outcome viewpoint this case was, indeed, as close to hopeless as one can come. She enrolled in a clinical trial to help her child, if he lived, immediately after delivery. She travelled far from home to deliver where the trial doctors could do surgery on the baby. Meanwhile, the medical contingent saw this as more of a way to get information to helps future kiddos more so than any real deep-seated hope for this particular child. My thinking was wrong. My degree of faith was not even in the stratosphere with this mother's belief. Mom delivered and baby had immediate surgery done. Prior testing clearly gave every indication that he would have little neurologic function. I remembered hoping that, being a near-certainty it was going to happen, he would pass away quickly and quietly devoid of suffering. This was not the case. Although bumps in the road lie ahead, this child is doing quite well. His neuro function is now on target after several surgeries in his young life.

I saw him today. He was sucking vigorously on a pacifier and the light in his eyes as he focused on me was breathtaking. He is home, he is growing, he is already way more than he was ever given credit for being able to become (except by his mother). Today I believe I looked into the eyes of a true miracle. I am humbled.

(The child in the photo is NOT the child to whom I am referring.)