Couple Receives the Gift They Prayed For
When newly weds, Christy and Jonas found out they were expecting their first child, they were elated. “We prayed and we asked God what we should name our son and we both came across the name David. And when we looked at the meaning, you know, it meant beloved,” said Jonas. Baby David was expected to arrive just in time for Christmas 2013.
“The idea of having a son was so exciting for us. The first months of my pregnancy were textbook. Easy breezy and just a lot of fun,” said Christy. But before her routine check-up at 7 months, Christy noticed the baby wasn’t moving around as much as usual. She was given an ultrasound and the couple was sent to a waiting room for results. ”My heart sank. I just knew something was wrong,” said Christy.
The diagnosis was serious. Baby David had fetal hydrops, a condition in which fluid was surrounding his abdomen, lungs, and heart. Only 20 percent of babies with the condition survive delivery. “I felt discouraged because he was such a healthy baby and all of a sudden he’s not and there’s nothing I can do,” said Christy.
They rushed to see a specialist, where David was also diagnosed with SVT. his heart rate was irregular and reaching a life threatening 280 beats per minute. Christy was admitted to the hospital for treatment and close monitoring. “It almost sounded like a helicopter, it was going so fast and we’d pray. As soon as it jumped back into the high rhythm, we’d pray for it to go back lower,” said Jonas.
“And I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t do anything but just sit there and pray, Lord, convert his heart rate,” said Christy. Five days later, baby David was then diagnosed with a disease that elongated his heart muscle, called restrictive cardiomyopathy. The doctor said in a matter of days Christy would have an early labor and the baby would not survive. Christy was also at risk for mirroring syndrome, a condition in which her heart could fail along with her son’s. “And so Jonas, the first thing that he did was he started to pray. And the first words out of his mouth were ‘God, You are good.’ And so that’s what we had to cling to was, ‘God, You’re good, despite our circumstances.”
Doctors said there was nothing more they could do. They stopped Christy’s medication and released her. David was not expected to survive the weekend. The anticipation of delivery passed as the couple began to plan for their baby’s death.
“And so Jonas called a funeral home and was ordering a casket, but we still clung to hope. We knew that God was big enough to heal our son. The question is, Is He going to heal him with a miracle or is He going to heal him through death? And so every time he kicked I had no clue if it was going to be the last,” said Christy.
As Christy and Jonas looked to god for strength, family and friends held on to hope.
“We would send out updates on Baby Dienner and the prognosis and people would share it. I would get countless Facebook messages or emails or text messages saying ‘Hey, my church is praying for you,” said Christy.
“Even when my wife and I couldn’t say anything or do anything, there were people all around us who were praying and we felt those prayers from um, all around the world,” said Jonas.
At each check up David’s condition had worsened, but- -he was still alive. “With each appointment they were surprised that he was still alive. They’ve never seen a baby with this much fluid that wasn’t a stillborn,” said Christy.
Nearly 2 weeks after the Dienners’ were first told their child would not live, at Christy’s 23rd week appointment, the ultrasound technician was astonished. “I didn’t even want to look at the screen because I was preparing my heart to deliver a baby that wasn’t alive. And she kept on asking me, ‘What’s your name? What’s your date of birth? When’s the due date?’ And she said I have to go get the doctor,” said Christy.
“The doctor looked at us and he said ‘Divine intervention.’ He said there was something that had happened outside of their control and that, even though they had stopped treating David medically, that the fluid around his head, heart and lungs had started to dramatically disappear,” said Jonas. “He said, ‘This baby is worth saving.’ I was like, really? He’s healed? Really? We were ecstatic,” said Christy. “December and Christmas was coming and so was our son,” said Jonas.
The prayers didn’t stop and day-by-day David’s health improved. At 32 weeks, there was no more fluid around his abdomen and his heart had even changed shape. “And his heart even changed shape. It was no longer elongated. It was what a normal baby’s heart should look like. I’m a nurse and so I know that him having this miraculous thing done, it could only point to, to God,” said Christy.
On Christmas Eve 2013 the couple received the gift they had been praying for David Dienner was born. After only 18 hours in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unity, Christy and Jonas were able to bring David home. “Walking him through the door, and just being like we’re home now and we’re a family,” said Christy.
Today, David is healthy and his development is right on track. These days he’s busy being a ‘big brother’. Christy was able to have more children. “He loves his little sisters, Anna and Beth and he’d do anything for them. He loves dinosaurs and loves Micky Mouse and he loves Christmas,” said Jonas.
“So Christmas Eve will be really special in my heart because I get to remember our Savior, who saved my son,” said Christy. “David wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for God intervening through prayer and prayer has everything to do with why David’s here today,” said Jonas.
“Merry Christmas!” said David.
