02.07.2019 | by Haley Foster, Communications Coordinator
“The Power of Prayer” is an incredible testimony from the Leadens family, and the real events that took place during their daughter Delaney’s first months of life. This is a three-part blog series. Part one was posted on Thursday, January 24 and part two was posted on Thursday, January 31.
Do You Believe In Miracles?
“When it started getting to our 50 to 60 day mark in the NICU our surgeon started to get really negative; because Delaney couldn’t hold any milk down. She would get to five milliliters and throw up, so we’d have to stop feedings,” recalls Gabriella.
That’s when Briggs and Gabriella decided to bring in Pastor Dave and his wife Ann for a visit.
“They [Dave and Ann] had been texting me and praying for us the entire time, but they initially couldn’t come into the NICU because they’re really strict and you have to have your flu shots and they didn’t, so Ann said, ‘we’re praying for you and we hope to see you soon,’” said Gabriella.
Pastor Dave remembers the day they finally got to visit well. “We went to the hospital and it was so cool, we just felt the spirit of God praying healing into baby Delaney. The day before their doctor had said they would be there for a few more months, so Ann I prayed that Delaney would be healed soon, like within a week. We just prayed that in faith and it happened! It was crazy! It literally happened! And it shocked everyone. It built their [Briggs and Gabriella] faith, it built our faith, it built everyone’s faith.”
During this week, while Dave and Ann were praying for a quick healing process, Gabriella and Briggs were also praying, for Delaney to finally keep her food down.
“One day Briggs was holding her before a feeding, and I looked at him and said, ‘we need to start praying over her food.’ So we huddled together and just prayed that this time she would just hold it down, and she did,” said Gabriella.
The Power of Prayer
Then for the next feeding Delaney held down her food again. And the next, and the next, and the next.
Gabriella recalled that while it was amazing Delaney was eating, there was still one milestone left: infant driven feedings. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait too long to reach it, “She ate and ate, and she kept crying after. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So I put the bottle up to her mouth and she was hungry, like starving. So I asked the nurse if we could give her more food. And that’s what they were looking for.”
Gabriella says it got to the point where she could eat more and more. Two days later, after 69 days in the hospital they we were discharged, Delaney could finally come home.
“She went from eating nothing, to eating 80 milliliters in only two days. It was crazy. It was super cool to see prayer work so fast. I have never seen prayer work so powerfully in my entire life.”
Delaney has been home ever since, Gabriella says she’s doing amazing, adding that you wouldn’t be able to tell she spent the first few months of her life inside of a hospital.
Briggs and Gabriella spent months going through an intense faith journey, but they walked through that journey hand in hand and came out of it with a healthy baby girl, and a stronger relationship with God, and each other.