By Carol Harrison

I HAD been a Christian most of my life and often took my faith for granted. Tough things had happened. I had survived with God’s help. Now I thought I was prepared for anything that having a fourth baby would bring to our lives.

My pregnancy had been good, with no medical problems or traumatic events. On August 4, 1982, after a relatively short labour and easy delivery, our youngest daughter was born.

Our excitement quickly turned to fear as we waited for her to take her first breath. The clock on the wall ticked off the minutes as the medical staff worked feverishly on our baby. Finally, after almost seven minutes, we heard a wonderful yet tiny gasp for breath.

What and why

All my previous expectations of life after this child’s birth were completely different from the present reality. I clung to my husband’s hand and waited for answers to what and why, while tears pooled in my eyes.

Later, as I lay alone in my hospital bed waiting for sleep to claim me, I prayed that when I woke up, this nightmare would be over.

I asked God to make everything better so that I could take my daughter home in a couple of days and so that everything would be just the way I had expected it to be.

God had other plans.

The next morning, I headed to the nursery, hoping to be able to hold my baby. I arrived at the nursery in time to watch my daughter quit breathing and have to be resuscitated, a procedure that would be repeated more times than I’d be able to remember before the neonatal portable unit arrived.

It became very evident that our journey into this bewildering medical drama had only begun. We had no script to know the outcome. I prayed with more intensity than I had for a long time until I didn’t know what else to pray.

For the next two days, I watched my daughter lie in a coma in the neonatal unit. The doctors gave her only about a five percent chance of going out the front doors of the hospital, and if she did survive, the chances of severe brain damage were great.

Crying for mercy

On the second day, I cried to God for mercy. I knew in that instant, beyond any shadow of doubt, that God could heal my baby perfectly and instantly. God could heal her so completely that everyone would wonder why she had needed to be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

I also realized that God could choose to heal her a little bit at a time using the medical professionals to help.

But one more thought hit me with force at that moment. God could also choose to heal her by taking her home to heaven, and she’d never hurt again.

I threw all my doubts, my fears and my struggling faith into God’s hands and said, “Whatever! God, she’s yours. You love her even more than I do. Just please give me strength for whatever is coming next.”

Immediately, a blanket of peace wrapped around my shoulders, and I knew the truth of Philippians 4:7: “The peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

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I opened my eyes. Nothing around me had changed. My daughter still lay in a coma, hooked up to machines to keep her alive. The change was in my heart, as I waited for God’s miracle – in whatever form it would come.

Medically impossible

On the third day, Amee woke up from the coma. On day six, she was strong enough for a CT scan, which showed so much swelling in her brain that the doctors could not pinpoint where or how much brain damage had occurred.

We settled in for a long stay in NICU. On day eight, Amee was strong enough to go home, something the doctor had said was medically impossible.

I must admit that my emotions that day ranged from great excitement to huge trepidation at now being responsible for this little one, with no doctors or nurses within calling distance.

What had happened? And why had it happened? These were questions that begged for answers. The doctors told us that Amee had suffered a stroke as she was being born, but they could not tell us why that had happened. She was in the five percent where this could not have been predicted and the cause could not be determined afterwards.

It remained a mystery. No one had done anything wrong. It just happened.

My faith was tested as I trusted that God was in charge and had a plan for our lives.

Amee needed medication daily to control her seizures. She had many doctors’ appointments, and I needed to be extra vigilant in order to answer the many questions they had regarding her. Yet I also needed time with my other children. I needed to juggle all the extra needs with an already busy life. I needed to trust God to give me the strength I needed.

Huge learning curves

I have now been on this journey, along with my husband and family, for almost 28 years. We have faced other health crises with Amee, as well as huge learning curves for her, for us and for her teachers.

By the time she reached nine months old, we knew that Amee had mild cerebral palsy, affecting her right side. We also knew she had epilepsy and microcephaly.

Her development in all areas was delayed, sometimes significantly. Visits to therapists, doctors and specialists were all part of our routine, along with working on all the therapies at home.

Along the way, I jotted down notes and kept records, partly as a coping mechanism and partly to help me understand and help my daughter better. By the time Amee reached her teens, she begged me to help people understand her situation. My husband urged me to write her story so other people would know that miracles still happen, even when they don’t look like what we expected.

Today all the specialists that have worked with Amee over the years tell us that everything she is able to do is medically impossible, considering the amount of damaged area in her brain. She should not be able to walk, yet she runs track with the Special Olympics. She should not be able to talk, yet she sometimes helps tell part of her story. She shouldn’t be able to read but loves to do just that. The list goes on and on.

There are still things Amee needs help to do or cannot do, but I know God answered my cries for help in his time, in his way, and I want to give him all the glory.

To learn more about Carol and Amee’s story, read the book, Amee’s Story. It is available at Lifesong Records and Books in Penticton, at Bell Tower Books in Kelowna, from Amazon.com or from the website www.carolscorner.ca.

October 2010