God is great!
When Mrs. Prisca Ashiegbu struggled with her husband and finally got
pregnant after seven years of fervent prayers to God for the fruit of
the womb, she never imagined that she would have to go through so much
sufferings and pain, waiting another two years before she eventually
“pushed” the baby out.
Below is the story of this beautiful woman who got her first baby after nine years…
but the agaony was forgotten when she was delivered of her “miracle
baby” on February 2, 2013.Married in January 2004, the couple who hail from Abazu village in Imo
State was not so anxious about having a child in the first year of the
marriage. However, they stated their journey of praying and waiting on
God by the second year.For many years, they went from one hospital to another searching for a
solution to their childlessness and it was during one of such hospital
visits that a scan revealed that Prisca had fibroid.
The doctors said the only solution was for Prisca to undergo surgery but
the stories the couple heard about having surgery to remove fibroid
didn’t encourage them to go on with the treatment.
“I have always had this phobia of going for surgery especially when it
concerns fibroid. I have heard a lot of stories and the stories were not
good. Many women had lost their lives in the process and we didn’t know
where to go and who to trust. Some other stories we heard were that if
one does not conceive within three months after removing the fibroid, it
will grow back. I didn’t want my wife to go for the surgery because I
had already made up my mind that I’ll rather remain childless than lose
my wife to the ailment,” Henry, the husband said.
He further stated that in the search for a solution, they spent a lot of
money. “We went to several hospitals and they all said the same thing.
We were thinking of the best option that will help reduce the size of
the fibroid and hope that pregnancy will occur. We went to a hospital in
Abuja and were told that the fibroid could not even be operated upon at
the level it was. My wife had to take injection that cost N35,000 each for a period of three months to reduce the size of the fibroid,”
Henry added, stressing that when this too failed, they resorted to
traditional medicine and were referred to a woman in Gwagwalada, who
treated his wife following which she conceived.
He told Leadership that the joy of the pregnancy was cut short when
several scans did not reveal the presence of a baby growing in his wife.
“There were physical changes to suggest that she was pregnant but
everywhere we went to, they kept telling us what they could see was the
fibroid and not a baby but the case was different for the traditional
medicine practitioners who confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. The
baby, according to the woman, who treated my wife was growing alongside
the fibroid. The woman continued her treatment trying to reduce the size
of the fibroid so that the baby will mature because the fibroid was
delaying the growth of the foetus and when it was nine months, Prisca
who is a teacher by profession applied for a maternity leave.
“The situation we were in is better imagined. I resumed and people were
asking me how my baby was and I told them the baby was okay. But after
three months, my stomach was still big and people became suspicious,
with some wondering if I was pregnant again. In fact one of my students
asked me if I was pregnant again,” Prisca said.
The couple was in a dilemma. They could not go for surgery as the
doctors had not confirmed that the woman was pregnant while those who
had confirmed the pregnancy did not have the requisite knowledge and
equipment to operate on her. They resorted to prayers, hoping that a
miracle should happen.
Prisca’s sister, Mrs. Justina Amadi, told them of a woman in Aba who
could help them and when they got there, the woman who also works in a
clinic examined her and told her that she felt the baby but when Prisca
went for a scan in the same clinic, the baby was not seen.
From Aba, Henry, a staff of the Embassy of Iran, said they headed for
Port Harcourt, where they had been told about a woman who was pregnant
for one year and nine months and found her solution.
“Early December 2012, we went to Owerri. It was a woman who was a friend
to my wife’s sister who directed us to Port Harcourt. She told us that
if she had delivered after a year and nine months pregnancy, my wife
should have faith that she too will deliver. She directed us to the
person who helped her when everyone had given up,” Henry said, adding
that after some initial challenges, they were able to locate the
traditional medicine practitioner, who examined his wife and confirmed
that there was a baby and the baby was still alive.
“She said because the fibroid was sharing space with the baby, the baby
wasn’t mature so she will have to place me on treatment for one month
and give me medicine that will make the fibroid shrink and give the baby
space to grow. This was happening in December, 2012. We started the
treatment and we saw progress,” Prisca narrated, adding that after one
month, the woman told her she could come for delivery as the baby would
have been mature by then.
We went there on a Monday and on Tuesday, I continued with the exercise.
I started dancing all kinds of dance steps including those I danced as
a child. Everyone was calling, they were worried. She later gave me
another drug and after I took it, I started purging. Around 12.30pm,
she told me that it was time. I didn’t even feel any labour pains and
within a period of 15 minutes,the baby was born. My sister was crying.
It was really a miracle,” she said.
The birth of Emmanuel Ebubechukwu, the miracle baby, brought joy to his parents. They have taken their experience as a way God wanted to use them to help and encourage other people in similar situations.
