Sometimes life is forced to make some tough choices or decisions. It was in this situation that Nick Schnarr and his wife Brooklyn were carrying their third baby. In the early stages of pregnancy, everything is normal and beautiful, and they are like ordinary parents, happily looking forward to welcoming the youngest new member of the family. Doctors, however, told a nightmare that broke the parents a few months later. Nick shared his experience on Facebook:
"In the past 9 months, my wife Brooklyn has been pregnant with a problem baby. Three or four months ago we were told by the doctor that the fetus in her abdomen had cerebral edema. In the past, cerebral edema was also called 'hydrocephaly'... There is too much water in the brain. It doesn't sound very serious, but you may not know how seriously it can affect a fetus and a family. Later, we were referred to the Children's Hospital Center in Cincinnati. There, several national authorities and experts told us that the baby's condition was serious and very unoptimistic."
Our baby's condition is "above average" and worse. The situation was so extreme and dramatic that the expert could not even measure the degree of water in his brain with an instrument, and that was not important, obviously the clear-eyed people thought that this exaggeration was not saved. The terrible results of MRI didn't even want me, a layman, to look at it a second time. Then, the doctor confessed to us that there is a 90% chance that the baby will die shortly after birth or have severe cognitive developmental disorders, requiring long-term care and medical resources, which will greatly affect our quality of life. We had a detailed, straightforward, sad and painful meeting with the medical team to discuss whether we wanted to perform an abortion so that the baby could die more 'peacefully' and comfortably."
During this time, Brooklyn stayed at a hotel near Cincinnati Hospital in case something suddenly changed in her pregnancy. I commuted back and forth, trying to juggle work and take care of my other two children, Sophie and Lily. On July 8, Brooklyn still decided not to want to take the baby, and she was about to give birth. In fact, 15 minutes before her caesarean section, we were still discussing using a special snorkel with the doctor, and when it was really necessary, the doctor might remove the snorkel and let the baby leave the world comfortably. The result? ... When we heard the loud cries of the baby at birth, we all couldn't help but blush. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard."
To make a long story short, Charlie Edward Schnarr was still in the palliative unit until yesterday, but he miraculously survived and, like a normal, beautiful baby, did whatever a baby would do. He has mild ventricular hypertrophy, but we can take him to the hospital regularly to track him down. He's a healthy baby! How did all this happen?
Doctors say they also can't provide medical explanations, and the prenatal test results are there, without any errors, but no one expected the results. We witnessed a miracle with our own eyes. "To some extent, the fetus seems to have found a natural channel on its own to 'unclog' the water in the brain, clear the obstacles in the brain, and avoid the problem of edema." Last week was the most "miraculous" and "lucky" moment I had ever heard of in my life. Many nurses and professional medical teams who have worked for many years have joined us in witnessing and celebrating this miracle.
A while ago, because of the kindness and enthusiasm of friends, many colleagues, customers, relatives, and even strangers knew our situation from the Internet and enthusiastically prayed and prayed for us. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, really, thank you, thank you for all your encouragement, cards, letters, prayers and abundant love, and I believe that prayer really shows its power. God exists and He works miracles."
Never giving up hope, the family finally ushered in a special miracle. Charlie's parents were very fortunate that even after hearing the tragic bad news, even if they knew that they might gamble half of their lives, they still did not take the child in the end. Bless Charlie and his family!