WPCU: The Good Samaritan sharing

HCC joined the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on January 2024. On Day 6, 2 HCC members, Diane and Kim shared their testimonials as a Good Samaritan. Diane shared a similar testimonial in Arise Concert on Dec 2023 for "Faith".

Transcript:

I was young, barely 2 years after college, when I married my husband. 

He proposed 6 months after and for the next 6 months, we were married.

It was only a few months before the actual wedding date that I knew how “colorful” his life was. The extra flower girl he insisted for his niece turned out to be his then 7-year old daughter. Still, I pursued with the decision to get married. We, literally, just started to get to know each other after the wedding.

We had planned to just be the 2 of us for the first 3 years. But when we started wanting a child did we learn how difficult it is. I had 9 miscarriages in total. On May 27 of 2011, our first child Zackery Mc Nathan was born via C-section. Zachery means “God remembers”. Nathan means “God’s gift”. God remembers His Gift. (Pause) He was indeed special… so special that we later found out he had multiple congenital defects - in the kidney and heart. I was heart broken. We were constant residents of the hospital. Surgeries were the only interventions that can be done. Only Manila has the facilities and capability to do so. We were asked to prepare millions and all should be done before his 1st birthday. Financially, it was challenging but I trust it will be a great story of victory. 

We were witnesses of God’s miracles after miracles. The money came out to be the least of our worries as help came pouring in from all around the world. His nephrectomy of 1 kidney came out to be not a loss but a gain as we found out he had 3 kidneys - a very uncommon case. Our heart surgeon was US-trained at no less than the Boston Children’s Hospital. At that time, he recently came back to the Philippines to help Filipino children. 6 hours after the surgery, however, Nathan’s heart got tired. His heart went to cardiac arrest. He was 11-months old.

Alas! The outcome was not what I expected. We lost him. Flying from Manila to Cebu was the longest plane ride we took with my baby Nathan on the casket. Who could relate to us? When parents pass away, one would be an orphan. When spouse pass away, one becomes a widow but what do you call someone who lost a child. Not even Webster has a name for it.

I was back in my dark corner - angry and depressed. I overanalyzed everything trying to get answers to each of my questions. Nathan’s absence brought us further and further away from each other. Our marriage took a beating. Countless hours spent with psychiatrists, marriage counselors.. but nothing seemed to work.

I was not in the mood for anything. Not even time to pray. As for our marriage, I took it as nature affirming that we are not compatible. Selfishly, I was just being rebellious. I walked out of the house and rented a place on my own. It was just enough time to uproot myself and gain a better perspective.

For the first time, there was so much honesty and openness when my husband and I talked. There were a lot of acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness. It was during this time that we learned that marriage is truly a 3-person relationship. It is strengthened by God in between because it is not humanly possible to move on and accept. Yes, what we went through as a couple was very difficult but it was also transformative.

It was when we strengthened our core by acknowledging God in our marriage that we were truly healed. To have been blessed, broken, and given away is a process that God allowed us to go through. We held on to him. He kept us together.  I just simply gave up taking control of my life. I let go and let God drive my love to heal me in time. I trusted in God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,”... “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Nathan’s story got shared to friends of friends and their friends’ friends. Parents (strangers) just like us (whose children have congenital heart defect) come to see us and talk to us about what we did, how we did, and simply just wanted to express and share how they feel. (Pause) My loss became my advocacy. We call the group Let It Echo (or LiTE) as we are simply listening and echoing our stories hoping to lighten and empower parents like us.

You see.. Because of that experience, we have gained network of connections - doctors, hospital coordinators, social workers, sponsors. We gained knowledge of the processes - where to go, where to find help, how. We got charitable rates. And like the Good Samaritan, we cared for our neighbor by simply sharing our stories.

(Pause) Today, the organization is 10 years old and had helped over 400 kids get their much-needed heart surgeries. It is more than just finding heart fixes for kids but a community of parents, of CHD kid warriors growing up as adults and contributing to the world. We enable, support, and empower each other. We envision a future where children with congenital heart defects will receive the healthcare they need that is timely, affordable, accessible, safe, patient-centered, and life-long. And we will  continue to echo our stories until this vision becomes a reality.

Now, I can see that the Lord continues to shape my ideal family. He continues to heal our marriage as we are blessed with three healthy and lovely daughters, Halley 6yo, Kayla 3yo and Chloe 24yo, the extra flower girl during our wedding. Indeed, God gave us not just 3 wonderful kids but an infinite number through our Let it Echo advocacy.

Looking back, I would never have imagined doing the things I am doing now. From that broken self that was leading to destruction to this inner peace with God. I am still a work-in-progress but truly this is God’s grace and mercy. In Ephesians 2:8 and I quote “For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not your doing; it is the gift of God.”