On June 10, 1988, our third child was born. I had witnessed the birth of our two sons and knew immediately that something was different with this birth. Bethany JoAnn Bell was born with a bluish color and, unlike her two brothers, did not cry when she was born. She was limp and listless and was immediately moved to a special crib where she was suctioned and examined. The pediatrician repeated over and over, “This is a very sick baby,” as they worked.
After examination, the doctors told us that Bethany’s lungs were not working properly and that she needed advanced care. Preparations were made to transfer Bethany to the North Carolina Memorial Hospital at UNC-Chapel Hill. Rena was recovering from the Cesarean section surgery and was unable to travel, so I stayed by Bethany’s side throughout the day and at the Ronald McDonald House at night. I talked to her and touched her as she lay in the NICU.
Early on the morning of June 12, I received a call at the Ronald McDonald House. The nurses told me Bethany was not doing well and that I needed to come to the hospital immediately. Doctors told me that her condition was deteriorating rapidly and that she had less than a five percent chance of surviving the next 24 hours. They wanted to perform a fairly new procedure called ECMO, which would use a heart-lung machine to allow her lungs to rest and continue developing.
The doctors awaited our decision. The nearest place where the ECMO procedure could be performed was in Charlotte, North Carolina, approximately 150 miles away. I spoke with Rena by phone, and we agreed that we needed to do everything we could to save Bethany. I signed the papers, and Bethany was prepared for helicopter transport to Charlotte.
A turning point in my life occurred next. As I waited for Bethany to be prepared for transport, I walked the halls of the hospital and came to the chapel. It was before 8:00 on a Sunday morning, so the chapel was empty. I knelt by the front row and prayed a prayer I would not wish on anyone: “Dear Lord, please spare our baby.” After a few minutes, I was exhausted and simply stayed kneeling. Then God spoke clearly to my heart. I am not someone who often hears from God directly, but I am sure that I did that morning. His message was simple: “You will be ok.”
Those four words changed my life forever. I immediately understood what God had not said. He had not told me whether Bethany would live. He told me that I would be ok. I knew then that I had received a promise from God that, no matter what I faced in life, He would be with me. Nothing I would ever face would be too great with God’s presence in my life.
By then, Rena had informed her doctors that she was leaving the hospital to see her daughter. After briefly considering advising her not to go, her doctors gave instructions for me to change her bandages and sent her on her way. The nurses at the hospital in Chapel Hill waited as long as they could before putting Bethany on the helicopter, but eventually she had to leave. Rena arrived as Bethany was being taken to the helicopter and was able to see her briefly before she left.
We traveled quickly to Charlotte by car and arrived after Bethany. We were warned that she would have a large team of doctors and nurses with her so we would not be alarmed. But when we arrived at her bedside, we were surprised to see just one nurse sitting beside her reading a book to pass the time. On the helicopter trip to Charlotte, Bethany’s lungs had finally opened, and her breathing improved. From that point forward, her condition improved slowly but steadily. She went from Charlotte back to Chapel Hill, then back to the Rocky Mount hospital where she was born. After a few weeks, she finally went home.
Although she faced some complications from her ordeal, including pneumonia a few times, she recovered and is a healthy young woman today with a daughter of her own. I thank God for touching her life and for changing mine through four simple words.
This message is for you as the reader as well. Be sensitive to God’s plan for your life. Reach out to Him and trust Him. Your life, like mine, will never be the same. No matter where you go or what you face, God still has a plan for you.