The following is a personal testimony received from Human Life International’s (HLI) affiliate in Latvia, Kustība “Par dzīvību!”.
My name is Vilma, and I have four children. The oldest of my children are teenagers. The youngest two are Gatis, who will turn 6 years old in September, and Reinis, who will be 3 years old in May. My husband currently does not have job, so I am the primary provider for the family. Despite the difficulties I am happy because God has given me such wonderful children.
I would like to share my experience with the doctors I saw when my sons Gatis and Reinis were born, and how these experiences affected my life. The birth of Gatis was very hard for me physically, and he was also diagnosed with Down syndrome. It took time for our family to understand his needs, his way of thinking and behavior. Thanks to God’s love and our love for Gatis, he has been able to learn many skills despite his disability.
When Gatis was 2 years old, God blessed me with another pregnancy, and I went to a doctor. The gynecologist told me that I needed to have an abortion because I already had three children, and one of them has special needs. The doctor said to me, ”Don’t you understand that this unborn child could have Down syndrome too?”
The doctor told me that there could be a lot of risks and complications with this pregnancy. I was totally desperate and confused, and did not know what to do.
After my next meeting with the gynecologist, I was sent to a hospital for an abortion. In my heart I felt so much pain. I kept thinking, ”How I can kill this new life in me?” and I asked God to save us. In a moment of despair before the abortion was to take place, I received strength, grabbed my clothes and belongings and ran out of the abortion clinic. I was running away telling my unborn child, ”God saved us!”
So my son Reinis was saved. I started to look for some help in the Church, and in HLI Latvia I found some people who knew Jesus and were willing to offer me support. We went to their meetings for families, and spoke with them often by phone.
Reinis’ birth was also not easy. But thanks be to God we did it!
For a long time, Reinis was in the intensive care unit. The doctors did not have hope that he would survive. They even neglected giving care to him because they were convinced he would die anyway. It was God’s miracle that he lived! While in the hospital, a priest baptized Reinis, and after returning home his health improved dramatically.
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On May 21 Reinis will turn 3 years old. He is healthy, clever and wonderful. He enjoys playing with Gatis, and even takes care that Gatis is not getting into trouble. When Gatis is about to get in trouble, Reinis calls me. Reinis is like a guardian angel for his bigger brother with special needs.
I am thankful to God that he saved me from that terrible moment where I could have aborted my child. I am so happy to have my sons!
LifeNews.com Note: Reprinted with permission from Human Life International’s World Watch forum. Adam Cassandra is a Communications Specialist at Human Life International.
