Prayers for Tessa

Written by Jamie Bird, this is the first in a series of stories about ways in which prayer has touched people’s lives. The stories will run between now and the CRC Prayer Summit 2015 set for April 13-15 at All Nations CRC in Los Angeles, Calif.

If you have a story about prayer that you would like to share, please send it to Chris Meehan at [email protected]. Any questions, call 1-616-224-0849.

On April 19, 2011, I went for an ultrasound.

Honestly, the thing I was thinking about the most was gender. We have two boys and I really wanted a girl.

I remember walking back, smiling at the ultrasound tech and the jovial banter back and forth.

I lay down and the tech placed the wand on my belly. I saw the baby's heart beating, but suddenly the tech’s tone changed. The air was sucked out of the room as she informed me that there was something wrong with my baby.

When pressed, she told me that it had something to do with my amniotic fluid. I asked "Will the baby survive" and she replied, "I don't know."

We rushed to the local ER for more answers, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. All the while, the baby was kicking away. Finally, an obstetrician came in and said, “You don't have low amniotic fluid, you have no amniotic fluid. We cannot measure any.”

In hindsight, I think I lost the fluid around 13 weeks, but this was around 16 weeks.

“We also cannot find bladder or kidneys, which would correlate with the lack of fluid,” said the doctor.

Clinging to anything I could grasp, I asked what could be done. The doctor was the first (of many) to suggest terminating the pregnancy.

The doctor  said Tessa's lungs were the biggest problem — without fluid, they would not be able to take in oxygen. They would never grow and become stretchy enough to open and close and take in breath.

I remember, as I left, a nurse said, "I am so sorry," and I said back to her through quiet sobs, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes. May his name be ever blessed."

Looking back, this is when we really started to pray. And so many others joined in as well, especially members of our congregation at Caledonia Christian Reformed Church in Caledonia, Mich.

I know I couldn’t have gotten through this without prayer.

The day after being in the ER, we went to see my regular obstetrician. I was hoping he would offer me some hope. "Has there ever been a baby that survived this?"

He said, "I am sorry, it is not going to happen".

I cried all the time. I cried getting the mail; I cried getting dinner ready; I cried watching TV; I cried in the shower. I could not believe this was my life now.

But I kept praying.

We were sent to a maternal fetal specialist. At our first appointment, they found her kidneys and bladder and she gained a small amount of fluid.

Still, we were told it was bleak. Not un-survivable, but very very grim. If I could make it to 24 weeks, she might have a one to 10 percent chance at living.

My hope was being chipped away by nurses and friends that did not know what to say to us. Some people pretended I was not pregnant. Others did not know how to handle it, so they said nothing.

Around 18 weeks, despite my prayers, even I started to feel hopeless. But I remember my husband telling me, “No matter what, I still have hope.”

It was a key moment for me. I determined to fight  for this baby. To love her as long as I was allowed to have her, to spend my time cherishing her, thinking that I might only have this time this side of heaven.

At 24 weeks, much to my surprise, I checked into the hospital to try and see how far along we could take it. I ultimately stayed for five weeks.

Tessa was delivered at 28 weeks.....crying. This should not have been possible with the lack of fluid. She was normal for a 28-week-old baby. No lung issues whatsoever. A complete and total miracle to us from God. She was extremely little and had a long journey, but she amazed everyone.

As I said, I could not have gotten through this experience without a great deal of prayer:

Prayers for peace and comfort after we received her diagnosis. Prayers for healing. Prayers for acceptance. Prayers for hope. Prayers for our weariness. Prayers for our kids — that they would feel God's presence during my absence. I prayed so much during her journey. I could not have done it without that communication with God.

More than that, though, were the prayers from others.

While I was pregnant, I went to a healing prayer meeting at our church. It was about 15 women, all gathered to pray over me and Tessa. They laid hands on us, anointed us with oil, and prayed in faith she would be healed. That same group continued to pray my entire pregnancy and her stay in the hospital.

My husband is a 4th grade teacher, and his kids prayed so faithfully for her.

We had so many people boldly approaching the throne of God. The entire experience was filled with prayer and completely humbling and awesome at the same time.

To view a video interview with Jamie Bird, visit this page.

Jamie Bird is a member of Caledonia Christian Reformed Church in Caledonia, Mich.