I was 18 weeks pregnant looking forward to my routine ultrasound. My husband and I were very excited about the pregnancy of our second child, as we had had a bit of a bumpy road making it this far after having an ectopic pregnancy and 2 miscarriages. Our excitement soon turned to a multitude of emotions including shock, sadness, helplessness, fear and many more. The pre-natal ultrasound had detected hydrocephalus and an absent or severely underdeveloped cerebellum which they informed us suggested Arnold-Chiari malformation. Further testing also suggested spina bifida but they could not see any signs of this on the ultra-sound thus concluded it was highly likely it was high up in her neck. The doctors were therefore very concerned about her health and future abilities suggesting she may have no or very little control over voluntary movements meaning she may never walk or talk and would require specialised care for the duration of her life. We were also told she may be blind and would require numerous operations, if she managed to survive at all. It was suggested to us that we seriously consider terminating the pregnancy. Our obstetrician was very surprised when we told him we wished to continue with the pregnancy as we believed we did not have the right to choose to end our child’s life regardless of any medical prognosis and that we placed our trust in God to care for our precious unborn child. We had further scans done during the remainder of the pregnancy and the doctor’s prognosis for our precious baby never changed.

It was an emotionally difficult pregnancy for me as I rode a roller coaster of emotions constantly fighting off negative thoughts and drawing strength from God’s word, as well as this website. Months went by seeking the Lord and diligently reading his word and believing His promises. Many people all over the country and around the world joined with us in prayer for our baby.

On the 18th of March, 2004 Haley Louise was born by caesarean section. I had 3 specific prayers for that day. Firstly, I had prayed she would have a strong cry when she was first born. Praise God I heard my daughters cries before I was even able to see her. Secondly, I prayed she would receive a good APGAR score (a test that is conducted 1 minute and again at 5 minutes after birth to quickly assess the condition of the baby). I was thinking around a 7 would be good, God answered with a perfect score of 10 at 1 minute and 10 again at 5 minutes. Finally, I prayed she would feed well, as swallowing is a voluntary action. Haley took to the breast like a duck to water. We weren’t the only ones celebrating that day; the hospital staff were celebrating with us.

God is continuing to answer our prayers. Haley was born with a very low back spina bifida however, it is a flat lesion, which has not required any surgery with the doctors now expecting it to close over naturally in time. At this stage there are no signs of any adverse effects to her legs and there are positive signs to show she will have full bladder and bowel control. Her hydrocephalous is being closely monitored by her doctors, they are very happy with her progress and feel no need to insert a shunt at this stage. They are no longer concerned about her cerebellum as she has as much control over her movements as you would expect any 6-week-old baby to have and expect her development in this area to follow the normal pattern. Finally there is no question she has sight in her beautiful baby blue eyes. God has answered our prayers for an outcome far removed from that which the doctors first presented to us. God is true to his word!

‘Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God’
(1 Corinthians 2:5).