This Football Player's Life Was Saved By A Saint

Laurie
last update 11/17/2017, 09:16 PM
This Football Player's Life Was Saved By A Saint
credit: youtube.com

Football player Jon Dorenbos was at the height of his career. Jon had recently been traded to the New Orleans Saints from the Philadelphia Eagles. He was excited to get to know a new team and start this new chapter of his life.

 

 

Part of his trade required him to get a team physical before his first official game. He knew he was in great shape so he figured it was just a formality. That's when the team doctor found something odd.

 

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He discovered that Jon had a heart murmur and Jon was immediately taken to the hospital. Doctor's informed Jon that his condition was serious and would require emergency heart surgery. It turns out that Jon's aorta, the main artery of the heart, had expanded to more than 3 times the size it was supposed to be. This meant that Jon would never play football again. In fact, fact if he has taken a hit to the chest during the game he probably would have died. Despite this devastating news, Jon and his wife have remained optimistic.

 

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Jon's open heart surgery was successful. And while he was in the hospital Jon looked down waiting for the elevator and saw a penny. Now for most people this would just mean good luck. But for Jon it meant so much more! When he was young he lost his mom and was raised by his aunt and his grandmother. And they always told him that when they saw a penny on the ground they thought of his mom. So when Jon looked down that day in the midst of a scary uncertain time and saw that penny he knew God had bigger plans for him.

 

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His life is truly one incredible story after another and you just know that God had a hand in all of it. From a simple penny sending him into tears and then being saved by a saint, Jon's story is one you have to hear to believe. Who else is in awe of this inspirational man?

 

Source: TheEllenShow

Brain-Dead Mom Spends 123 Days On Life Support To Save Unborn Twins

When a 21-year-old woman suffered a stroke at just 9-weeks pregnant, doctors made a groundbreaking decision. Rather than let the tragedy end 3 lives, they placed the mom-to-be on life support. And 123 days later, the brain-dead mom delivered twins!

 

Credit: Caters News Agency

 

Frankielen da Silva Zampoli Padilha of Brazil was only 9-weeks pregnant when intense pain in her head and neck caused her to call her husband, Muriel Padilha. Muriel came straight home from work and rushed Frankielen to the hospital.

 

 

The mom-to-be didn't know exactly what was happening to her, but somehow she knew her time on earth was coming to an end.

 

"As I drove her to hospital, she said 'I want you to be prepared to accept this because I will be staying there, I won't be coming home,'" Muriel recalled. "Then she passed out and those were the last words she spoke to me and the last time I saw her alive."


RELATED: 4-Year-Old Tells Mom He Will Wait For Her In Heaven Before Passing Away

 

At the hospital, doctors discovered a vein had burst inside Frankielen's head. The severe bleeding left her brain-dead.

 

Miracle Twins Cling To Life


At first, doctors had no hope for the couple's unborn twins.

 

"They told me they would give the babies three more days of life because they had given my wife multiple CT scans, sedated her with powerful drugs and pumped her full of antibiotics and this meant everything had ended up in our babies," Muriel explained. "They said as soon as their little hearts stopped beating, they would turn off the gadgets and I would be able to bury my wife."


Heartbroken, Muriel prepared for the worst. But God wasn't ready to bring these little ones to Heaven just yet.

 

"We did an ultrasound on the embryos thinking they would be failing in the womb but to our surprise they were clinging to life," said Dr Dalton Rivabem. "Frankielen's organs were all intact and working as if she was still with us. We took the decision to keep her alive to save her unborn children. And every day we watched them grow normally."


RELATED: Prayer From Strangers Saves A Brain-Dead Mom And Her Unborn Baby

 

And so, doctors kept Frankielen on life support for more than four months, until the brain-dead mom delivered twins!

 

An ICU Filled With Love


Keeping the twins happy and healthy within the womb was no easy task.

 

"There were many complications with continuous support of medications to maintain pressure, maintain oxygenation, maintain continuous nutrition and hormonal balance. We used antibiotics during the entire hospitalization period," Dr Rivabem explained.


In addition to their medical needs, doctors needed to find a way to provide the love and nurturing the growing twins would have normally received from their mom.

 

Muriel and family visited every day. More than 20 health professionals chipped in and developed a regular routine of singing, talking and rubbing Frankielen's belly.

 

Credit: Caters News Agency

 

"We found children's songs and played them to the babies in the womb. We even made up tunes exclusively for them," said Erika Chechan, the hospital’s chaplain. "And we decorated the area around Frankielen's bed. The ICU was filled with love, affection and encouragement for the babies and their family to succeed. We said, 'we love you' every day they were here."


Brain-Dead Mom Delivered Twins


For 123 days, Frankielen was on life support, and her twins were surrounded by love and prayer. It's the longest amount of time a mom-to-be has been kept on life support.

 

Credit: Caters News Agency

 

"There have been other cases, but ours is the longest one with 123 days - four months, and we started with embryos at two months and delivered twins," Dr Rivabem said.

 

 

No one but the Lord knew exactly how the story would end. So when the big day finally came, and the brain-dead mom delivered twins, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Everyone there knew they'd witnessed a miracle.

 

"The success of this case was down to great teamwork and, of course, to a divine purpose," said Dr Rivabem.


RELATED: Big Sister Blows Kisses On Brain-Dead Baby And Gets A Miracle

 

It was a bittersweet day for Muriel. While he finally got to meet his babies, it was also time to say goodbye to his wife. But he trusts in God's plan for his family.

 

"Frankielen was a generous and loving person. I believe God chose her for this purpose so a miracle could happen," he said.

 
Miracle Twins Are An Answered Prayer


Doctors delivered the babies via emergency c-section at 7 month's gestation. Baby boy Asaph and baby girl Anna Vitoria came into the world weighing roughly 3 pounds each. Muriel and the twins' big sister, 2-year-old Isa Beatriz, were there to welcome these little miracles.

 

Asaph and Anna Vitoria remained in incubators for three months, until finally they were strong enough to go home. Frankielena's mother cares for the babies while Muriel is working, and she knows these two are a special blessing from God.

 

"I'm so proud of my daughter," she said. "It's been hard losing her but she was a warrior right until the end, protecting her beautiful children and giving them life until the day she finally died."

 
WATCH: Brain-Dead Mom Delivered Twins

 

 

And though Muriel misses his wife dearly, he, too, finds peace in knowing God is in control.

 

"Frankielen has appeared to me on many occasions especially when I was despairing and crying out for God to bring her back to me," he said. "One night she sat on my bed and said: 'Baby I can't come back to you anymore. I must stay. I am in a beautiful place now. You've got a big mission still to complete. You have to look after our children and you have to be strong and move on and live your life.' "


The twins will surely know their mother's love all of their lives, even though they never got to meet her. But their miraculous survival is undoubtedly their mom's dying wish granted from above.

 

h/t: GodUpdates

 

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Credit: YouTube/Holly Gerlach

 

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