By Roxana Stroz, FL USA
PROM at 13 weeksDelivery at 29 weeks + 3 days.
Story added: 2012-10-17

Hi. My name is Roxana. On January 21st we found out I was pregnant. We were so excited. This would be our 3rd child. At week 5 I suffered a panic attack. I was nervous since 3 years ao I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. At week 12, I suffered a sub-chorionic hematoma at church during a women's retreat. I was given the anointing of the sick by our priest and there were lots of prayers.. We thought we were loosing this baby because there was so much blood. I bled very profusely and there were massive blood lots. After an ultrasound we learned that the baby was alive and well, thanks to God. Next day we went to our doctor and saw the baby happily surrounded by liquid. It was moving around a lot and doing flips. The doctor said that nothing was threatening my pregnancy and that I should rest for 5 days. Sometime during those five days I felt a gush of liquid come out as I was on my way to the bathroom. It dripped down my legs onto the floor. I mentioned it to my doctor on my next appointment, but he did not bother to check me. He did a quick ultrasound and said that everything looked normal even though this time I did not see a lot of black surrounding the baby and it wasn't moving. I resumed my work and normal activities. I went to work, the mall, the beach... On April 9th I received a call stating that my alphsfetalprotein tests showed elevated amounts for down syndrome and that I was scheduled for a level 2 ultrasound for May 11th. By April 30' I was 18 weeks. I went to a routine check, and the doctor decided to take a quick look at my baby. I saw his expression change. He tried to look calm but I could sense he was nervous. My baby was alive, but was so curled up we could see only the skull and spine. I was concerned. The doctor said that he was going to move the level 2 ultrasound for sooner because I had low amniotic fluid. On may 1st, we were called to the hospital for the ultrasound. The baby was growing normal, gaining weight, no down syndrome, no deformities, and we discovered we were having a girl. We were so excited. The perinatologists came a few moments later to review with us the details of my pregnancy and said that my water broke a month ago, and that there was nothing they could do to save my baby. He said that her chances of survival were less than 1% and that he recommended termination. He said that it was a matter of hours until infection will set in and both lives were at risk.. We were devastated but declined termination. Next day, our priest did a second anointing of the sick and affirmed us that everything will be fine. Our doctor gave us the same diagnosis with the same recommendation and got the same answer. No, I will not let you kill my baby. We put our case in God's hands and trusted in His wisdom and will. We decided to let God decide when, how and where the pregnancy would end. Next day we were recommended a pro-life doctor. He prescribed me antibiotics, sent me to complete bed-rest and once a week monitoring. My amniotic fluid levels kept decreasing despite drinking lots of fluids. It went from 2.9 to 2.3 and each time lower levels. I made it to 23 weeks and was admitted to the hospital. The doctors there thought that it was a waste of my time there because the baby will not survive. I was reminded constantly of how low her chances of survival were. I kept telling them that we believed in God and our trust was in Him who can do everything. I read the bible a lot. God's words are true and his works are trustworthy. We firmly believe in His promises. At week 29 , July 18, the head of the perinatologists came to remind me once more of the grim prognosis for my girl and sent me a counselor to prepare me for her death. I cried all night. By next day, I was in labor. Labs confirmed that I had a major infection. At 11:00pm I was on OR. At 12:05am, our priest announced that the whole town of Los Vientos in Panama were praying for us. He was there on a missionary trip from church. At 12:15am, my baby was born. She did not breathe or moved. 10 minutes later, they showed her to me. She was in-tubated and on her way to the NICU. The doctors said that she was fighting a massive infection. Two days later we learned that she was never infected. She was doing progress. Her brain scan showed a small bleeding but was told later on that she did not have brain bleeding at all. She spent two months in NICU , all her test showed that everything was normal and that. She was improving. She is home today and doing just fine. Doctors were amazed that she survived and is completely fine and healthy thanks to God that saved her. She was given to me by His faithfulness, Mercy and Grace!