My story starts off like most, I meet the man of my dreams, we get married, buy a house, and along with the house we discover we are going to have a baby. I was happy, but a little scared at the same time. We couldn’t believe it we were going to be parents.

My pregnancy was rough for the first three or four months. I had morning, noon, and night sickness. I really enjoyed being pregnant, I loved my belly, and of course all the attention I got from my husband. I remember feeling the baby kick for the first time. It was the most awesome feeling in the world, how could any mother want to end it.

Well, that’s when my doctor decided to send me for a sonogram. My husband and I wanted to know the sex anyway, so we were thrilled. We went to the appointment, and the tech came in and started to look at the baby, and told us it looked like a boy, but she wasn’t 100% sure, and then that’s when her facial expression changed from happy to horrified. I immediately asked what the problem was, and she kept telling me she had to get the doctor.

I was so scared. She left to get the doctor It seemed like she was gone for hours. My husband and I just stared at the picture of our baby on the monitor. She finally came back with the doctor, and she looked and told me that the baby had large ventricles. She also said that the baby’s brain looked to be underdeveloped. I was so upset, I looked up at my husband thinking this it just a bad dream, but it wasn’t. We had to go to Advanced Fetal Care, so they could research what was really going on, so I figured that this would be nothing, and they would tell us nothing was wrong. Well that’s not what they told us, they told us our little baby boy had a condition called “Hydrocephalus” meaning collection of water on the brain.

The specialist of the department sat down with us to discuss our options. He began to tell us that our baby has a good chance of being severely disabled and would be a great burden on two young people. The first option he gave us was to terminate the pregnancy, my husband then made it clear to him that this was not an option for us. He then went on to our next option to do nothing, and then next to researching the problem. He asked us to think about it, and left the room. I sat there with my big belly (7 months pregnant) thinking how could this doctor tell me this, to end my baby’s life before it even starts.

We decided to have a procedure done, where they would take blood from the umbilical cord, and see if it was something viral. We had to wait for about two weeks for the results. It was longest two weeks of my life. In that time we did a lot of planning and praying. We decided to name our son Nathan meaning “Gift Of God”. I feel that’s what he was.

Our doctor sat down with us and told us different things we may face. Nathan may not do certain things like walk, talk, or even smile at us. I was so numb, but I kept on acting like nothing was wrong and he would be born like every other baby. The test results came back normal and we were told that he was not a Down syndrome baby. I was a little relieved.

The plan was that they would induce my pregnancy at 38 weeks, and then they would do a procedure on Nathan. They would insert a shunt, which is a tube going from the back of his head to his belly to help drain the water. So from 27 weeks to 38 weeks pregnant I had a total of 13 sonograms, to keep track of the hydrocephalus.

So the big day was here, I was going to be induced that evening. My husband and I arrived at the hospital along with my parents around 11:30 pm that evening. They put me into a room, and started around 2 am inducing me.

My labor was fairly easy for the first 8-10 hrs. It got pretty intense around 10 pm that night. Around 3 am, I started feeling a lot of pressure, and told my husband, he went and got the doctor. I was dilated at 7 cm. I started pushing at 4 am and my beautiful baby boy was born at 4:30 am. I cried, my husband cried, and my parents cried right along with me. Nathan was truly our miracle.

After he was born they examined him from head to toe. He did have hydrocephalus, but he did not have to be shunted yet. He did have some problems, but to me he was fine. A couple hours after he was born, my doctor came in to tell me they found a blood clot on his brain, and she also apologized to me by saying, “Sorry, I know you wanted the perfect baby”. I told her he was the perfect baby.

When Nathan was two days old we took him for a MRI, to see about the blood clot. Before the MRI my father took Nathan before God and claimed a healing for the blood clot. I felt peace during the test. The next day the doctor called to tell us there was no blood clot. We were so happy.

When he was two months old, Nathan had a shunt put in. He came through the surgery with no complications. Nathan is now 3 yrs old and is still progressing well. He is in school, it is a special 3 and 4 yr old program, and he loves it. He is still not walking on his own but he climbs everywhere, he uses his gate trainer for school to get around in the classroom. He is still such a blessing to me and the rest of our family.

Nathan will be having surgery in December for his hand. He was born with a birth defect on his right hand so they are going to fix that so he can write and use his hand more. Nathan is also starting to use his potty and is communicating more and more. We pray everyday that he will continue to progress and keep that gentle and faithful spirit that he has blessed so many with. I know that Nathan is here for a reason and I have been blessed being his mother.

We have a wonderful family. My husband is an awesome father, and really helps Nathan, and me of course. Without the Lord Nathan would not be here. Thank you Jesus!!!

Editor's note: Angela has given us a great update on Nathan, including pictures. We will be adding these very soon!