Eight and a half months ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Unfortunately, the birth experience was far from perfect. My placenta prematurely tore away from the wall of my uterus and put both mine and Josiah’s lives at risk. The doctor’s acted quickly and I had no problems but Josiah was born barely alive. He was not breathing and his heart was barely beating. He was resuscitated and life returned to his blue, lifeless body.
When the placenta tore, Josiah was cut off from his oxygen source and was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (lack of oxygen to the brain at birth). The next two weeks were very difficult as we learned that he could have significant brain injury and that he may never lead a normal life.
Day by day, he made progress. Things that we take for granted were major milestones…breathing on his own, eating etc… He had an MRI that confirmed our fears. He did have brain damage. A small area in the back of his brain was dead due to ruptured cells. The doctor could not tell us what this would mean. She told us that we would only be able to tell as he developed and that he could have significant problems or he could be perfectly normal. That is quite a range of possibilities!
Two weeks after Josiah was born, we were able to take him home. We did so with a lot of fear. We have anxiously awaited every milestone, smiling, laughing, babbling, rolling, and crawling. Each time he meets a milestone, I feel a burden lift. He has seemed to be “normal” but the thought that maybe something is wrong is always there.
Today, Josiah had his first developmental check up. He was seen by four different specialists and found to be developing perfectly! The doctor told us that it is very unlikely that he will have any birth related problems!
We believe that Josiah is our miracle. What a testimony he is of God’s sovereignty and faithfulness! I will never know why all of that happened but what I do know is that I have seen God ordering our steps all the way through this.
A Genuine Journey 
Shireen
/ March 3, 2010I love how God is still working miracles today…so glad Micah and I have been able to be a part of this great journey with y’all. We love you and can’t wait for our boys to grow up and get into trouble together!!!
agenuinejourney
/ March 21, 2010Thanks Shireen. We are so grateful for you and Micah. You guys have been a huge part of our journey since we moved to Omaha. You are great friends. We love you guys and I hope they don’t get into too much trouble!!
Jon
/ March 3, 2010I am very delighted to hear that Josiah is doing well!
I wish that you hadn’t had to go through all that, but it will be a testimony to God as Josiah grows up and fulfills his calling.
🙂
Jon D.
agenuinejourney
/ March 21, 2010Thanks Jon! When are you guys going to India? We are going to Thailand in April/May. Jaison will go for 5 weeks and Josiah and I will be going for about 2.5 weeks.
Jon
/ March 21, 2010We’ll be in Jaipur for the month of June. We may go earlier and stay later, that is not decided yet.
Thailand? What’s happening there?
I’ll wave if we fly over Thailand.
🙂