The following is my sister Laura's perspective of what I wrote about in this post. Sit back, relax and immerse yourself in a powerful testimony of God's grace and care of His children. I trust you will be blessed by reading her testimony! Take it from me, it's a pretty cool story!
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget August 10, 2011 as long as I live. I now have a different perspective on the old cliché, “God works in mysterious ways!” After you read how my day unfolded you will understand that God truly works in mysterious ways and holds each of his children in the palm of his hands. This is my testimony of the fullness of God’s grace in the time of trial and the blessings that began to overflow.
I spent the summer of 2011 in the last trimester of my pregnancy with my third son, Ethan. It was a difficult trimester because it was dreadfully hot and I was experiencing a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. I don’t remember ever having Braxton Hicks with my other pregnancies and with this one they were awful. I work as a server in a restaurant and sometimes when I was working on my feet they would get really bad. It was scary too because with my second son, Nicholas I delivered very quickly and I was constantly walking on eggshells thinking that any moment I could go into labor.
On Wednesday August 10th we woke up later than usual. I was grateful that my boys let me sleep in. I asked the boys if they wanted to go to the park because they really needed to get out some energy! I called my mom and asked her if she wanted to meet us there and sent a text to my friend Ruby to see if she wanted to bring her boys too. We all headed out to the new Black and Yellow park in South Park located conveniently 5 minutes from our house. We got there around 12:30 pm and the boys immediately started running around and having fun. I sat down with my mom and Ruby and my sister Tiffany came too. She sat down and started to draw and we all chatted as we watched the boys play. I sat there thinking how happy I was that a group of older boys were there to play with Christian who is 9. The older boys were running around ducking and dodging and playing tag. Little did I know that my day was going to take a turn…for the worse and then work it’s way around in full circle.
We were at the park for about 45 minutes when I saw Christian walking over to me. His hands were out at his sides like he was shrugging and on his face read the expression, “What just happened!?” His head and hands were covered in red. I thought the boys were joking around and had dumped Kool-Aid on him but as he got closer I realized it was blood and his head was split COMPLETELY WIDE OPEN! I jumped up so fast I tried not to look alarmed. I immediately cried out to the Lord for help and asked him to calm me down so that Christian wouldn’t get upset. My first instinct was to grab his head and push it back together. I remember praying over him in words I didn’t even understand. I was trying to keep it together. A woman I didn’t even know called 911. My mom was praying and holding his hand. Ruby ripped off her shirt and I grabbed it holding onto his head to stop the bleeding. Another man proceeded to give Ruby his shirt and a retired police officer came over to us and began taking info on a piece of paper to give to the Paramedics when they got there. I called my husband and told him to meet us at Children’s Hospital. I remember saying, “Christian hurt himself really bad. Meet us there.”
It felt like the ambulance took forever. Ruby and I looked at each other with fear in our eyes. This is so bad. I didn’t know what to think. I felt like I could lose my child. It was the worst. Feeling. EVER. I never want to feel that again as long as I live. I know that the Lord was holding us because I somehow managed to keep it together even being 9 months pregnant. During this whole ordeal before the ambulance came Christian never lost consciousness and was completely coherent. The Lord was working a miracle.
The ambulance came and whisked us away to Children’s Hospital. Christian was scared but never once did he cry. He never shed a single tear. When we got to the hospital he told me he was just “trying to live.” I tried not to cry when he said that. I literally had to fight back tears. We talked about how people were praying for him while we were riding in the ambulance. I just knew it. I told him how when I was little we would always pray for the sirens when we heard them. I found out at our first MOPS meeting that my fellow MOPS Mom, Dedi, was coming into the park as the ambulance was leaving and she was praying! When we got to the hospital three different doctors saw him and then they called in a plastic surgeon. He had a Cat Scan to make sure his head was ok and there weren’t any skull fractures or anything more serious. After all of that we found out his head was ok internally - no fracture or anything serious (except the laceration across the top of his head). They would be able to put him in a twilight sleep and perform his surgery right there in his room in the ER. We waited for a few hours and we watched Nickelodeon and tried to joke with each other. At 5:15 the nurse came in and said that the plastic surgeon would be able to come in at 6:30. After the surgery they would monitor him and then we would get to go home. We even all decided that we were going to stop and get ice cream on the way home. I proceeded to call all of my family to let them know what was going on and called Ruby who was watching Nicholas (thank God for wonderful family and friends).
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget August 10, 2011 as long as I live. I now have a different perspective on the old cliché, “God works in mysterious ways!” After you read how my day unfolded you will understand that God truly works in mysterious ways and holds each of his children in the palm of his hands. This is my testimony of the fullness of God’s grace in the time of trial and the blessings that began to overflow.
I spent the summer of 2011 in the last trimester of my pregnancy with my third son, Ethan. It was a difficult trimester because it was dreadfully hot and I was experiencing a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. I don’t remember ever having Braxton Hicks with my other pregnancies and with this one they were awful. I work as a server in a restaurant and sometimes when I was working on my feet they would get really bad. It was scary too because with my second son, Nicholas I delivered very quickly and I was constantly walking on eggshells thinking that any moment I could go into labor.
On Wednesday August 10th we woke up later than usual. I was grateful that my boys let me sleep in. I asked the boys if they wanted to go to the park because they really needed to get out some energy! I called my mom and asked her if she wanted to meet us there and sent a text to my friend Ruby to see if she wanted to bring her boys too. We all headed out to the new Black and Yellow park in South Park located conveniently 5 minutes from our house. We got there around 12:30 pm and the boys immediately started running around and having fun. I sat down with my mom and Ruby and my sister Tiffany came too. She sat down and started to draw and we all chatted as we watched the boys play. I sat there thinking how happy I was that a group of older boys were there to play with Christian who is 9. The older boys were running around ducking and dodging and playing tag. Little did I know that my day was going to take a turn…for the worse and then work it’s way around in full circle.
