An Impossible Birth Made Possible by God!

Justine Mancol recalls doctors delivering heartbreaking news about his unborn child, “Because if the baby makes it to full term, she will have complications, she might have down syndrome, she might need surgery right away as soon as she gets off the womb. Or worst-case scenario, one day during the pregnancy, the baby's heart will just stop working.”

Justine and Rowie were thrilled to be expecting their second child. 

They'd already chosen her name: Rebecca, Rowie says, “I was so excited because I've always wanted a little girl, so, I told my family and friends right away.”

During her second trimester, Rowie began experiencing pain in her abdomen. Justine recalls, “We were actually going on for a, a dinner that night and she complained about her tummy hurting and she's not feeling really well and she felt, she felt something was off. So we brought her to the ER.”

Rowie says, “They found fluid in my baby's lungs, but that's not something to be scared about, so they sent me home.” It turns out it was something to be scared about. They were soon referred to a specialty hospital where tests confirmed hydrops fetalis, a condition where fluid accumulates on the baby’s brain, stomach and lungs, preventing organ development. 

“And basically the lymphatic system of the baby's not working properly.” Says Justine, “Also, all the fluids is just in random places, the amount of the fluid the baby has, she has 2% survival rate. And that's just that, just when I heard that, my mind just went completely blank.

Rowie says, “Justin was right next to me, and he wasn't speaking at all. He was just there right next to me, and there was no tears in his eyes.  I couldn't talk. I was just in the full shock. They told me to, they told me that it's better to abort my baby.”

Justine says, “Me and my wife, we know that abortion is not on the table. So we told them we are not going for it. we're gonna go through this and I know my God will see us through this.

“I told Justine that I'm gonna accept my baby no matter what. That's my baby. She's a blessing. Says Rowie.

Rowie and Justine turned to their church for prayer and support. Justine recalls, “We reached out right away to our pastor because in my mind, in our minds, if the doctors are basically giving up on us and the baby, like there is no one for us to run, but to God.  And from there the church has just become collectively one praying for us.”

Rowie recalls, “The peace that I felt was I something that I, I can't explain, God is so good. Those were, every time life gets hard, I would go back to that moment when God was, you know, God was there for me in those hardest times of my life.”

Doctors placed a shunt in the baby’s lungs in utero to drain the fluid. The first attempt didn’t hold and the second seemed to have no effect. Justine recalls, “Every week we pray that the tube stays and the fluid goes away. But it was a test of faith for the next four months, pretty much 'cause every week we'll go there, they'll check the scan, the tube is there. Good. But the fluid is still there. It was a test of fate every week. Every week we have, we were praying so hard, every time we get to the hospital and she's, we were about to go inside the see the scan, I'll say, ‘I'll go to the restroom real quick’ and I'll, and I'll kneel down and pray. I'll be kneeling down in the bathroom actually praying, asking for a miracle.

Those prayers were answered when further scans revealed the fluid in her brain and stomach had cleared. However, the baby’s lungs remained filled. Doctors weren’t sure she’d be able to breathe on her own.  During delivery, Rowie underwent 24 hours of labor, before having an emergency c-section. Rowie recalls, “There were so many nurses and different doctors, just in case that she's gonna need oxygen or surgery right after.”

“Oh yeah. It was a breath-taking moment for us.” Recalls Justine, “When the doctor pulled Rebecca out, I saw the tube falling in her back. And I saw some fluids draining. And the doctor, I remember the doctor patting her back. She said, ‘come on cry, baby cry.’ And there for about say 5, 10 seconds of silence. Like she wasn't crying. And then out of nowhere she just started crying.

Rowie says, “We kept saying, ‘thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus.’ You know, she cried. That's what we've been waiting for the whole time and I remember thinking, this is gonna be our testimony. And it's been three years since, since that happened. And we're here we are, she's everything I prayed for.”

Rebecca was able to breathe on her own. Justine and Rowie thank God for the miracle they received in their healthy baby girl – Rebecca. Rowie says, “I treat every day such a blessing because she's here, we celebrate every day.”

“God is faithful.” Says Justine, “God hears prayers, that's for sure. Because we have Rebecca now. Every time I look at her I just whisper in my head, thank you Lord. Thank you God. Thank you Jesus. Like, every time I see her it's an automatic, automatic thought already. thank God she's here. Thank God for saving her. Thank God for healing her.”