Giving birth is about bringing a new life into the world, so death is the furthest thing on one’s mind when a newborn is on the way. So imagine how Doug must’ve felt when his wife Melanie suffered an amniotic fluid embolism and was pronounced dead while giving childbirth. “My wife was clinically dead when they delivered my daughter.” Doug says. “My first thought was, ‘I’m a widower.’ And we’d only been married three years… They had asked us to say our goodbyes. I remember asking her vividly, ‘If you have any fight left in you, then fight!’”
With Melanie on her deathbed, Doug and his family prayed. Their prayers multiplied when people around the world let them know on Twitter that they were also praying for the family. Eventually, doctors were able to resuscitate Melanie, but her condition just kept getting worse. Her brother, a doctor, came to the hospital and reviewed her case. He found that she had internal bleeding, and doctors rushed her to the operating room.
Then, nearly 24 hours after she was pronounced clinically dead, Melanie woke up. When she opened her eyes, Doug showed her a photo of their daughter, Gabriella who had survived. Still, things did not look good. Doctors informed Doug that Melanie would need a heart or lung transplant and that if she survived, she’d have neurological issues.
But Doug never gave up hope. Hours later, Melanie was breathing on her own. She no longer needed medication. Within a week, she returned home with no health complications. “Her recovery’s a miracle. Her survival was a miracle,” says Doug. “I think it’s very clear that God answers prayers.”