We were at the park for about 45 minutes when I saw Christian walking over to me. His hands were out at his sides like he was shrugging and on his face read the expression, “What just happened!?” His head and hands were covered in red. I thought the boys were joking around and had dumped Kool-Aid on him but as he got closer I realized it was blood and his head was split COMPLETELY WIDE OPEN! I jumped up so fast I tried not to look alarmed. I immediately cried out to the Lord for help and asked him to calm me down so that Christian wouldn’t get upset. My first instinct was to grab his head and push it back together. I remember praying over him in words I didn’t even understand. I was trying to keep it together. A woman I didn’t even know called 911. My mom was praying and holding his hand. Ruby ripped off her shirt and I grabbed it holding onto his head to stop the bleeding. Another man proceeded to give Ruby his shirt and a retired police officer came over to us and began taking info on a piece of paper to give to the Paramedics when they got there. I called my husband and told him to meet us at Children’s Hospital. I remember saying, “Christian hurt himself really bad. Meet us there.”
It felt like the ambulance took forever. Ruby and I looked at each other with fear in our eyes. This is so bad. I didn’t know what to think. I felt like I could lose my child. It was the worst. Feeling. EVER. I never want to feel that again as long as I live. I know that the Lord was holding us because I somehow managed to keep it together even being 9 months pregnant. During this whole ordeal before the ambulance came Christian never lost consciousness and was completely coherent. The Lord was working a miracle.
The ambulance came and whisked us away to Children’s Hospital. Christian was scared but never once did he cry. He never shed a single tear. When we got to the hospital he told me he was just “trying to live.” I tried not to cry when he said that. I literally had to fight back tears. We talked about how people were praying for him while we were riding in the ambulance. I just knew it. I told him how when I was little we would always pray for the sirens when we heard them. I found out at our first MOPS meeting that my fellow MOPS Mom, Dedi, was coming into the park as the ambulance was leaving and she was praying! When we got to the hospital three different doctors saw him and then they called in a plastic surgeon. He had a Cat Scan to make sure his head was ok and there weren’t any skull fractures or anything more serious. After all of that we found out his head was ok internally - no fracture or anything serious (except the laceration across the top of his head). They would be able to put him in a twilight sleep and perform his surgery right there in his room in the ER. We waited for a few hours and we watched Nickelodeon and tried to joke with each other. At 5:15 the nurse came in and said that the plastic surgeon would be able to come in at 6:30. After the surgery they would monitor him and then we would get to go home. We even all decided that we were going to stop and get ice cream on the way home. I proceeded to call all of my family to let them know what was going on and called Ruby who was watching Nicholas (thank God for wonderful family and friends).
At about 5:45-50 I looked at Rob and said “I don’t feel so good.” He told me to take a walk around so I headed out to walk and find a bathroom. I thought this might make me feel better. I came back to the room and just still didn’t feel right. I started to pray and plead, “Lord, I can’t go into labor now. Please! My son is in the ER waiting to get his head sewn back together!” The Lord obviously had a different plan. Before I knew it I couldn’t even stand. I told Rob to go get a Nurse. I needed to lay down. I started to panic and get scared. I can’t have this baby now! Ethan had other plans too. I could feel him coming down and my contractions were one on top of the other. Before I knew it I was on a bed made for a child being wheeled out of Christian’s room in full blown labor. I felt like I was in a dream. Rob called his Mom who worked right down the road to be with Christian. They wheeled me into an operating room in the ER and I’ve never seen so many medical personnel in one room. Nurses were trying to get my shorts off and they were asking me so many questions I don’t know how I managed to answer them. I remember a nurse saying, “it’s ok! We can do this!” At 6:19 pm Ethan Robert Danzuso made his grand entrance into the world in the ER at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. A family practitioner delivered him. She was amazing. Two nurses held my hands throughout the whole ordeal encouraging me while my husband was right behind me. I couldn’t believe this whole scene. I just delivered at Children’s Hospital but at least I was in a hospital! I was so scared that when I finally went into labor that he would be born at my house or in my car.
I cannot possibly put into words how amazing the Lord is and how he orchestrated this whole day. He truly does hold his children in the palm of his hand. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things that God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.” I have never felt such emotion in my whole life. I go from my oldest son having a serious injury to bringing a new life into the world! When Ethan and I finally made it to Magee Women’s Hospital people couldn’t even believe what had happened. We were the talk of the whole hospital. My family came later and Rob and my in-laws brought Christian when he had been discharged. My handsome little man was such a trooper. He had over 20 staples across the top of his head but out of it all he got a new little brother. We all told him that Ethan just had to come out to make sure that he was ok!
With my whole family surrounding me that night I looked at them and said, “ Sometimes God just needs to show off!” That’s exactly what he did that day. The Lord took my fear of a traumatic delivery and turned it around to show me how completely divine he truly is. Christian is a walking testimony to how faithful the Lord is. Today, Christian is doing well and is completely healed. He has a special bond with his little brother and a pretty cool scar across the top of his head to tell the tale. We now all have a different perspective on the mysterious ways the Lord decides to work. All of my children are miracles and I am so blessed with a wonderful husband and three handsome sons. After this experience I don’t think anything could top it! Our family is healthy and complete and we are now just looking forward to many more adventures with “our three sons!”
I remember reading your original post, and being speechless but your sister's version just strikes that much deeper! I cannot imagine the range of emotion you all must have been feeling that day! Glory to God for everyone coming out alright!
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