| A Witness to a Choice for Life Testimony of Sr. Alicia, SCTJM |
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Testimony of the Cardenas Family
My name is Ivanna Cardenas and today I’m celebrating life! I would like to share my testimony with everyone. Last year I went to the doctor for my routine checkup and was blessed to receive the news that I was pregnant. After 2 weeks, I went to my first sonogram appointment with my husband to see the heartbeat of my baby, but when the doctor began the examination he found the little heart that we were anxiously waiting to hear, and no later than a few seconds he noticed that there were two babies, then three, and a few seconds later he found the fourth hearbeat. How could this be if I didn't do any treatments of any sort? I looked at my husband in awe. We were so excited and at the same time scared. We couldn't believe what we were looking at in the monitor. Holy God! Four? In my family there is no inheritance so it was a miracle of God.
In the 6th month I went for another sonogram control which I actually had one every week to make sure all the babies were growing healthy. My appointments were usually 5 hours long but that day, on August 18th, 2014, the doctors were taking longer than usual. After examining each one of the babies, the doctor said they needed to speak with my husband and myself. What he told us next was the most unpleasant news. He told us that our baby D (because they had them identified by letters A, B, C, D) was not receiving enough nutrients through the placenta. He told us that we had two options. The first choice was to remove baby D and let the other three babies continue to grow (we always thought baby D was a girl) and the second choice we had to make was to deliver all the babies and try to save them all. Without thinking twice our decision was to save the life of my four children. When Baby D was born we learned she was not a girl but a boy who we named Gabriel. He was born weighing 550 grams and with breathing difficulties. His first two days of life were very difficult for the whole family since Gabriel was fighting for his life. At that time his oxygen saturation in the blood began to fall to 3% and the doctors told us that he was probably not going to survive, that it was best that we said our goodbyes and call a priest so we could baptize him. This day was full of mixed emotions I was so happy to have 4 beautiful babies (three boys and 1 girl) and at the same time I had one baby fighting for his life…he was dying in front of us. I asked God that if it was His will to take him, that we would understand but I begged him to leave him here with his family, that I would protect and take care of him as best as I could. I prayed nonstop asking God for his life. As I prayed, his saturation began to go up and he was getting better he started fighting, such a small person fighting to stay here with us.
God has a purpose for him as well as for my other babies. They are here for a reason and they have a purpose in life only He knows. I’m eternally thankful for all that God has given me and the way that He shows me daily how great His wonders are. Now I have four healthy babies. They have fought and they had their difficulties during their stay at the hospital but to me it’s just a bump in the road and a learning experience as well as a way to teach people and let them know how amazing God is. God has His healing hand and he's protecting them, what more can I ask for?
~ Ivanna Cardenas
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