MIRACLES HAPPEN

In the Daily Mail newspaper of 27 September 2006, the following article appeared, written by Paul Sims:

When told their unborn son would not survive pregnancy, there seemed only one decision for Rachel Whittaker and Matt Capehorn.(picture left)

A routine ultrasound had uncovered a cyst growing inside his right lung and with the odds stacked against him they were offered an abortion.

But the couple refused to give up hope and yesterday they brought William home for the first time since he was born three months prematurely in June, weighing only 2Ib 12oz.

'He's our little miracle,' said Mr Capehorn, a 36-year-old GP.

Doctors discovered the cyst at the start of the year. Four days later it had increased four-fold and was pushing on William's heart and oesophagus.

But they refused to terminate the pregnancy at 20 weeks and instead surfed the Internet for a solution before contacting one of the world's foremost experts in prenatal surgery.

Professor Kypros Nicolaides agreed to conduct the operation at the Harris Birthright Centre in London, despite the bleak prognosis given by doctors at Sheffield's Jessop Hospital.

The couple were told that the procedure, inserting a needle through Miss Whittaker's stomach into the baby to drain the cyst, could cause a miscarriage or premature labour.

The operation was a success but Miss Whittaker went into labour.

'When he was born we had big grins on our faces but it didn't sink in for a few days how poorly he really was,' said Mr Capehorn, from Rotherham.

'One night one of the doctors said would we prefer it if we could just cuddle him and then let nature take its course, but we didn't want to give up.'

Although William will remain connected to an oxygen tank for the next few months to help him fight chronic lung disease his parents believe he will grow up as a normal little boy.

The cyst in his lung, known as Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation, (CAM) affects one in 35,000 babies.

This is a heart-warming story but, for me, reading this brought mixed emotions to the surface. Obviously, William needed immediate intervention but what if they had opted for termination? How many other people have opted for that under Doctors advice?

Nine years ago, at my 20 week scan, my unborn daughter was also diagnosed with a C.A.M. We were told to expect, at best surgery, at worst - the worst. Luckily, although the cyst continued to grow it was at a much slower rate than William's, so we had time to think. I opted to visit a spiritual healer on a weekly basis and also embarked on writing a journal to my unborn child, willing her to pull through. In this journal I used all the techniques that I am bringing to you on these pages. Cosmic Ordering is not a band-wagon that I have opportunistically jumped on but a process, also known as manifesting, that I was using in my daily life, over nine years ago.

As I have been saying in my posts, faith is the currency that funds these requests and I had a strong, spiritual faith that all would be well.

I wrote daily entries as if my daughter was already born but, just absent from my side (like you would write to a child who was abroad). I spoke out loud to her, telling her all would be well and I was looking forward to seeing her. I played classical music, ate an exemplary diet and tried not to allow any negativity in. Obviously, being human, I occasionally broke down with the stress of it all. At those times I would write out my fears, explaining in my journal to Ella how I felt, and then replace them with positive affirmations.

I was scanned weekly, then bi monthly as the cyst didn't disappear and continued to grow. At around 24 weeks, the threat of in-utero death passed. Nevertheless, we had to visit the surgeon who would carry out the removal procedure straight after the birth. Then, as my healer and I had always believed it would, at 32 weeks the cyst simply vanished - confounding all the Doctors.

Ella Grace Cassidy was born 2 weeks late, weighing 8lbs 8ozs on 19 Oct 1997. X rays at birth showed no sign of the CAM. Ella has no residual problems and didn't need follow up care.

For anyone else facing this agony, please let this be an inspiration to not give up. Doctors may choose to explain away my miracle through the use of logic and statistics - because spiritual healing flies in the face of their belief paradigms. But please believe, miracles can and do happen.

How To Be A Miracle Maker

The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced.