Monday, March 31, 2008

Miracle


There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle. - Albert Einstein

My friend Kathryn Emailed me this picture and story. It was so touching I wanted to share it with all of my friends and family. With a new baby in the house we literally see the evidence of miracles every day. The blessing of our new little Sara makes me want to thank my Heavenly Father daily for the sweet blessing she is to our family. What a wonder and miracle babies are.

Here's the story:

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spinal bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb.

Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. He is practicing at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby.

As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.'
The text explaining the picture begins, 'The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.'

Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw the picture.. She said, 'The photo reminds us that this pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person.'
Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation was 100 percent successful. This is the actual picture, it is awesome...incredible....!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so unbelievable! I'm a little teary-eyed. It really makes me wonder how some poeple can have an abortion. These little babies are real people even at such an early part of their developement. What a blessing they are to humanity. I'm so thankful to be a mommy. Thanks for sharing Jen.

Daniel T said...

I'll be honest, I didn't read the whole story, but I really like the quote you put at the beginning:
"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

I have had days (weeks) in which I really viewed the world that way and it made even the smallest acts take on so much meaning.

Anyhow, that image is very arresting. I've seen it before, and it makes one realize what a miracle modern medicine is and, of course, makes one meditate on the miracle of life itself.

Great post!

Lisa said...

This is amazing. What a picture and story!