A Team Effort Saves Three Lives

On a cold and dreary November night last year, I got a phone call from my friend "John." "My sister ‘Alice’ is pregnant... and is considering an abortion." We discussed how he could talk to his sister and convince her that abortion is unthinkable. John was in the army and deployed in Iraq so I didn't hear anything for months. Then I got a phone call from John.

Alice didn't get an abortion, but recently she had been diagnosed with a dangerous high-risk pregnancy. Alice had triplets, but one of them was underdeveloped and leeching nutrients from the other two. Alice's doctor advised that she either abort the smallest child or undergo a risky surgery that could save all three kids. More likely though, all three would die. Doing nothing could leave all three kids dead, too.

John needed some advice. I didn't know of a doctor to whom I could refer Alice, but I knew getting a second opinion was wise. I’ve heard that many doctors recommend abortion in high-risk pregnancies to avoid lawsuits. Steve Wagner, JFA's Director of Training, gave me the names and numbers of some excellent pro-life physicians. I gave them to John.

I received a call from John in Iraq a month later. The youngest child's blood flow began to reverse and an emergency C-section was performed on Alice. Unbelievably, all three kids lived! The youngest, Caleb, was only 13 ounces. All three boys needed oxygen and other special treatment but there was a good chance that they were going to pull through. Caleb had more severe problems: His skin was underdeveloped and too fragile to hold his blood so he needed constant transfusions. Several of you answered my plea and donated blood. Caleb also had two broken arms, a broken leg, and broken ribs because of a deficiency in calcium, but he was a fighter and pulled through.

Months later, my sister saw a blog post by Bryan Lopez linked on her friend’s Facebook wall. No one in our family had ever met the Lopez family before. Bryan's family had adopted three little boys who were all premature. I read the story and knew that these were the same boys. I contacted Bryan and he gave me permission to share the rest of the story.

Bryan and his wife Sherry were already trying to adopt from Ethiopia. One day Sherry called Bryan and told him of three little boys who were being given up for adoption. After hearing the story, they felt an instant tug for the boys but worried that they wouldn’t be able to adopt them. Bryan wrote: “…we thought for sure the adoption agency would tell us ‘no’ because of the fact that we have three little ones at home already. But alas after much time of prayer and conversation we decided to call the agency and tell them that we were interested…”

Bryan got a call back that night. The agent said “I have been thinking all day about a family that could handle this, a mom who would give these boys the love and attention that they need, and I kept thinking about you guys.”

It took some work and sacrifice, but Bryan and Sherry were able to adopt all three boys. To date, only one of the boys can live without oxygen treatment, but they’re all mostly healthy and doing well. I'll even be able to meet the boys in December!

These three boys are now in a loving home, blessing their new family. Why are the boys doing so well? Because of a team effort from people who cared enough to help save three lives. If you pray for me or financially support me, you’ve partnered with me. Thank you. If you donated blood for Caleb or asked friends to do so, thank you. And if you, like the Lopez's, have sacrificed your time and money to adopt a child into your family, THANK YOU.

Blessings,

Matt McKinley