My Daughter Amanda - She is My Miracle

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On December 11, 1986 I was blessed to become a mother for the first time. That is when my daughter Amanda was born. The doctors could tell something wasn't right because I wasn't growing like I should during my pregnancy but I think they kept it from me because they didn't want to cause undue stress. When Amanda was born I noticed her skin color was blue but I didn't know anything was wrong. They took her on to the nursery and I expected them to bring her to me later when they checked her out. Later the pediatrician we had chosen came to my room. He sat there talking to me and my husband trying to explain to us that Amanda had a serious problem. Her pulmonary artery and her aorta were completely reversed. It is a condition called transposition of the greater vessels. I had never heard of anything like this. He told us that they were going to have to transport her to Huntsville, Alabama to give her better care. I was in the hospital in Florence, Alabama. They wouldn't let me go since I had just given birth but my husband was going to Huntsville to be with her. They let me go to the nursery to see her before they took her to Huntsville. I can still see her at that point lying in the incubator, so small and blue. I reached my hand inside and she grabbed my pinkie finger and held on tight. I told her I loved her and they rolled me back to my room crying as they prepared her to go. My husband called me some time later from Huntsville. The doctors had done what I felt was a cruel thing. They told my husband we needed to get ready for an autopsy. Thankfully he has an aunt that lives in Huntsville and she was able to come and give him support until his parents could get there. When he called me I called my mother and pastor and told them the situation. Prayers started going up all over my little one. They were finally able to stabilize her enough to travel to Birmingham. When she got there they did a procedure to help her get enough oxygen until she could grow some more and get stronger. My husband and I stayed in Birmingham with her until she was able to go home. When she was four months ago they did open heart surgery to reroute the vessels of her heart. To see my daughter now no one would ever know that she had ever had a problem. She has grown into a healthy young woman that I'm very proud of and love very much. We still take her to Birmingham once a year for a progress visit. She has done fine and the doctor is always pleased. I'm so thankful the Lord gave me the privilege to be a mother and gave me my daughter Amanda!!