Micro Preemie Overcomes Huge Odds

CBN.com -

There was no question that Wade and Sharon Cox would choose to save their child. She was their first and they believed God had given her a name - Brianne Marie. At first the pregnancy seemed to go as expected. Then a routine sonogram at 20 weeks gave cause for concern. The baby was behind in her growth by two weeks.

Sharon: "The doctor gave us 60 seconds, while they're preparing my abdomen and putting a catheter in me, they were saying, 'you have to decide whether you want us to save this baby.' At that point 20 weeks along, half way through, we realized that there was a problem she wasn't the size that she should have been."

Six weeks later the couple met with a specialist at Methodist Medical Center in Dallas. Another sonogram showed that baby Brianne was now five weeks behind. After admitting Sharon to the hospital, the doctor gave them the news. Life as they knew it was about to change.

Wade: "The doctor had come in to talk with us. He had said, 'You know, I think this baby's coming early. I don't know if we're talking hours, days, but the baby is coming early.' He left the room, her heart rate dropped and everyone ran in and said they were taking the baby that moment."

In a matter of minutes, Sharon was rushed to the operating room for an emergency cesarean. The day was May 17, 1996. Brianne Marie Cox came into the world three months premature. Termed a micro-preemie, she measured ten inches long and weighed a mere 13 ½ ounces. This was not the happy occasion Sharon and Wade had dreamed of.

Sharon: "I was in shock, I was in denial. I was angry, I was thinking, 'God, how could you let his happen?' I knew He was right there with me, but feeling very much alone and wondering where He was."

Brianne was placed in the neo-natal intensive care unit. Like most babies her size, she wasn't expected to live through the night. She had underdeveloped lungs and an open vein in her heart. With no immune system, she was in constant danger of infection.

Wade: "I think to see a child that you've prayed for, that you've waited for and to see instantly them in a life-and-death struggle where you can only pray, that's the only thing you can do, is the most helpless and mournful feeling that you can have."

Sharon: "I've never known pain like that. You love so much you don't want them to hurt. But you can't help it. We said, 'Lord, if you want to take her, she's yours,' because the thought of having to watch her suffer was more than I could bear."

Brianne clung to life for two more days. The third day her condition got worse and doctors had done all they could. Wade and Sharon prepared to say goodbye.

Wade: "At that point we thought we were going down to see Brianne for the last time. She was so vulnerable, she was in pain, and I thought to myself at that time, I said, 'I wouldn't blame you if you gave up right now.' I didn't see how she had the hope without God in her little form to keep clinging to life. But she did."

Brianne lived four more days -- long enough to undergo surgery to close the hole in her heart. Again, to doctors' amazement, she survived.

Wade: "The neonatologist was sitting with his head in his hands saying, 'I can't believe this. She must have good plasma. This is amazing.' From that point on we began to think that the Lord might be up to something. We clung to that hope."

So began a roller coaster of intense emotions for the new parents. As Brianne teetered on the edge of life and death, Sharon and Wade never knew if their next visit with their daughter would be their last. They spent many long nights praying for the life of their daughter, and the strength to make it through one more day.

Wade: "There wasn't a night that went by that we didn't pray that God would spare Brianne's life no matter what the future held."

Sharon: "I just clung to the Lord. I read back through my journal now, I journaled that whole time and every day begging God 'Give me what I need to make it through today.' Because there were many times that I thought, 'I can't do this another day. I can't do this another day.' I would get up the next morning and He gave me the grace that I needed to do it another day."

That grace also served as a witness to the staff on the unit. Barbara Baker was one of Brianne's primary nurses.

Barbara: "Sharon and Wade were quick to tell people that they were trusting God. There was a real spiritual awakening in our unit where people were asking spiritual questions, acknowledging that yes, God exists, and that there is the possibility of a personal relationship with Him. There were a few who actually trusted Christ during that time."

What touched the Cox's more, was the miracle of Brianne's life. After nine and a half months, Brianne went home. She went on record as the smallest baby born at Methodist Medical Center to survive.

It's been five years since Brianne came home. The Cox's have had their setbacks, and their successes. Brianne continues with physical therapy and has other complications. In fact, it never got easy and probably never will. But the Cox's celebrate what they have.

Sharon: "We were given every realm of possibility that she would never talk, never walk, never see, or hear. She's so far exceeded the expectations of some of the medical community that we rejoice in every little thing. You know, we don't take anything for granted any more."

As Sharon and Wade continue to walk out their faith, day-by-day, they cling to God's promises.

Sharon: "God said 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.' And that's what I think that I've learned more than anything, that His grace is enough."