2018/2019
Vol. 14

A Miracle of Life

2001; Houston, Texas, USA

In 2001, when my aunt Marti was pregnant, a doctor called her in for further testing because her unborn baby, Cayden, had tested positive for a disorder called trisomy18.¹ The chances of Cayden having the disorder were four out of five. My aunt Marti now needed to have an amniocentesis (that is when they draw fluid out of your belly).

When the doctor said to abort² Aunt Marti’s pregnancy, Aunt Marti and Uncle Matt refused. They wanted the pregnancy to continue so that Cayden could be born. The doctor told them that Cayden had the worst test he had ever seen, so he was almost positive that Cayden had trisomy18. Since my aunt and uncle refused to abort Cayden, they had to sign a release saying that they would not sue the doctor if Cayden wasn’t born alive or if she had birth defects. So they signed the paper. A witness also signed the document. The doctor said it would be cruel and inhumane to carry the child to term. Aunt Marti had to see the doctor every week.

After they signed the release, Uncle Matt had to help someone move, which meant that Aunt Marti was home alone. She didn’t eat or sleep, because she was so scared. So she said, “Lord, give me a scripture to stand on and believe.” God gave her Jeremiah 29:11–12. Aunt Marti had heard it before, so she didn’t really believe it was from God. But the Lord told her it was from Him.

When Aunt Marti had an appointment, the things the doctor said were wrong with Cayden were an open palate, heart problems, an exposed spine, and a cyst on her brain. And the doctor couldn’t see Cayden’s kidneys. Aunt Marti called her brother-in-law and sister-in-law and told them to call their church and tell them to pray for her. (Aunt Marti’s church didn’t believe God was the healer.) Aunt Marti also called her friend Sami Carla. Sami told my aunt to come to church with her to get prayed for.

When prayer time at the altar came, Aunt Marti told the pastor’s wife that her baby was going to die. She told her that Cayden had a 25-percent chance of being born alive and a 10-percent chance of surviving one year if born alive. When the pastor’s wife heard this, she put one hand on Aunt Marti’s head and the other hand on Aunt Marti’s belly and she said, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.” This is Jeremiah 29:11. When the pastor’s wife prayed this, Aunt Marti’s stomach shook. She immediately knew that Cayden would be fine.

At the next doctor’s appointment, during the ultrasound,³ the doctor said nothing. At the end, he said he didn’t understand. The doctor saw Cayden’s kidneys, her back was healed, there was no cyst on her brain, and on the ultrasound Cayden had smiled! Three months later Cayden was born perfect! She is still perfect to this day.

Tori Brand; Missouri, USA

1. Trisomy 18, also called Edwards syndrome, is a genetic disorder that severely affects many parts of the body.

2. To “abort” means to stop something before it’s finished, often because of a problem.

3. An ultrasound is a procedure that uses very high frequency sound waves to show the inside of the human body.

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