Amish Author Marta Perry & What a Mother Can Do!
My guest today is Amish author Marta Perry who is a dear friend. I count myself lucky to be able to call her that. Today she is sharing a heartwearming and faith-inspiring story from her family. Here’s Marta:
“My mother-in-law knew something was wrong when she saw her new-born daughter. Unlike her other children, Christine’s skin was not a healthy pink but a pale, almost bluish color. The doctor confirmed what she suspected. Little Christine had been born with a hole in her heart—a condition that was nearly always fatal in the 1940s.
But Greta Johnson was not one to give up easily. A hard-working farm wife, she knew the value of persistence. Doctor after doctor gave her the same advice: take her home and love her for the short time she has.
The only slight ray of hope came from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, where a new surgery was being tried that saved blue babies. The family doctor was not encouraging. The hospital was far away, the surgeons had never performed the surgery on a baby as young as Christine, it would be expensive, there was no guarantee that it would work. Still, Greta persisted, and Christine’s records were sent to Hopkins for consideration. The only thing to do now was wait.
They waited. And waited. And waited. Christine grew worse daily. Hope began to falter.
Early one morning Greta was in the kitchen alone, working and praying for an answer. She heard a voice speak behind her. “Go to Baltimore and talk to the doctors.”
She turned around, shocked and stunned. No one was there. But the voice still seemed to hang in the air.
Greta didn’t hesitate. People came to help with the other children and care for Christine, somehow the money was found for a train ticket. She rode all night on the train, took a taxi to Johns Hopkins and entered the imposing lobby, bustling with people who all seemed to know where they were going and what they were doing. She found her way to the pediatric surgery area. Just as she gave her name to the receptionist, a passing doctor stopped, surprised.
“You’re Christine Johnson’s mother? We were just looking at her case.” The doctor proved to be Helen Taussig, cardiologist, who with surgeon Alfred Blalock and technician Vivien Thomas had developed the procedure.
The words that had guided Greta to this spot bore fruit. Christine was scheduled for surgery, and when she was wheeled back to her waiting parents afterward, Greta knew she was witnessing a miracle—her blue baby was now a beautiful, rosy pink.
Persistence in doing what is right is a quality I’ve always valued. It’s one that often characterizes the heroines in my books, none more so than Libby Morgan in Danger in Plain Sight. Faced with one person after another disregarding her fears, she persists in doing what she believes is right, regardless of the danger, even when it brings it face-to-face with a ruthless killer.
To purchase, click here. Danger in Plain Sight
If you’d like to leave a comment, I’ll be happy to give a copy of Danger in Plain Sight to one entrant. And if you’d like to receive a bookmark and my brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, just send your mailing address to marta@martaperry.com.”–Marta
Here are two more of Marta’s books–DARK CROSSINGS and HER SURPRISE SISTER–which will come out in a few days in July. Click cover to purchase.
www.martaperry.com,
www.facebook.com/martaperrybooks
So friends, have you ever felt that God spoke to you in some way. It might not be in words, but perhaps in the form of serendipidity or God-incidence. Please leave a reply and be entered into the drawing. Also remember that you can still go back and read and comment on Adina Senft’s posting on Monday to qualify for her drawing too. I’ll announce winners on Sunday as usual.–Lyn
