We do not know where we will be or what we will be doing 48 hours from now. As I’m writing this, 48 hours ago we had no idea that we’d be sitting in a hospital praising and thanking God that our daughter Adriah is still living. 48 hours ago we would have never imagined that hearing the cries of a 7 week old baby would be so beautiful. 48 hours ago we did not know that our faith would be strengthened so much by a little girl of the same name, Adriah Faith. We truly never know what mysteries the day will unfold.
For those of you who have been praying and interceding for us, we can never begin to thank you for what you’ve done. For those of you catching up on what our family has been through, here is the miracle that has been unfolding:
Super-Short Summary Version:
After being found face down during a nap, the doctors are seeing no long-term I'll effects from her lack of oxygen, praise the Lord! While in the hospital they also discovered her body has been harboring group b strep, which at any time could have sent Adriah into shock and killed her before we could have done anything. We are so thankful this incident allowed a discovery that potentially saved her life. So she will be in the ICU for another week getting antibiotics for the strep and rotavirus (another fun discovery). Thank God for His faithfulness and healing!
Story Version:
Rachel and her mom Rhonda were playing outside with the other kids, Christian, Selah, and Jadah, on Wednesday evening at Rhonda and Dwayne’s house in South Bend while Adriah was taking a nap inside. At about 8:15, Rachel finished putting Selah and Jadah to bed when she went to get Adriah, who had been sleeping completely quietly for over 2 hours. Adriah had been swaddled and laid down slightly on her side on the bed Rachel where had been sleeping on while visiting her parents. When Rachel
walked into the darkened room she could barely see, but what she saw frightened her. Adriah was
laying on the bed with her face pressed tightly against the sheets of the bed. Rachel quickly grabbed her and brought her into the light. Rachel looked at a small face that had become distorted and wrinkled by
the sheets and started praying that she was ok. “Are you alive little baby?” she thought to herself.
*Note from Rachel: this was the worst moment of all. I don't know how I would've reacted if the outcome had been different, but it was the scariest thing ever thinking that your child might really be
dead in your arms. The next thought was almost as scary, wondering if she was going to be brain-dead or mentally impaired for the rest of her life. These are the thoughts that I have to push aside or else they would create fear of "what could have been". We can't dwell on those things, and I'm even more
grateful for her life today.
Adriah was still breathing, but it was quickly evident that breathing was difficult and she was not acting
at all like she normally does. Rachel quickly showed her to Rhonda, who decided that they should call 911. Christian, our 4 year old son, was still up and wanted to see his baby sister. Adriah looked bad enough that Rachel did not want him to see her in this state. She told Christian that Adriah wasn’t
feeling very good and that he should pray for her. Our little boy said he was going to the bedroom to
pray by himself, and within seconds Rachel could hear him praying out loud for his sister “baby Adriah.”
We love his child-like faith and have no doubts that he knew God would save his sister.
Around this time, Rachel texted me, I was down in Indianapolis, saying simply , “Pray for Adriah. Will
call soon.” What is a father of a 7 week old baby supposed to think when he receives a text like that?
I immediately called Rachel and she gave me a quick rundown of the situation and that the paramedics
had just arrived. I began to pray and had to just wait for an update. Rachel soon called and said that all
of Adriah’s levels seemed ok, but that she was still very lethargic and she was being taken to the
hospital. I got my things together quickly, and started the 3 hour drive to South Bend.
(There are many differing opinions about the pros and cons of Facebook, but there is a huge consensus
among Christians about the power of prayer. We immediately posted some information about the situation so we could get the news out quickly and have people praying and interceding on the behalf of our little girl.)
Rachel and Adriah arrived at the ER where they tried to find a vein for an IV. But due to the recent
experiences, her body had gotten "dehydrated", basically sending all blood flow to the vital organs.
They must have pricked her over 100 times (even on her scalp) before they decided to do an I.O... Intra-
oscular. This is when they drill directly into a bone to get fluids into the body. Once that was successful
and she was stabilized, they took her to the Pediatrics ICU. Just after midnight, I arrived and waited with Rachel for the doctor to give a better description of the situation. He came in and described that they
did all of their preliminary tests and found that her bicarbonate level was at a 6. For those of you in the
medical field you realize the severity of this number, which we are now thankful we did not know at the
time. The doctor simply told us that a normal level is 24 and they were working to get it up as quickly as
possible. They were doing some blood cultures and were suspecting some type of infection, but
wouldn’t get the results for another 48 hours. They put her on some general antibiotics for the time being to fight off whatever type of infection she may have. He also emphasized that her lack of oxygen, as far as they could tell, had caused no neurological damage and was not the cause of any of her other symptoms.
The last 36 hours she has been making improvements at regular intervals. Her levels are almost back
to normal, the diarrhea has subsided, and she is eating well and keeping it down. The doctor told us this morning (Friday) that she should be able to go home this afternoon, but that quickly changed
when a urine test came back and showed that she has GBS-Group B streptococcal septicemia.
GBS is a severe bacterial infection that affects newborns and can only be contracted through the
birth canal. It slowly festers and sometimes will not show until 6-7 weeks, which is exactly what
happened with Adriah. We then found out this afternoon that she also has rotavirus, which causes
diarrhea and vomiting in infants that can lead to dehydration. The doctor’s actual words were, “It was
kind of a perfect storm that led to these conditions.” The rotavirus is less serious, but must still be
treated with antibiotics.
We have been asking some very direct questions about her condition, and this morning our nurse laid
out the answers. In short, their reports are using the word miracle to describe Adriah’s recovery. They
were seconds away from putting her on a ventilator and were not sure if she would pull through. They
told us that babies Adriah’s age that come into the hospital with bicarbonate levels that low are not
supposed to survive. In hindsight, we’re thankful that we did not know the full severity of the situation at
the time.
We are truly amazed and fascinated at the way the Lord works. From our perspective, Adriah falling
asleep in that position and lacking oxygen for a period of time may have actually saved her life. It sent
her little body into shock and allowed the infections to more heavily pronounce their symptoms. The
doctors have told us that sometimes they do not discover that an infant ever had GBS until they have
passed away during the night.
We praise and thank God for your prayers and words of encouragement. We truly believe that our little
Adriah Faith is now living proof of the power of prayer---your prayers. We now have a sense of relief
that she is alive, but more than that we have a great sense of joy and hope.
We ask that as you continue to pray for her recovery, thank God for the joy He is giving us and the faith
He is increasing through this experience.
Let us not be overwhelmed by the feelings of nearly losing a precious child of God, but let us be fully
encouraged by the understanding that every day is a gift.
May we do our best to cherish every day we have been given and live out our faith with joy and
thankfulness. May we learn to always rejoice in our circumstances and realize that God is always in
control.
