Posted on 01/29/2006 7:14:53 PM PST by Coleus
In 1999 my son was given a prenatal diagnosis of "fetal anomalies incompatible with life". I was offered "choices".
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In 1999 my son was given a prenatal diagnosis of "fetal anomalies incompatible with life". I was offered "choices". I could've flown to Wichita, Kansas and had Isaiah's life taken by inducing labor. The literature assured me I would deliver a dead infant. He would've been given a fatal shot so he wouldn't have to "endure the painful birthing process". How thoughtful! They'd even sell me a "miscarriage certificate". I was given another "choice. We could arrange to give birth and not offer intervention. No, I didn't like that either. Our choice rested in trusting God. If the child's condition was truly "incompatible with life", God would take care of when, where, and how he would die. Let God be God, the doctors could doctor and I'd be a momma.
There's only One who can judge the quality of a man's life, short or long. Isaiah had "quality of life". Isaiah had two parents who loved him and showered him with kisses and holding. He had a big brother and two sisters who loved to hold him. His hospital visitors were so many the nurses scolded us. Once home from his twelve-day hospital stay, his nursery was set up in the living room near a sunny window. There he could feel the warmth of the sun and see his visitors as they came to admire him and bring presents and pray for him. He was born the day after Mother's Day. His 32-day life meant he never knew what it was to be cold or experience winter. He liked to suck on his binky. Some babies don't, but momma's little Binky Boy did. He was only able to suck from a bottle maybe twice but oh, how he loved it! He sat in an infant swing a few times next to the teddy bear his sissy gave him. Being held was his favorite thing, especially by momma. A couple of his visitors said they saw him smile. I didn't, but I knew he felt happiness and contentment. The oxygen saturation monitor allowed us to "see" how love can strengthen a failing heart. While being held, his oxygen saturation would rise to 100 percent for a few moments as though there were no hole in his heart.
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There's only One who can judge the quality of a man's life, short or long. Isaiah had "quality of life". Isaiah had two parents who loved him and showered him with kisses and holding. |
On his last full day, the oxygen saturation sank until at evening it hovered at 65%. His big sissy, just turned five, asked to hold him one more time. Emily held him close and kissed him and told him things five year olds tell babies. Isaiah liked that! His oxygen saturation SHOT back up to 100 and stayed there for several minutes. Later his daddy (some little boys don't have one you know) kneeled down to whisper sweet daddy things to his little boy and gently stroked his forehead. Oh, Isaiah liked that too! He loved his daddy. His oxygen saturation SHOT to the top once more and the LED lights of the machine glowed 100. We announced Isaiah was dying and might not be with us past the night. Everyone cried and kissed the baby and told him good-bye. Some people don't have anyone to kiss them good-bye, but Isaiah did.
He made it through the night and was given another round of kisses and tears and good-byes the next morning by his adoring siblings. The babysitter arrived and scooted the children off so mommy and daddy could be alone with their son for the last time.
Isaiah died that morning with dignity. Dignity means no one killed him and he wasn't alone. His momma's arms were around him through the whole process. Some babies don't die with dignity. About fifty million babies have died legally without dignity since January 22, 1973.
When will it stop?
God's blessings to you and yours.
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Good article. It's amazing how putting someone down like a stray dog has become equivalent to dying with "dignity".
Great post!
Beautiful story!
This was part of Brian Rohrbough's amazing speech at the
Colorado March for Life which was, sadly, blacked out by Denver
media.
Precious baby Joshua was similarly cherished for 24 hours.
Tearful bump.
This is a wonderful article and very close to my heart.
In 1983 my aunt gave birth to a severally premature baby and she knew before going into labor that there was almost no chance of survival. When my cousin was born, he was immediately baptised and given last rites. There was nothing the doctors could do to correct his condition (chances are that today's technology could have saved him) and he died aftert three days with my aunt and uncle holding him. They do not like to discuss it, but they have also told me that they wouldn't trade those few painful days for anything in the world.
In 1970, when my mother was in her seventh month of pregnancy, she got food poisoning and went into labor. My brother was given less than a 25% chance of survival and my parents were told that even if he survived he would likely have severe health problems for the rest of his life and would be very small and weak. By the time my brother was a senior in high school, he was All American in medium and long distance track (in one event his times were in the top ten in the country). He always wanted to be a military officer and attended college on a full ROTC scholarship. While in the Army he went through northern warfare school in Alaska and Ranger school at Fort Benning. He left the Army after a severe shoulder injury made it impossible to continue doing what he loved. He is now a very successful lawyer handling complex litigation. Had my family accepted the doctor's opinion, he would have been told that nobody expected anything from him and would have missed out on a very fulfilling life.
What an incredible story!!
Agreed!
God is a just God. God is a loving God. But He is also a jealous God. Below is a good description from "Bible Answers". The scientific community is playing God in their cloning, euthanasia, baby stem cell research and their abortion. Time might just be getting very short.
"When we look at this verse, we find that it is not that God is jealous or envious because someone has something He wants that He does not possess. Exodus 20:4-5 says "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God..." Notice that in this verse God is talking about being jealous if someone gives something that belongs to Him to another."
This woman and her family chose love.
Let's be clear though: people, like Feinstein and the Far Left Democrats, who cite "a woman's 'right to choose'" as a litmus test for Supreme Court justices are talking about a negative right.
From America's founding and adoption of a Constitution in 1787 until January 30, 2006 (today), every American girl/woman has always possessed the right to choose to allow the child in her womb to live until it emerges through the birth process. What they did not lawfully possess was the right to choose to deprive that child of his/her Creator-endowed right to life and liberty.
Jefferson: "The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."
Thanks for the ping!
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