God delivered miracle after miracle, beyond what we could imagine.
No one ever said that parenthood was easy. While we were prepared for the sleepless nights our newborn child was going to bring us, what we did not expect was how her birth would evolve into the biggest battles we were going to face as a family.
On March 4, 2022, whilst preparing to welcome our first-born bundle of joy – our baby girl, Kira; I was thrown into the ICU to fight for my life.
Throughout our whole pregnancy journey, everything went rather smoothly. However, while at the point of delivery, I collapsed due to amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) which put both Kira and I at immense risk. AFE is a rare condition that can happen to anyone who is very near to delivery. It is a fatal disease that happens to 1 in 100,000 births and is also one of the top causes of maternal perinatal deaths. The mortality rate for mothers is 20-50% and even so, the morbidity rate is as high as 85% – one can have long term consequences like heart damage, kidney dysfunction, decreased speech and gross motor skills, etc. The mortality rate for babies is as high as 60%, and only up to 50% of survivors are neurologically intact.
God’s Power and Mercy
But this is where God manifested His power and mercy in my life. After I collapsed and went into a sudden seizure, my 4cm cervix that was last checked 30 minutes beforehand, dilated to 10cm. Being fully dilated allowed the doctors to hurriedly get Kira out safely and naturally. We thank God for the discernment, calmness and experience upon our obstetrician, Dr Dev. All of which contributed to having Kira delivered safely.
Thankfully, the haemorrhage bleeding was also stopped with a successful uterine artery embolization, and the doctors did not have to resort to performing a hysterectomy on me.
From the moment we headed to the hospital for our induction till birth, we prayed for God’s hand of protection over us. And that was what He gave us and more. God over-delivered!
God was orchestrating everything in His perfect timing.
God was orchestrating everything in His perfect timing. It was a Friday morning when we checked into the hospital, so we had all the manpower present in the hospital to handle the emergency situation we were in. Dr Dev and the team of doctors present were confident and quick on their feet. Just talking about how I came out of this ordeal is already a huge surprise for all the doctors. Coupled with my rate of recovery, even the doctors said that it’s a miracle!
God’s protection enabled me to get out of the ICU in four days; I was out of high dependency ward in three days; and just after eight days of all that happened, I could be discharged! This was truly a miracle and God’s divine hand at work.
God’s Presence and Assurance
All the time I was in and out of consciousness, my husband, Joel stood by me and put up his best front of being strong and steady for our families. All that while battling with his own emotions of potentially losing his wife and the uncertainty of Kira’s long-term health.
Undoubtedly, my parents’ world came crumbling down when they received the news. And when that happened, Joel bore the weight of it all on his shoulders. Just hours into parenthood, he took on the new role of being a dad, a mum and a caregiver. I can’t even begin to imagine how stressful and lonely it must have been for him. If it wasn’t for Joel’s faith and God’s presence that provided him strength and comfort, I don’t know what could have held him together.
While in ICU, I remember having a vision of Joel’s right hand holding mine, while I was holding a young girl’s hand in tow. We were in a cave walking towards a bright light and Joel had his other hand on a rope that was along the cave walls. I chose to believe that was God’s way of saying that everything will be okay. This image brought me great comfort and assurance of God’s presence with us all throughout this arduous journey.
Amelia’s Road to Recovery
I could have lost my ability to speak; I could have totally missed out on holding Kira in my arms and spending a lifetime of joy with my husband, Joel. And yet despite the odds, because of the grace and mercy of God, here I stand with Kira in my arms, strong and ready to take on the world.
One of the effects I suffered as a result was reduced dexterity on my left hand. My wrist and grip strength wasn’t strong and I lost some sense of touch on my left hand. Today, I’m on the road to recovery with rehabilitation; I am gaining strength and getting back to normalcy.
There is a reason why God gave me life again.
While I don’t know how long it will take for me to be completely healed; or to not catch myself in tears during random times of the day, what I know for sure is that there is a reason why I am still here today. There is a reason why God gave me life again. I know that I am a walking miracle and I will continue to lean on our God who protects and heals. I will continue to seek strength from Him, like how our family has been doing from day one.
On the first Sunday of returning back to church, God spoke to Joel.
God said that while many may consider what has happened to us as a miracle, God was telling him that it was only the beginning of what He had in store for our family. The miracle is not yet complete. God’s plan for His miracle was way bigger than what we could fathom.
We pray that as parents, we will raise Kira to be strong, healthy and wise, a woman anchored in God’s Word. “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” (Proverbs 31:25)
This testimony was first published in Thir.st. https://thirst.sg/collapsing-in-labour-from-an-amniotic-fluid-embolism-god-gave-us-a-miracle/
Photo credits: Harborlight Church
