Testimonial Tuesday #4: Not the Way We Expected

Welcome!  It's Testimonial Tuesday where we share a story of answered prayer/testimony.  This is hosted by Jerralea from over here.  Won't you think about linking up with us?

I was about 3 months (12 weeks) pregnant.  It was my 2nd pregnancy (and my last).  Our little girl, Courtney (a.k.a the Princess) was 4 1/2 when I became pregnant.  We had tried for about a year.  Gave up when nothing happened.  Dave had to work in Italy for 5 months the year Courtney was in 4 year old preschool.  He came home on a break and I got pregnant!  He did have to go back to Italy so I had to tell him the news over the phone.

At my 12 weeks ultrasound, the tech said "oh, we see a cyst". I thought she meant on me.  (although I had never had one before, at least not that I knew of).  When I asked where my cyst was, she said "no...it's on the baby's ovary....you're having a girl!".

They said they would need to watch this but not to worry as most of these types of cysts just pop during the birthing process and that about 10% of female babies have them.  I wasn't worried at all.  But I didn't like knowing our baby had this on her ovary.  

So...like the praying parents we were, we took this to the Lord in prayer and asked our good friends at church to pray. At the next ultrasound (I had three partly because I was an older mom...I was 38 when I got pregnant the 2nd time and although in the 1990's it was very common for women to wait, the ob/gyns still wanted to do a couple of extra ultrasounds. I didn't mind at all as being a special education teacher, I knew the various risks so had them check for those too.  I wanted to be prepared.  Her fingers/hands all looked normal so no Down Syndrome.  In fact, everything looked great.  But the cyst was still there.  And it was getting a little bigger

We continued to pray.  One week before her due date, on a snowy night (Dec 20, 1998) at about 11  pm,  I went into labor.  When we got to the hospital I was already in transition and she was born at 4:22 a.m. on December 21 (our Winter Solstice baby!) weighing 8 lbs 15 oz! and yes, I did this by all natural/no drugs birth.  I used the Bradley method.  I was supposed to deliver her in the birthing pool but my water had broken so they wouldn't let me get in.  They whisked her away for yet another ultrasound and sure enough...much to our chagrin, honestly...the cyst was still there and it was torqued around the Fallopian tube!

Surgery was scheduled for 10 weeks of age. That was one of the hardest things I've ever sat through!!  Dave and I started praying the cyst would be benign.

It was!!  Glory to God!!  Yes, they had to take one ovary and one Fallopian tube.  She will still be able to have a baby one day if she wants to. The pediatric surgeon said she might have a little more difficulty in getting pregnant but that she still could.  She has a little tiny scar from the surgery that is barely noticeable.  

Claire at 8 nonths at Tanglewood
August 1999

Our answer to prayer did not go exactly the way we would have wanted it to.  Of course we wanted it to just go away during the birthing process.  Of course we didn't want them to have to remove anything ....yet...God grew our faith big-time during that time period.  He showed us that HE is in control and that our children really do belong to Him.  

How we thank Him that it wasn't cancerous!!

God is good.  Even  during the harder times and with answering us in the ways we don't expect.

Claire at her Sweet 16 Party
December 2014