Birhen sa Simala and our story

[yokam888]

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warning: this is a very long post, but basaha lang gud basig ma inspire diay ka

me and wife are from davao, we got married january 2005. by march 2005 she got pregnant, unfortunately her 1st pregnancy was a very delicate one, i can remember that almost every month of her pregnancy, she would have blood spottings (bleeding) and we would immediately rush her to the hospital. her obgyne told her to be on total bed rest, of which my wife obliged. i can see how hard it was for my wife during those days, but she was very determined in following her obgyne's instructions (imagine she just lay in bed all the time, she had to eat and drink in bed, there was a time when she had to do her toilet urges in a bed pan, and took a bath also while in bed).

by the time she was 6 months pregnant, her obgyne told us that the worst part is over, my wife was not having bleedings anymore, and the best part was "no more total bed rest". but by the next week, my wife suddenly got the bleeding again, this time it was worse than ever, we rushed her to the hospital again. the obgyne told us that my wife might have to stay in the hospital til her full term of the pregnancy.

unfortunately after a week's stay in the hospital (wife is now 6 1/2 months pregnant by this time) she got infected with pneumonia (hospital acquired), and the obgyne told us that there was no choice but to do labor because our baby was at risk of also getting infected. the doctor had to do a CS operation because it was shown in the ultrasound that our baby's cord was wrapped around his neck (i forgot the medical term for this kind of condition). our baby boy was delivered safely but our worst fears came true, he was also infected. the doctors tried everything to save him but unfortunately, after 1 1/2 months of struggling in the nursery ICU, our baby boy succumbed to his infections and died on november 2005

after this incident, me and my wife's lives were a wreck, we were confused, we were angry, we were depressed. i think it was worse for me because not only was i grieving, but it also hurts me to see how sad my wife became, she was crying all the time and i cant think of a way to comfort her because deep inside i was also crying.

maybe its because of the depression, because after we lost our 1st child, my wife couldnt get pregnant anymore, we tried and tried but to no avail. we would do the calendar counting thing, where we would try to find out when she was most fertile and try to conceive a baby during those times but it just didnt work. in 2008 we consulted a specialist in davao and underwent artificial insemination (AI) twice but still it was unsuccessful.

then in march 2009 a cousin of my wife told us that there is a clinic in cebu specializing in IVF (in vitro fertilization). after consulting with the clinic, me and my wife decided that we need to live in cebu temporarily, because before any of the actual IVF to happen, a lot of medical tests and procedures was needed to be done, for the IVF to have a higher rate of success.

my wife had to inject medicines that would make her produce more eggs, then the eggs would be harvested surgically. the clinic would then collect my sperm and inject them in the eggs, then i think they would have to wait for the eggs to be fertilized and become embryos. the embryos would then be stored in cryo freezers because the clinic needs the uterus of my wife to be in perfect condition before they would attempt to inject the embryos. the clinic collected a total of 15 eggs from my wife of which 12 successfully became embryos.

we would then often go to the clinic, my wife would undergo ultrasound to see if her uterus is perfect, if the doctor is not satisfied with the condition of the uterus, she would postpone the IVF for the next cycle.

july 2009, my wife's uterus was in perfect condition for an embryo transfer. among the 12 embryos that were frozen, i think only 9 survived. the doctor told us that they would thaw out only 5 embryos, the remaining 4 embryos would be left in cryo as backup. the 5 thawed out embryos were sorted and only the best embryos were chosen to be injected in my wife's uterus. among the 5, only 3 were good quality embryos and was then injected. and then there's the waiting game.

2-3 weeks had passed, my wife didnt get pregnant. it was an unsuccessful IVF.

after the failed IVF more tests were required and performed. there was a time that we had to go to manila for a medical procedure. we would fly to manila early in the morning, have the procedure done and then fly back to cebu in the afternoon of the same day, we would do this on a weekly basis for 4 weeks.

in december 2009, it was the perfect situation again for IVF. our 4 remaining embryos were thawed out, then among the 4 embryos, only 2 were of good quality and was then injected in my wife's uterus. again, there's the waiting game.

2-3 weeks had passed, still my wife didnt get pregnant. it was again an unsuccessful IVF.

at this time, me and my wife didnt know what to do anymore. we're tired, we're confused and we're already on a mountain of debt. you can say we're already at the brink of giving up...

and then suddenly, thru a mutual friend, we got introduced to this couple from cebu. after hearing our story of why we're in cebu, they told us about this miraculous Birhen sa Simala. they would go there every sunday as panata. and they even invited us to go with them.

since we were just introduced that day, we were hesitant (and kinda shy) of going with them so we respectfully declined their offer.

but there was an urge in me and my wife to go visit this miraculous Birhen. on january 2010, armed with a map of cebu and with the friendly assistance of the cebuanos, we braved being lost and went to the Birhen sa Simala in barangay sibonga.

There, we prayed for guidance. we really did not ask for the Birhen to give us a child, rather we kinda just prayed to the Birhen that whatever the lord had planned for us, we would accept it with open hearts. its really was a "ikaw na bahala sa amo lord" kind of prayer...

...february 2010, my wife missed her monthly period, she got pregnant naturally without any medical procedures

...october 2010, our very healthy baby boy was born.

... and just recently, we found out that my wife is pregnant again (update: our 2nd child, a very healthy baby girl was born oct. 2011 praise God!)

its not very hard to say that "this was all only a coincidence" but there's a twist...

when we went to our Birhen sa Simala, there were 4 of us. me, my wife, my best friend from davao and his wife. my best friend and his wife were also having difficulties conceiving a child, they already had a miscarriage twice (1st was when his wife was 4 months pregnant, and the 2nd was when his wife was 2 months pregnant)

but did they get pregnant? yes! they found out that they were pregnant exactly a week after we found out that we were pregnant

was their pregnancy successful? yes! their very healthy baby boy was born a day after our son was born.

still think its a coincidence?

hope you like our story and i hope that it will at least inspire you or someone to never lose hope because God never gives up on us even if we often give up on Him.

thanks for reading.


me and our baby boy on our "thank you" trip to Birhen sa Simala

[sexyjanes]

wow makatouch man sad ni inyu story sir.... Salig lng jud ta sa GInoo sir ky wlay Imposible sa Ginoo basta naa lng jud tay pagsalig kaniya...

[zhrike]

very nice story... btw, Our Lady of Lindogon is really miraculous, no doubt... daghan na siya na milagrohan dili lang diri sa cebu but sa ubang lugar...

[Tucking Fypo]

inspiring story!

[ayet7]

very inspiring story, thanks for sharing it with us

[thinKingMan]

inspiring...if we put our trust in Him, He will make wonders!!!

[Reeecycle13]

WOW.. !!! God is Good... so glad nkabasa ko ani to start my day. Godbless to you and ur family..

[estor_boot]

sir, you have a very inspiring story there.
i wish i could have the same determination and perserverance you have.

[gracie7]

it was shown in the ultrasound that our baby's cord was wrapped around his neck (i forgot the medical term for this kind of condition)

Cord coil is the term Sir

Congrats to your family Sir!! A baby is really a blessing.. A really inspiring story that you shared to us.. If all else fails, kneel and pray you won't lose any in doing that.. Because someone up there is always there for us..

[-==ahylingel==-]

nakahilak jud ko while reading..

happy for you TS.. ^_^