As a maternity nurse, I have a fairly good knowledge base of all the things that can go wrong during a pregnancy... just never thought anything would happen to me. But one day, during my fifth month of pregnancy, I went to the bathroom and realized something was wrong. I called my doctor, and she sent me to the hospital to be evaluated. The nurse did a test to determine if I would go into premature labor, and it came back positive. My husband and I went home that night and prayed that God would have mercy on us, and on our unborn child.

The following day, I was sent to a high-risk pregnancy specialist, who performed an ultrasound on me and determined that the baby's head was bearing down. I had dilated to 1cm. I was immediately admitted to the high-risk pregnancy unit and scheduled for an emergency procedure to stitch the opening of my womb shut. The baby's lungs were not developed enough to survive on the outside world on his own, so this was a life threatening condition for him. My surgery was a success and I was sent home on bed rest.

At 7 months and 2 weeks, our son, Asa Daniel Patterson, was born weighing three pounds five ounces via c-section due to fetal distress. The doctors had prepared us for the worst case scenario: that he would need the assistance of a ventilator to breathe since he was so premature. But the Lord had other plans. Asa came out breathing on his own and didn't need to be put on a ventilator. In fact, Asa only spent four weeks in the NICU mainly to learn how to eat and grow. I'm thrilled to say that he now weighs 20 lbs, stands 28.5 inches tall and doesn't have any complications! God has shown himself to be our healer! - Joanne Patterson

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