Written by Michelle Wright 

 

Just before Bern and I got married, Katherine Ruonala came to New Hope Brisbane. I went forward to receive prayer as I'd lost an ovary and a fallopian tube 2 years earlier and I was concerned about being able to have kids. She prayed for me about this. Marie Licciardo also prayed over my reproductive system that it would come into order. I had also gotten various words about having kids.

 

Bern and I were married on the 2nd of August 2008.  It was about 3 months after that when we discovered that we were 6 weeks pregnant with our first child, which was just so amazing to us both and so immediately, I started to take all the precautions that I was told to take with regard to food etc... So ensued a journey of faith where I felt my prayer walk had to step up a  notch. The classes and workshops that I went to told me about all the things that could go wrong (so we could be prepared), and it was hard not to give in to fear, but people around me at New Hope encouraged me and gave me Christian books and CDs on the subject of giving birth.  I felt like I had been called to be my child's intercessor - to fight for her in prayer, and I learnt to declare the word of God over her, even in the womb.

 

For the most part, it was a normal pregnancy. I went overdue, and they were talking about inducing me. So, I tried all the tricks that were supposed to get things going and nothing happened. It was a real battle to stay stressfree because my mother who going to come and help ended up needing an operation on a broken arm after falling down some stairs. We were booked in for an induction on the 7th of July, but it got moved forward to the 6th. Then the time got moved forward fom 9pm to 7pm. We'd been praying that I would go into labour naturally and that it would be a 4-hour labour (according to Supernatural Childbirth, there were some testimonies there of incredibly short labours). At 6pm as I was doing the dishes, I started to feel something going on. We went in anyway for the appointment, and they strapped me up to a baby heart monitor and contraction monitor where they discovered that I was already in labour. 

 

My dear husband, Bern, was watching the monitors and noticed that the baby's heart rate kept dropping really low every time that I would have a contraction, so he mentioned that to the nurses, and they stepped into action. Bern called some of the people from New Hope who were meeting in Everton Park, including Gavin Glynn and the McDermotts. They prayed for us that night, until one of them felt that a something that had been blocking the victory here was gone. 

 

It became quickly apparent that our baby would not survive labour at this rate as very little progress had been made on my part, so the decision was made to go to an emergency C-section. We were wheeled away towards the operation room, I was given the spinal, and Bern was put in theatre gear. I just asked him to pray for the baby and me, which he did. My mum was at home praying as well.

 

Our baby girl was taken out (four hours after I had gone into labour), but she wasn't breathing at the time, and she was limp. So immediately, they whisked her off to the resuscitation room with Bern, and I was left for them to fix up. Our baby girl went from an APGAR Score (quick test after the birth of a baby to determine their health) of 2 to 9 out of 10 in a matter of minutes. It turned out that she had gone into respiratory distress after breathing in some of her meconium that had gone into the ambiotic fluid. She'd also eaten some. She was not in a good way, but she was alive, so they wheeled her down to the Intensive Care Unit with tubes into her lungs and stomach. We named her Sarah Elizabeth Wright. If the induction had been booked for 2 hours later, we wouldn't have been going into the hospital until it would have been too late to save her life - so even the timing of everything was just amazing!

 

I saw her 2-3 hours later when I'd sufficiently recovered from the operation. The ICU nurse there assured us that she was a very lucky little

 girl. I got to touch her toe, and then it was back to my room where I slept for a few hours. I woke up fairly early and just started praying for her. I got the word, "I will not die, but I will live and declare the works of God". I didn't know where it was from, but I just kept praying, "Thank you Lord that Sarah will not die, but she will live and declare Your works." Later I found out it was Psalm 118:17.

 

As early as I could that morning, I rang the ICU, and they told me that they'd taken out the tube from her lungs and she was breathing normally. Praise God for that victory! Every day, I just kept praying and so did people at New Hope and my family, and every day we saw more victories! I kept praying that scripture for her and thanking God in advance for His victory. Finally, when she was 9 days old, she got to go home for the first time. My midwife let me know though that she would likely have to keep coming into the hospital for quite some time.

 

Sarah is now 11 months old and is in the 90th percentile for her height and the 69th percentile for her weight. The physiotherapist that was assigned to Sarah was amazed at how well she was doing for what she'd been through and said that she didn't need to come in again unless I was concerned about something. The health nurses and family doctors that we've been taking her to are all happy with her health and development. Finally, the paediatrician has given her the all clear and said she doesn't need to come back to the hospital!

 

Bern and I are extremely thankful to the people who encouraged us, who have blessed us, and who have supported us from New Hope Brisbane. What a family of faith! No matter what the enemy tries to throw at you, the Lord is in control, and He has won the victory!