Daniel: A True Life Miracle
“Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven" - Henry Ward Beecher
It’s that time of year again and the College World Series in Oklahoma is in full swing…which reminds me of what our we went through 25 YEARS ago…
June 4, 1998
12:10 PM
My husband Dave was under a lot of stress. A major business deal had been plaguing his sleep for months, and everything was riding on an upcoming meeting.
Dave had travelled to Omaha, Nebraska, one for the College World Series tournament, and two it is where he and his associates had just begun what promised to be a true power lunch of strategic maneuvers with a side dish of crucial decisions.
Just as they were placing their orders, Dave’s pager buzzed. He expected it would be business related news and hoped it wouldn’t upset their delicate negotiations. What last minute information might this be? Was it a deal-breaker?
He slipped the pager out of its case, and was immediately relieved to see it was from me, not the office. He thought it must be something about our new house, which we had just moved into anticipating our fourth son’s birth in mid-July. We were excited about having the extra space to help our family welcome little Daniel into the world.
Taking a deep breath to shake off his tension, he retrieved the message and began listening. As he did, the anxiety rushed back into his body. My message explained that our doctor had some concerns and wanted me to go to the hospital that morning for additional tests on the baby.
I asked for his help to arrange to have our eight-year-old son picked up from school, taken to our house to get his baseball gear, and then brought to his championship playoff game that afternoon. I also asked him to make arrangements for our two-year-old son to be picked up from daycare at 6 p.m.
Expect the Unexpected
Dave was in shock. It was tough enough dealing with the business problems he faced, but that stress paled in comparison to the fear that was gripping him now. He immediately called our doctor’s office to see if he might be able to catch me there. The receptionist told him I had already gone to the hospital, so he asked if he could talk directly to Maynard, who was our doctor and close friend.
When Maynard came on the line he said, “Dave, I’m sorry, but this is very serious.” Dave felt the blood drain from his face as Maynard went on to tell him that he was concerned for both baby and mother. His head spun as he realized what Maynard was suggesting. Could he be facing a loss of both his wife and son?
Maynard explained that little Daniel had a heartbeat, but that was about all. He was not responding to probing or anything else they had tried. He went on to say that for my safety, Daniel would have to be delivered by cesarean section within the next three or four days. He went on to say, Daniel didn’t have much of a chance to live, and if he did survive, he would most likely be severely handicapped.
Hanging up the phone, it took everything he had to hold himself together. The shocking news was overwhelming, and he felt the grip of fear taking control over his body.
Dave’s business associate came over to tell him that his lunch had arrived and that it was getting cold, but when he took one look at him, he knew that something was terribly wrong. Dave assured him that it was not business-related, and then his colleague asked if the baby and I were all right.
He could hardly breathe or speak, but somehow managed to describe our situation. It was heart wrenching to say the words aloud, and he felt an urgent need to walk outside for a moment to connect with nature. He walked beyond the parking lot and found some trees to stand under. Once safely out of sight, he completely broke down in tears. He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried so passionately.
He prayed for strength, asked for protection to surround both Daniel and me, and sent as much healing love as he possibly could to us both.
Testing our Beliefs to the Core
My husband and I have a strong belief that each of us the power to heal. Some may find it hard to believe in this power, and most live unaware of this possibility. But I have found that we receive energy from trees and natural surroundings, and in turn are able to use this energy to heal. It is a complete giving and taking experience.
I have also noticed that the beauty of our natural surroundings grows stronger and intensifies when we give and receive more of this energy. It is a positive force flowing in a living, healing way, as nature reaches out and supplies us with amazing strength.
It’s more powerful than any known drug or man-made substance.
I am thankful we were already aware of this healing power, because our experience with Daniel put our beliefs in healing energies to the highest imaginable test.
At the hospital my doctors decided to send me in an ambulance to St. John’s Medical Center, since they had more advanced neonatal equipment and the specialists that might be required. They told me it would be best to have an emergency C-section to deliver Daniel right away.
The outlook was not good, and the medical staff had little hope of Daniel making it at all. And they again warned me that if he did survive, he would most likely be severely handicapped. Meanwhile, Dave had taken the first flight home, and during which he was blessed with the following inspired message:
“Daniel will be born tonight and will amaze everyone. He will grow strong and wise. Cathy will come through this just fine. Keep sending healing and love. Love your wife with all your heart. She is fine, and your baby will make it. Keep the faith. He will bring great joy. See the strength in him, as he miraculously grows strong and wise.”
