Hi everyone, my name is Angel, and there’s a special reason why my mom chose that name for me. 🥹 I am an ECMO baby survivor. When my mom was in labor with me, she was abandoned by a nurse who had been instructed not to leave her bedside. My mom had been given medication that affected her speech. She tried to tell the nurse that she was having me, but the nurse dismissed her and walked out of the room. At that point, my head was already between my mom’s legs. A
woman who was passing by—someone we now call our “angel”—pulled back the sheet, saw what was happening, and immediately ran to get help. Within seconds, nurses and doctors rushed into the room. They delivered me, but I was cold blue and lifeless. My body was dark from lack of oxygen. I had no signs of life, and the medical team immediately began performing CPR on me.
I was rushed to the ICU at Riley Hospital for Children. The hospital staff tried to prepare my parents for the worst.
My mom refused to give up on me. She even contacted local news stations and newspapers to share my story. I was featured on the front page of a newspaper, and I’ll be sharing those photos along with pictures of me on life support. Just two days later, doctors told my parents to make preparations because they didn’t believe I would survive the night.
I underwent two major heart and lung bypass surgeries. I was born with two holes in my heart. Tubes covered my body and even went through my head. I still carry the scars today, and I’ll share those pictures as well. For four months, I had to be fed through tubes. The doctors approached my parents multiple times and suggested disconnecting me from life support because they believed there was no hope. They only expected me to survive about ten days on life support. They told my parents that if I did survive, I would likely spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, have severe disabilities, and require a full-time caretaker. They said my organs would fail and that I would have little to no quality of life. While I was on life support, my parents weren’t allowed to hold me. They couldn’t touch me. All they could do was stand beside my bed in the ICU and watch.
Then something incredible happened. My mom noticed my foot move. She immediately called for the nurses. I was waking up. Soon after, the doctors placed me into my parents’ arms. They still warned my family that I would face significant delays and challenges throughout my life. But God had the final say.
Today, I am a mother of two beautiful children. I am healthy, thriving, and living proof that miracles still happen. The doctors gave up on me, but God never did. Next year, I will graduate from nursing school, and my goal is to become a neonatal nurse so I can give hope to other families facing the same fears my parents once faced.
I believe my story can inspire others who are facing impossible situations, and I would love the opportunity to share my testimony on your platform so that others can see that miracles still happen and that there is always hope. My story is living proof that God still performs miracles every single day. 🥹❤️
