"Not going to make it.” These were the words our birth mom heard after giving birth to Benaiah. For 3 days we didn’t hear a word from anyone because she was terrified that those words might really be true. Grant and I sat starring at each other wondering what was happening hundreds of miles away to our son. Thankfully, we serve a God bigger than “Not going to make it.” Not only did he make it through the night, he also made it through the end of the week, and I sit here rejoicing because Benaiah is healthy and whole!
We didn’t share a lot of details while Benaiah was in the hospital. Mostly because we didn’t care to hear what anyone had to say about the matter. We knew Benaiah was ours and for that we were confident that everything was going to be just fine! To give you some back story, Benaiah was born in the bedside commode (it actually says that in his discharge paperwork). His birth mom had surgery on her lungs earlier that day and the stress of things made her body go into labor. She was not in The Women and Children’s Hospital. In fact, it was one mile to get from the NICU to her hospital room and took 3 elevators. When she gave birth, Benaiah’s umbilical cord was still attached and all she knew to do was put him on her back and lay there on the floor keeping him as warm as possible. He came out with a cry, but as he began to breath things got really difficult. He went 18 minutes without oxygen. When the NICU doctors finally arrived, Benaiah’s heart rate was scarce and they weren’t sure they could do anything!
…..But God! Benaiah is a FIGHTER! Yes, he made it through the night and even through the week, but once we came to visit we were told a long list of things that would most likely be wrong with him. He had brain bleeds. Large ones. This isn’t uncommon with premature babies, but his were in a rare area: the cerebral cortex. This area has a lot to do with movement and balance. We were told he’d probably have issues with his motor skills and could even have cerebral palsy. Grant and I actually had to sign additional paperwork saying we understood all the things that could be wrong and that we still wanted to adopt him. Grant looked at the doctors in shock, “Of course we’re still going through with this adoption. He’s our son regardless of any diagnosis.”
Well to make a long story short, not only are all the brain bleeds gone, but he also came home a month early….which we were told would not happen! His motor skills are doing perfectly fine! His lungs are functioning above and beyond. His little heart is pumping away (insert prayer request- this is one area we’re declaring healing! Benaiah is dealing with high blood pressure and we all know who the Great Physician is! Stand in agreement with us that his blood pressure will regulate as it should so we can be done with medicine! Doctors says it’s normal for premies to have high blood pressure and he should age out of it).
Grant and I haven’t written in the blog in a really long time! So why now you may ask. Last night, we had the privilege of seeing the move “Unplanned” with our church family (Shout out to Mr. Darin for holding Benaiah the whole movie). I hadn’t seen the movie before and I am so grateful I was able to last night. During the movie, the main character talks about an abortion that would take babies up to 24 weeks. I’m not here to get into anything political, but I am here to say that if you think a baby hasn’t developed enough to survive at 24 weeks, you would be mistaken. Benaiah was born at 25 weeks! 25 WEEKS! One week after the 24 week mark. And even so, a good portion of pregnancies are still viable at 23-24 weeks! (There have been some babies born sooner than that mark that have made it as well!) I am so thankful the abortion clinic closed for the 3 months it did while our birth mom was pregnant. If you haven’t read before, then let me clue you in! Our birth mom had scheduled for an abortion. The day before her appointment she received a call saying the office had closed. Grant did a little research and discovered that the facility closed in December ’18, due to a staffing issue, and reopened in February ’19.
…..But God! The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy! But HE came to bring LIFE! I rejoice knowing that during that time period our birth mom was not able to go through with the abortion and now we have a beautiful baby boy!
It gets even better…. Our sweet birth mom has also given her life to Jesus! And I’m not talking about she went on a “spiritual high” and is playing the role. I’m saying she has given her WHOLE heart to Jesus. She has chosen to turn away from her old way of life. She called to let me know God has even convicted her of stealing and she’s turn from that too. She has been calling all her old friends shouting from the rooftop that THERE IS A BETTER WAY! Lastly, she has also decided to move forward and attend a 6 month rehab program! AMEN!
I love that our story didn’t just stop with the miracle of Benaiah, but now includes the salvation of his birth mom! Grant and I are honored to be part of this journey. Benaiah was chosen by us and in the same way, we were chosen by God to be his parents. Honored and thankful are the only things I can say! Enjoy all the pictures! I couldn’t just pick one! If you’ve made it to the end of this blog, I encourage you to comment and let us know what God is doing in your life! Our story is great, but you have a story too and we’d love to hear it!
