MIRACULOUS ANSWER

MIRACULOUS ANSWER Mary Cahill Kurpiewski

At 37 years old, my husband at 40, with four teenage, very active children, I couldn’t believe the news the doctor had just given us. “Mary, you’re pregnant!” As I regained my composure, I knew that we had placed our trust in God and He had decided!

Reeling from the news; my husband, Ron and I were just holding hands, staring at each other. I wasn’t expecting the next question the doctor asked me, “…..abortion?” I gasped, “Doctor, how could you even suggest such a thing?”

He suggested it for the reasons already flying around in our heads. We didn’t want another child to face the genetic malady, PKU (Phenylketonuria) that two of our sons were found to have at birth. They were tied to an incredible, strict, lifetime diet of no milk, meat, eggs or fish. They were allowed no protein. Straying from this could cause many varying degrees of disabilities. It was a lot to put on our two young sons, but they were handling it.

We didn’t want another child to have to go through these demands. But, as fearful as we were, abortion would never enter the picture. It was a traumatic time, but we wanted to look on the bright side--a new baby!

That night, after the news of the day, we tried to relax. My husband, Ron, said that maybe if our heavenly friends had a child with PKU they might be afraid to send him or her

to a family that would reject them. But since they knew how much we loved our four children and always took care of them and put them first, no matter what, that they could send us another beautiful child to love no matter what. I knew he was right, but I was still very apprehensive.

The next day, we called back East to tell our families about the expected news. They were ecstatic. When we told my mother-in-law we were going to have a new addition to the family, she asked, “....what breed of dog are you guys getting?”

Our dining room set had six chairs and our station wagon was fit for the same. Having been weaned quite a few years earlier from Sesame Street and Mr. Rodgers, we knew all this was going to change very soon. There would probably be Little League or Ballet in our future once again.

We prayed as we had never prayed before and more often. Not only to our favorites, Jesus and St. Anthony, but we called just about every saint in the books into action. Since this child had been created from our love and deep faith in Christ and St. Anthony, he or she would bear the name, Christian Anthony or Faith Antoinette.

Our doctor arranged for PKU testing to be done, at the hospital, on the cord blood immediately after the birth of our fifth child. Everyone reassured me at every turn. We were cautiously optimistic that the answer to our prayers would be a happy one.

Then came the big day. The pains started very early. Ron and our four teenagers; Ronnie,18-Tim,16-Missy, 15-and Joey, 13, pampered me all day. They timed the pains, rubbed my ankles, made me tea, brought me cold wash-cloths for my head and shared the anticipation of the upcoming event. They were even flipping coins to see who got to hold their new sibling first.

That evening, the most beautiful baby boy, Christian Anthony, entered the world. I felt this was such a gift from God, I shuddered. But euphoria would soon pass.

A long, stressful time passed and the doctor informed us of the unthinkable. Our gift from heaven shared his brothers’ fate. The tests showed he had PKU. The doctor probably expected denial, but when I told him, calmly, that this wasn’t possible, he was confused. I explained that we had placed our lives and the lives of our children in greater hands. I stated that I wanted our child re-tested because I knew the findings were wrong. I knew our faith in God and the Saints would prevail. Follow-up tests were arranged even though the doctors didn’t agree. They would contact us with the results. I prayed for a different answer than the first.

After we were discharged from the hospital, I called my sister, Dot, back East, and asked her to send me the relic of St. Anthony that had been in our family for many years. She had carried this precious pouch with her through the birth of each of her 16 children.

For the next few days, we prayed around the clock. The tests were completed and sent to the head researcher down in Los Angeles. As much as I wanted them to tell me Christian Anthony didn’t have PKU, it really didn’t matter. We loved him and God knew what He was doing. The answer wouldn’t change our love for our new child.

Within the week, the two anticipated envelopes arrived in the mail--the relic from my sister in Philadelphia and a special delivery from the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.

I will be able to visualize that day for as long as I live...the seven of us seated around our dining room table….holding hands….heads bowed....praying. The answer was in this envelope--the answer we had prayed for and lost sleep over---the answer that would affect the future.

I opened the St. Anthony relic carefully and we all kissed it. I then rubbed it on the letter from the hospital. I handed it to my husband. The letter from Dr. Koch read, “Mary and Ron, I have been doing research in PKU (Phenylketonuria) for over 20 years and, from the first tests on the cord blood, I would have concluded 100% that your child, Christian Anthony, had this genetic malady. But the final answer, according to the thorough follow-up testing, shows that you were correct! Your angel bore no trace of Phenylketonuria! You hold in your arms a ‘miracle of faith’!”