Prayer for Life for 1 pd Baby, Madelyn

“At first, I didn't even know how to take it. I mean, the death of a baby...it destroyed us,” says Jacob. “When your child dies, nothing matters anymore. Everything goes away. And the only thing that mattered in that point in time was God,” says Jennilee.

Jacob and Jennilee Mire lost their baby girl, Ray, at 26 weeks. Two months later, they were pregnant again. “Obviously I was, like, riddled with fear,” says Jennilee. “But I know that fear doesn't come from the Lord. And so I really tried to lean on that. I attended a revival service and they prayed over me. And I just had a supernatural encounter with the Lord and the Holy Spirit. In that moment, it's like as if He reached down and touched me. And just parts of me began to heal. And the preacher was praying over us, and he had prophesied over her as well. So that gave me a lot of confidence, kind of, in our journey forward.”

The Mire’s renewed faith and prayer was sustaining them, then at the 20 week ultrasound they received concerning news. Jennilee remembers, “The doctor was going through, and toward the end, he began to ask me a lot of questions. And suddenly I knew something was wrong. And he told me that my cervix looked as though it was 100% effaced. The severity of the circumstance became very real to us. That if my cervix really was 100% effaced, that we were going to lose another baby.” Jacob recalled, “We were, I mean, super devastated to know that it could potentially not, you know, be born. Our child couldn't be born. We were heartbroken.” 

They prayed for God to protect their baby and then a doctor was able to close her cervix. Two weeks later, she went into labor. “Just prior to the delivery, the neonatologist had come and sat with us that day and began to explain to us what it would look like to give birth to a 23-week baby,” says Jennilee. “They basically told us that you can almost guarantee that this child could be blind. They could be deaf. They could never walk. They could never talk. They may need long-term breathing assistance or feeding tubes. They could have cerebral palsy. They may never be able to eat on their own. I mean, the issues went on and on. So, as you can imagine, we were completely filled with fear. But I knew that God had a really big plan for her.”

Madelyn was born at 23 weeks, weighing a little under one pound four ounces. Dr. Sarah Coors was her neonatologist. “To start with, 23 weeks has a high risk of mortality,” she states. “And it was during her first week of life that we found out she had severe infection and meningitis. It makes it very difficult for such small babies to survive.”

Jacob said, “Seeing my wife suffer and knowing that she just, she just delivered another baby that may not make it was hard. I just continued to give it all to God and somehow helped me get through it.” Jennilee said, “I knew that I wasn't going to lose with Jesus on my side. I began to play worship songs over her and plead the blood of Jesus over her.”

Dr. Coors adds, “I remember Madelyn's parents being at the bedside and mentioning that they were praying for her. That these results would not be to her devastation or for her bad outcome. And I just encouraged them to continue praying.”

Jacob recalls, “They did find E coli. Normally when they do that type of test and they find that, then the chances of the baby survival is basically, I mean, minimal. At that point in time, it was all family members on deck, praying, praying as much as we could. Praying life over the baby that this wasn't going to happen.” He pauses, “And lo and behold, it was gone.”

Jennilee remembers, “She stopped me and said, 'We got the results from the test back and the fluid is completely clear.' She's like, 'I don't even see any signs of the meningitis.' And I just broke down crying and I hugged her and I said, 'I've been praying.' And she said, 'I know you have and it's working, so keep doing it.'"

“We prayed, I mean, harder than we ever did. And yeah, no medical explanation, even the doctors couldn't explain it. So, it was definitely a miracle, It was a miracle,” said Jacob.

“In the preceding couple of weeks, she just started miraculously turning around. She was actually taken off the ventilator at only 18 days old,” says Jennilee. “So, she was only about 25 weeks gestational and she only weighed one pound, seven ounces. And she was breathing on her own with just a CPAP machine, which is just miraculous for a baby that small. And toward the end of her stay, her heart PDA closed on its own with no intervention.”

Dr. Coors added, “God was faithful in helping her overcome the barriers. And she was able to go home even earlier than any of us could have ever expected, well before her due date, which is quite remarkable from a medical standpoint. So, we recognize that God's hand was on her life and on this family's life. And it's such a joy to partake in watching that miracle happen.”

Jennilee smiles, “The hospital told us that she was a record, that they had never had a 23-weeker leave that early. And with no breathing tubes, no feeding tubes, really no major medical intervention throughout her stay.”

Today Madelyn is a thriving toddler with no deficits from her premature birth. “With Maddie being a miracle baby and through everything that she's been through, and to sit here and just give a testimony on it, we're super strong in our faith now,” says Jacob.

“Prior to this experience, I did pray and I believed in God, but I never really saw a lot of miracles in front of my eyes,” says Jennilee. “And so seeing this happen and knowing that it was an undeniable miracle, it just became very real to me. So, when I pray now, I know that He is real and I know that He can do whatever He says He can do, and there are no limits. And when I pray for someone, I actually believe with everything inside of me that it's going to happen, if it's in God's will.”