MAE JULIAN
Miracle Child
Let me introduce my second grandson, Justin. He is fourteen, now, but my mind travels back to the event of his birth. My sister, Kathy, and I were walking my daughter,
Betsy, around the mall whilst she had contractions. She was due for the baby and we were trying to speed things along. We were laughing and having fun, knowing that soon we would welcome a new baby.
By that evening Betsy was having contractions that were close enough to take her to the hospital.
I was not in the room when Justin was born due to an old-fashioned doctor who happened to be covering that night. My sister and I waited outside the room, whilst the baby was born. He was a beauty, to be sure, with blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. He also had a cleft lip and palate that did nothing to diminish his beauty. Kids with cleft lips have all the parts necessary, but they are just a bit out of arrangement at the time of birth. Luckily, we had one of the best plastic surgeons in the United States right here in Louisville. In fact, he is one of those doctors you read about who goes to third world countries, with a medical team, doing volunteer work on children out of the goodness of his heart. His name is Dr. Verde.
At any rate, we took Jussie (as I call him) home as he began his sojourn on this earth. He was fitted with a blue cap that had a strap across his upper lip to bring his mouth into alignment to prepare for surgery, which would take place at three months. He was Betsy’s best baby as far as being so easy. He ate well, slept well, and was a joy to all of us.
Dr. Verde wanted him tested for hearing at some point…perhaps at a few weeks old. I remember specifically going with Betsy and Jussie into the lab at Audubon Hospital to have his hearing tested. There was concern on Dr. Verde’s part about his hearing. They attached electrodes all over his head at the proper points and then they put earphones on him that would deliver sounds to his brain. I had an ominous feeling and prayed that all would be well. For whatever reason, superstition, or faith, or prayer, I placed my hand on him whilst they ran the test. I prayed silently throughout the test. The needle that reads out the brain’s response to sound remained flat line, or had very little movement. When the test was completed we were told that Jussie had moderate to profound hearing loss.
I was a member of the Methodist Church in LaGrange, Indiana, at the time. I was shaken to the core; I remember calling the minister’s wife, who I had become friends with, and asked her to have the prayer group begin praying for Jussie’s hearing. They started a prayer line and all members of the church were contacted. Her husband, the preacher joined in the effort to pray for his hearing with the congregation. We all prayed for a miracle. How could prayers overcome what the test so clearly revealed? Still, I had to do what I could, and what I could do was pray and have others pray. My mother prayed for him, as well.
As the days went on, I would continuously do things that I knew should startle him if he could hear. I would clap my hands at the side of his head where it should cause a reaction. I would call to him, behind or above him. He began responding and continued to look where the noise was made. I could call to him and he would look at me. I know Betsy stimulated him all the time, also. We agreed that he could hear. We kept praying.
At about six months of age, and after one or two surgeries behind us, I felt that he was hearing like a normal hearing child. Let me skip to the present. He can hear. He speaks as correctly as any other child (he would object me calling him a child, I am sure). He is perfect. He has gone through many surgeries for repair of his lip, but because the best surgeon did the repairs, it is hardly noticeable. He has a very fine silver line where the cleft once was. He is a wonderful child, as well.
I once was thinking of odd things as one is wont to do, one time, and I thought…if I were stranded on a desert island, who would I want to be there with me, that I might survive? It took only an instant to select Jussie in my mind. He is good to the bone, would help with anything if he saw a need, and has a heart of gold.
Yes, Justin would be the one who could be counted on in time of need. To say that I love him with all my heart would even be an understatement. He is a blessing and I am so grateful for him. He is a miracle child. I could never be convinced that all those prayers offered up for him from by so many are not the reason that he is a normal hearing child today.
Merry Christmas to all my Waynedale friends and remember to say a prayer for a miracle for someone today. It works. It really does.
Mae Julian
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