Calmed and inspired by this amazing gift, Dave landed at the Los Angeles airport at 5:30, right in the heart of rush-hour traffic. When he turned his pager back on, he retrieved the second page I sent telling him I was to undergo surgery that evening.
This synchronicity fueled his confidence, and he knew deep in his soul everything would be okay. But he had to get to the hospital, and fast! He took the coastal route and made it to the hospital by 7:20, just as I was being rolled into the operating room. As he held my hand, he shared the inspired message he had received on the plane, and I agreed with every word of it, sharing my unwavering faith that all would be well.
After having a few moments to speak with me, the doctors pulled him aside to have a word. They told him they were afraid I was in denial and wasn’t accepting the severity of the situation—or that I just didn’t understand.
But in those short moments we had together, Dave could feel my strength and heard the faithful assurance in my voice when I told him that Daniel would be fine. He told the doctors, “No, you don’t understand. Everything is going to be fine.”
He had felt my strength and held onto it. Neither of us knew what the future would hold, but Daniel was about to be delivered. We knew we had the courage to handle whatever lay ahead for our family.
What the doctors did not know was that I’d just read an autobiography by Della Reese, who starred in the Touched By An Angel television series. In this book, she shared that throughout her life, when she faced what looked like an insurmountable situation, she would pause and ask God to take over and to take care of it for her.
This kind of “turning it over” was a foreign concept for me. All of my life I had been self-reliant and capable and had achieved pretty much whatever I set my mind to. I had never felt the need to turn anything over for assistance.
But this was a more serious circumstance—an immediate life-or-death situation. This lesson in letting go was one of the many gifts that my son Daniel taught me. And, was an opportunity for me to discover and experience a deep surrender, a surrender to love.
The Power of Love and Healing Grace
When Daniel, our youngest son was born, he was deep purple and lifeless. As five specialists and four nurses struggled to save him, I told Dave to go over and help our little Daniel. He asked the doctors if he could touch him, and when they said he could, he placed his hand on Daniel’s tiny leg.
Dave told him to feel the power of his love and to feel the power of God’s healing grace come through to his body. At that precise moment, Daniel opened his eyes for the first time and looked directly into Dave’s eyes. He then took his first breath and started his life in this world.
We know that Daniel couldn’t have survived if it weren’t for the great work of the highly trained professionals who assisted in his birth. But we also know that the power of God’s healing love, which passed through Dave and into Daniel, saved his life. The doctors didn’t give Daniel much of a chance of making it though the night and told us that if he did, there would be complications.
The next day our older son, Shane, asked his 3rd grade class to pray for Daniel. They did and prayed for him many times over the course of the next several weeks.
Little Daniel overcame the odds time and again, and prayer groups all over the country were praying for him. His doctors were baffled and couldn’t explain his miraculous recovery. Day after day there were hurdles to overcome, and day after day we experienced the miracles of Daniel’s birth.
Never have I seen anything like this…
One of the ICU nurses who cared for Daniel said that in her 27 years in intensive care, she had never seen a baby recover like this. Daniel not only lived, but all of his body functions began to work normally. As Daniel was taken off the various life-support systems, he began eating on his own, which the doctors didn’t feel he would ever be able to do. He got stronger and stronger with each new day and each new prayer.
His medical team told us to expect Daniel being in the hospital for at least three months, but his recovery continued to be so miraculous he came home after just two weeks. He defied all odds and showed the world what a true champion is and reminds all of us every day that life is truly worth living.
I know deep down in my heart the power of prayer and love that poured out for Daniel literally saved his life. To all those who showed concern and prayed for Daniel, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Making prayer a part of each day of your life truly can, and does, make a difference.
Expect miracles and be amazed when they occur. And always remember to surrender into love, as my sweet little Daniel taught me well.
About the Author:
International bestselling author of Songwriting for Dummies, Cathy Lynn loves to create and inspire through writing; whether it’s in her own books, co-writing projects for others, or through her passion for screenwriting. In her role as professional ghostwriter, she has co-authored several books with husband and mental performance coach, Dave Austin including The Unfinished Cross: Listen to the Voice Within and Be A Beast: Unleash Your Animal Instincts For Performance Driven Results, which presents proven methods that he uses daily to keep his professional athlete clients “in the zone” and at the top of their game. Cathy Lynn’s clients range from Internet gurus, inventors, music-industry giants, and professional athletes, to relationship coaches and masters in the personal development arena. Her primary motivation is to help them get their stories told, which stems from her own dad’s passing before he got the book he wanted to write out of his head and onto paper. Dedicated to each other for more than 40 years, Cathy and Dave now reside near the mountains of Northern Utah, after decades of being in Southern California raising four amazing boys.