In May 2022 our daughter, Serena Joy, passed away five days after birth. I suffered severe preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome which caused her growth restrictions and an early delivery. That was a year learning grief, comfort, and the Lord’s love for me. You can read more about this story here.

Throughout the year of grieving Serena I personally grew closer to our Heavenly Father which allowed me to feel confident He would protect me throughout the next pregnancy, which ended up happening a full year later. God promised our family another child, a boy. The house filled with excitement learning we were expecting again. We told everyone everywhere about the news as soon as we could. We had many prayer warriors in our corner praying for a healthy pregnancy too.

I would be lying if I told you I never had an ounce of fear, in fact I think my family and I were quite fearful internally. We did not want anything to go wrong. I did not want to lose our son too. We wanted to make sure he made it to his delivery with no complications. Then I was reminded that fear does not come from God (2 Timothy 1:7).

Fear is a spirit of the enemy and boy did satan know how to use it towards our family. I was in a constant battle for fear to leave my body, mind and soul. I wanted faith in God’s promise not fear. God is the only one who can help remove that fear from deep within. I began praying every night Proverbs 3:24 “You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.” I replaced the words to say “Lord please allow my family and I to go to bed without fear, help us to lie down and sleep soundly with peace.”

I held onto God’s promise to us that we will have this son. Because of that promise we chose to name our son Noah. God presented a rainbow to Noah in the Bible, promising, He will never again destroy earth by flood and we heard that a baby after loss is also considered a “rainbow baby” so what a perfect name for our son.

God’s protection allowed this pregnancy to show no signs of any complications the entire way! We were even told he was 2 weeks ahead of development when we were told the opposite with Serena. This was real and Noah would be with us soon!

Noah was born via C-section on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. His birth was incredible and a miracle to say the least. I was allowed to listen to music while on the table and I had shuffled my worship playlist. At the very moment they took Noah out, the song Promises by Maverick City began to play. I knew this was all meant to be exactly as God promised us.

Recovery, however, after Noah was born was difficult because it was not at all what we were expecting. Fear crept in again where I did not think I was going to make it.

Once Noah was born, we were in the waiting area before going to the actual room. However, while waiting a nurse came in to see if I wanted to try breastfeeding and I said yes. The second we began trying I turned white and started to feel lightheaded. The OB came back in to see what was going on and I was losing blood. They rushed me back to the operating room and tried to control the bleeding. In the end I lost a lot of blood and was given a blood transfusion. Thankfully after that we were able to go up to our room and I could eat and drink again. We got to the room to settled down for what we were hoping would only be for a couple days and then go home. That was not the case.

I was told after they take the catheter out that I would have 4 hours to try to use the restroom. I called for assistance to walk to the bathroom as I was in a lot of pain from the surgery. We made it to the bathroom yet I was very shaky. While on the toilet I nearly passed out with multiple nurses coming in to help get me back to the bed. It turned out my hemoglobin levels took a major dive and I needed a second blood transfusion.

During this time it was found my blood pressure was increasing and I was diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia. The only thing I could say was “thank you God for letting me get this with Noah outside of my body.” They put me on magnesium which causes terrible hallucinations so I begged to be removed from it.

I then had issues passing gas and my stomach was not decreasing in size. In fact it looked as though I still had a full size baby which was not normal and meant something was wrong.

It turned out my small and large intestines stopped working entirely which caused my belly to continue expanding. After the initial X-ray of seeing TONS of “gas babies” they did a CT Scan. Turned out, thankfully, there was no active bleeding however there were blood clots that were floating around still. Because of all this they ended up putting an NG tube down my nose to my stomach for sucking everything out. It was the worst experience. I don’t even want to go into detail but let’s just say food from three days before showed up along with blood.

On top of recovering from the C-section itself I had all of this other stuff to now deal with. My goodness am I traumatized to the max.

I was in pain, I was crying, I was suffering, yes. However, even through the pain, I still chose to worship God. The evening the NG tube was put down, chunks flew out yet I was quoting Bible verses left and right. I was speaking them out loud so the whole room could hear. I even had my husband, Travis, read out loud all Psalms 23. I was praying later that night asking specifically for the sword of the spirit to slash any evil around me so I can heal by the mighty hand of God. I asked it to take out the bubbles in my stomach as quickly as possible. I prayed in agreement with EVERYONE praying over me. I listened to worship music nonstop. I started catching up on Bible Plans so I was in the word. I began feeling Gods presence stronger and stronger. Friends and family came to lay hands over me as well for full healing. Fast forward to Sunday, doctors told me I’d be there another 5 days at least. God proved them all wrong by answering ALL the prayers! The minute I finished prayer time on Monday, a doctor came in and pulled the NG tube. We went home on Tuesday, January 9th.

Moral of my testimony is:
1. Never stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says this too.
2. Worship God even while suffering
3. Ask for Gods angels to help
4. Pray out-loud so Satan hears it and knows he has no foothold and will NOT win
5. Lean into the word so God can speak
6. Lastly, thank God. Even if it’s not your ideal situation I KNOW there can be good from it.

We are all back home now. I’m eating again. My mental health battled flashbacks for months but Gods has never left my side, fighting the battle for me. Noah is also doing incredible! Sleeping, eating and diaper changes as expected. He is a blessing. And honestly, I would go through all this again if it meant having him.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ ‭

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬

Written By Natalie Crane