On November 10, 1976, I went into labor around 1:00am with our second child. Everything seemed to be normal - labor pains and all. I waited to go until about 4:30AM - wanting to make sure it was "the real thing". My husband, Chuck, and I stopped by my parents house to leave our soon-to-be four-year-old son, Jon. My dad came to the door in his underwear. Now, I had never seen my Dad in his underwear which was quite a shock! Anyway, Chuck told Dad that it was time. Dad asked, "Time for what?" Any other time that would have been funny but not at that moment. We headed to Dekalb General. We checked in and let them know I was in heavy labor - which was obvious to everyone by that point. :) They wheeled me to an examining room. The nurse examined me to see how far along I was. That's when the problem became evident. The nurse ran from the room to get the head nurse. She came in and examined me as well. They both left the room with Chuck and I looking at each other like what's going on?
BUT GOD.......About that time, one of my doctors came in to also examine me. He had a "look" on his face that I didn't like. I asked what was going on. By this point, I was REALLY in labor. He said not to worry that he'd be right back.
BUT GOD...... Well when he came in with one of the other doctors in the group - then I figured it was time to worry. They moved me to another observation room. Finally, one of them explained that the baby wasn't dropping down the birth canal. He also said they were going to hook me up to a fetal monitor. He then explained that the baby was only getting every other breath (not sure how he knew that but I wasn't in any condition to argue). He then started talking something about the chance of a still birth or most likely brain damage. They would test her to see the extent of the brain damage.
BUT GOD!!!!!! He said they needed to go ahead and take the baby by C-section. They gave Chuck a minute with me before taking me to surgery. I don't believe I've ever prayed so hard and so loud in all my life. All I knew was that we serve a great God and I called on His mercy. I prayed for a live baby - brain damaged or not - I didn't care. I just wanted my baby. Finally, they wheeled me out and into the delivery room. I was greeted by four of the doctors who were in the practice that I went to. That was even more unnerving to see all of them there. I laughed and asked where the 5th doctor was (they had given me the fun stuff by then)... in another delivery. They put me under and delivered our daughter, Rebecca. When I woke up, one of the doctors told me that the baby was alive but had a heart murmur and they weren't sure of the amount of brain damage - just that there was some. After that, I was pretty much out of it for the rest of the evening. Chuck called his parents and asked them to have their church pray that night for Rebecca.
The next morning, one of our pediatricians came to examine Rebecca. I'll never forget the look on his face when he came into my room after having examined her. He said, "Mrs. Owens, I've just examined Rebecca. She's fine." I told him I knew - she was so cute! He said, "No, you don't understand, she's fine! No brain damage and no heart murmur!" I said, "I know." He wanted to know if the nurses had told me. I told him no they hadn't. He wanted to know how I knew. I told him because she had been covered by prayer and my Lord, Jesus Christ, had healed her. He said, "I've heard of him.".... the doctor was Jewish. For the next three days, he and his partner came twice a day to check on her. They just couldn't believe it - but I could! She was such a good baby - always so happy. Of course she would be, the Lord had touched her. As our daughter grew, people always told us that when talking with her they felt like they were talking with an adult. She excelled in school and eventually entered Pharmacy school and is now a Pharmacy manager at a Publix store. She gave her heart to the Lord as a teenager and is now a mother with two children of her own. Our daughter has touched so many lives over the years that would not have been if God had not answered the desperate prayers of a mother and all those praying at my in-laws church. PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS.
[ Submitted by Sandy Owens ]
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