Photo by Taylor Wurth
Twenty-two years ago, my wife and I were expecting our first child. When she had her first ultrasound, it showed a large black hole filling the abdomen of our baby. We knew this wasn’t normal. We learned that the black area was fluid. There was a blockage, and urine was not draining out of the baby’s bladder. The bladder was very swollen and urine was backing up into his kidneys. We were referred to a specialist, a perinatologist, that day. This doctor confirmed that our baby had the blockage of his bladder. A procedure was scheduled for the following Saturday in which the doctor would stick a needle through my wife’s belly and uterus into our baby’s bladder to drain the urine and maybe even place a stent to allow drainage.
My wife and I are both Christians and we had started a prayer chain at church. My dad talked to his dearest friend about our situation. His friend was a state senator, a school teacher, and a Christian evangelist. He called us the night before the procedure to pray with us over the phone. We were both on the phone with him and spent a long time talking with him as he felt led to pray for the healing of our baby. After he prayed for our baby, we felt a real peace about it. We realized we weren’t in control. It was really the first time that I felt completely helpless and out of control in a situation. We released the situation to God and continued to pray for a miracle. We knew that whatever the outcome, God would give us what we needed to deal with it.
The next day the doctor did an ultrasound of my wife’s uterus to look at our baby’s bladder. The volume of urine in the bladder had decreased and therefore they didn’t have to do the procedure to drain the urine. For the rest of the pregnancy, my wife continued to have about three ultrasounds a week to monitor his bladder and kidneys. The results of the ultrasounds varied but never were bad enough to need the draining procedure. However, he always had fluid on his kidneys and his bladder wall became thickened through the rest of the pregnancy. My wife was a nurse in the pediatric clinic and knew a pediatric nephrologist (kidney specialist). She asked this specialist what to expect regarding the condition of our son. She said if he survived he would need kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant. My wife responded, “I am going to pray that God heals him.” The doctor said we could pray all we want, but medically speaking that will never happen.
Family and friends and churches continued to pray for the healing of our son. When he was born, he peed on the doctor during the circumcision and everyone cried because this was a sign that his kidneys were working. Shortly after, a radiologist did a kidney test to assess his true kidney function. The results showed that his kidney and bladder functioned normally even though the doctor could see the area where the blockage had been. She saw a narrowing of the urethra (tube that carries urine out from bladder) but she said she did not think this would create any problems for him in the future. After this procedure, we stepped outside of the room with the doctor. She took my wife by the hand and said, “Medicine did not heal your son. God did.” We believed then and we believe now, that God worked a miracle and we are so grateful for this healing for our son.
A Million God Stories is a Christ-centered ministry which offers a platform for Christians from all streams of Christian faith to give praise for how God has worked in their lives. Christ heals in infinitely creative ways and we acknowledge that His way of helping may differ from person to person.
