Korina’s Miracle
With Craniosynostosis Awareness Month just one week away in September, I want to share our journey and my daughter’s miracle with you.
My daughter Korina was born with Craniosynostosis. It’s a condition where the plates of an infant’s skull fuse together prematurely, not allowing expansion during the rapid stage of brain growth in the first two years of life. this is the reason Babies have fontanels or soft spots on top of their head.
The day after korina’s birth, I noticed she did not have a fontanel, or soft spot and brought it to the attention of her pediatrician. He assured me it was from molding in the birth canal, and that she was just fine. There were a couple of things wrong with that diagnosis...she was a C-section birth baby and my momma’s heart (aka; the Holy Spirit) was saying she was not fine.
At her nine day check up, our regular pediatrician was on vacation so we had to be seen by the new physician that recently joined the practice. She examined Kori and immediately recognized what was going on. She recently completed her two year residency with a neurosurgeon and had experience and expertise with this rare condition. She proceeded to call the office of this surgeon and arranged for us an immediate appointment. One week later, when Kori was one day shy of being three weeks old, I would be handing my baby over to a complete stranger for a 7 hour surgical procedure to reconstruct her skull.
The surgeon described in detail the procedure and what to expect after surgery and to prepare myself for the condition and appearance of Korina’s face. He would be making an incision down to the skull from the top of one ear, across the top of her head to the other ear. The epidermal and muscular layer would be peeled back from her skull towards her face and the cranial plates would then be cut, separated and held into place with a titanium steel plate and four tiny titanium screws. Her forehead would be overcompensated to allow time for natural growth to even out the plates to continue growing at an equal rate. She would have a shunt attached internally, leading to a vile to collect the excess spinal fluid drainage and would be removed once it stopped.
There are a few details of that day I remember. the moment I handed the surgical nurse my three week old, new born baby girl is .very clear, but most of the details during the wait are vague. I know I was surrounded by family, along with our pastor at the time. there was another pastor there with family sharing the room with us.
I know I pumped several times during the duration of the surgery, because I was breastfeeding. funny thing, It was not the popular option at the time so did not have the luxury of a private nursing room for this. The hospital restroom served quite nicely.
We received a call from the surgeon halfway through the procedure and informed us things were going well and it would be a little over three more hours before surgery was completed.
As I mentioned earlier, I was lactating and so keeping up with my caloric intake was vital to produce milk. I was hungry and needed to get a bite to eat. We all went to the hospital cafeteria and I was sitting at the table eating my sandwich when our pastor walked in. He saw me eating and took a step back and said “Your baby isn’t eating right now and neither should you. You should be fasting and praying for her.” This legalistic judgement he placed on me during one of the most fiery of furnaces moments was embarrassing and not welcomed at all. it is words of judgement like these where church wounds come from, it’s very important not to confuse man’s opinion with that of father, god. I finished my sandwich in silence and returned to the waiting room.
The summon to the recovery area finally came and we made our way there, following their instruction. Wow… I can see it so clearly in my mind's eye….the brightness of the room, white everything and cold stainless. The sounds.…so many alarms, bells and beeps going off randomly as I walked towards a nurse. she was standing next to the crib where my six pound, ten ounce baby girl laid, attached to a cascade of tubes and cords. As I peeked over the rail at her, I could hear the surgeon's words describing verbatim what I saw. “Her head will be swollen so it will appear to be much larger in size. Her head and face will be black and blue from the bruising caused from the procedure, much like the color and texture of a very large prune. This will eventually return to normal and fade after two to three weeks. She will have the incision with the majority of the under layers attached with dissolving sutures and the top epidermal layer held together with internal sutures and a steri-strip bandage. If all goes according to plan, she will need to remain in Nicu for the first three to four days, then remain in the hospital for an additional five to six days, following.”
I remember quietly sobbing as I laid my hand on her chest to feel her tiny heart beating and kept repeating under my breath, “my God, please...my God, please.” The nurse in recovery asked if I wanted to hold her and of course I did, but I thought, how? How can I hold her with all these machines attached to her? How will I nurse her and be able to get her face close enough to my body for her to latch to my breast? How do I not hurt her any worse than she is already hurting? My precious baby girl, what have I allowed them to do to you?
I looked up and asked for our pastor to come pray with us, because in that moment I knew God was our only source of comfort and hope.
The nurse positioned me in a chair and placed Kori in my arms. Her tiny little body was covered in the residual fluids from surgery and her face, unrecognizable as the same baby I surrendered to a nurse seven hours earlier.
A man sat down next to me and explained my pastor had already left and he had been asked to come pray with me. I remember glancing up at him in response to his most soothing voice, taking note of his kindest eyes looking back at me. Yes, I welcomed his prayers...With my eyes closed and head bowed, I was consumed by the presence of God in the room. As he laid his hand on Kori and the other on my back, he said the most beautiful words, requesting miraculous healing. He spoke this prophesy over her saying “Her story would touch and transform the lives of tens of thousands of people and no one would be able to hear her testimony and not be moved to salvation.
I opened my eyes and her face was lily white, all the bruising and swelling were completely gone! The man praying for us was laughing literally out loud at the splendor and awe of the healing miracle that was before our eyes! Through my tears I kept repeating “thank you Jesus! Look what God has done!”
At this very moment, I saw God.
Reflecting back I can clearly see that every detail of that day was perfectly instrumented. God had Kori and me in His righteous hands from the very beginning. The ICU stay was only for twelve hours instead of the three expected and we were discharged from the hospital on day three, post-op. Of course she still had the incision and shunt, but she continued to heal quickly and without any complications.
Every three months we had to go in for a fresh MRI to assure her skull was growing according to the plan. every time I was confident in her miracle that we were right on track. At Kori’s nine month checkup, the MRI revealed inconsistent growth between the plates and the surgeon prepared me for a possible second surgery, however her twelve month checkup would be the deciding factor. I quickly let the surgeon know that when my God does something, He is a God of one hundred percent and a second surgery would not be needed. At twelve months, we returned for our scheduled MRI and assessment. As the surgeon examined the images and calculated her measurements, he turned to me and confirmed no additional surgeries would be needed, that her growth was perfectly on track! Praise God! This moment is what I consider Kori’s second miracle and would prove not to be her last. Korina is now 27 years old and has a beautiful daughter of her own. I have witnessed His handy work continuously in her life and I praise God for each moment His faithfulness has shown through. Each time, the Holy Spirit prompts my heart to sing, “look what God has done”.