We didn’t share a lot of details while Benaiah was in the hospital. Mostly because we didn’t care to hear what anyone had to say about the matter. We knew Benaiah was ours and for that we were confident that everything was going to be just fine! To give you some back story, Benaiah was born in the bedside commode (it actually says that in his discharge paperwork). His birth mom had surgery on her lungs earlier that day and the stress of things made her body go into labor. She was not in The Women and Children’s Hospital. In fact, it was one mile to get from the NICU to her hospital room and took 3 elevators. When she gave birth, Benaiah’s umbilical cord was still attached and all she knew to do was put him on her back and lay there on the floor keeping him as warm as possible. He came out with a cry, but as he began to breath things got really difficult. He went 18 minutes without oxygen. When the NICU doctors finally arrived, Benaiah’s heart rate was scarce and they weren’t sure they could do anything!
…..But God! Benaiah is a FIGHTER! Yes, he made it through the night and even through the week, but once we came to visit we were told a long list of things that would most likely be wrong with him. He had brain bleeds. Large ones. This isn’t uncommon with premature babies, but his were in a rare area: the cerebral cortex. This area has a lot to do with movement and balance. We were told he’d probably have issues with his motor skills and could even have cerebral palsy. Grant and I actually had to sign additional paperwork saying we understood all the things that could be wrong and that we still wanted to adopt him. Grant looked at the doctors in shock, “Of course we’re still going through with this adoption. He’s our son regardless of any diagnosis.”
Well to make a long story short, not only are all the brain bleeds gone, but he also came home a month early….which we were told would not happen! His motor skills are doing perfectly fine! His lungs are functioning above and beyond. His little heart is pumping away (insert prayer request- this is one area we’re declaring healing! Benaiah is dealing with high blood pressure and we all know who the Great Physician is! Stand in agreement with us that his blood pressure will regulate as it should so we can be done with medicine! Doctors says it’s normal for premies to have high blood pressure and he should age out of it).
Grant and I haven’t written in the blog in a really long time! So why now you may ask. Last night, we had the privilege of seeing the move “Unplanned” with our church family (Shout out to Mr. Darin for holding Benaiah the whole movie). I hadn’t seen the movie before and I am so grateful I was able to last night. During the movie, the main character talks about an abortion that would take babies up to 24 weeks. I’m not here to get into anything political, but I am here to say that if you think a baby hasn’t developed enough to survive at 24 weeks, you would be mistaken. Benaiah was born at 25 weeks! 25 WEEKS! One week after the 24 week mark. And even so, a good portion of pregnancies are still viable at 23-24 weeks! (There have been some babies born sooner than that mark that have made it as well!) I am so thankful the abortion clinic closed for the 3 months it did while our birth mom was pregnant. If you haven’t read before, then let me clue you in! Our birth mom had scheduled for an abortion. The day before her appointment she received a call saying the office had closed. Grant did a little research and discovered that the facility closed in December ’18, due to a staffing issue, and reopened in February ’19.
…..But God! The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy! But HE came to bring LIFE! I rejoice knowing that during that time period our birth mom was not able to go through with the abortion and now we have a beautiful baby boy!
It gets even better…. Our sweet birth mom has also given her life to Jesus! And I’m not talking about she went on a “spiritual high” and is playing the role. I’m saying she has given her WHOLE heart to Jesus. She has chosen to turn away from her old way of life. She called to let me know God has even convicted her of stealing and she’s turn from that too. She has been calling all her old friends shouting from the rooftop that THERE IS A BETTER WAY! Lastly, she has also decided to move forward and attend a 6 month rehab program! AMEN!
I love that our story didn’t just stop with the miracle of Benaiah, but now includes the salvation of his birth mom! Grant and I are honored to be part of this journey. Benaiah was chosen by us and in the same way, we were chosen by God to be his parents. Honored and thankful are the only things I can say! Enjoy all the pictures! I couldn’t just pick one! If you’ve made it to the end of this blog, I encourage you to comment and let us know what God is doing in your life! Our story is great, but you have a story too and we’d love to hear it!