It was October 3, 1983.

My parents had been married for almost two years but were struggling to conceive. My mother had infertility issues (endometriosis) and two doctors told my parents they would never have children.

On that October day, my mom woke up with piercing pains in her abdomen. She had no idea what they were, but she knew something wasn’t right. As my dad prepared to head out the door for work, my mom was on the floor, immobilized by pain, begging him to take her to the hospital.

Upon their arrival at the emergency room, my mom went unconscious. After receiving six units of blood, she woke up. The doctor on call told my parents he didn’t know exactly what was wrong, but that she was bleeding internally. He would have to perform emergency surgery.

As the doctor walked away to prepare for the procedure, my mom turned to my dad and instructed him not to let that doctor touch her.

“Peter, don’t let that man operate on me,” she said. “I don’t know why, but I sense such evil around him.”

Thinking she was delirious, my dad reassured her everything was going to be okay. But my mom wasn’t convinced. As they wheeled her into the operating room, she turned to my dad and said,  

“I love you, Peter. See you on the other side.”

The Backstory

My mom has always been a faithful woman, devout in her prayer life and an avid daily Mass-goer. As the sixth child in a family of ten, she grew up understanding the importance of God in her life. Her relationship with Him was always the most important thing, but she never really felt the need to evangelize those around her. As a nurse, she would often pray with patients who were dying, or sometimes she’d talk about God when people asked her about her faith. But for the most part, my mom’s faith was a private matter.

Additionally, while my mom had a devotion to the Blessed Virgin, she never understood the power of the rosary. She didn’t see the whole point of intercessory prayer if she could take her prayers straight to God. She had gotten away from praying the rosary in nursing school.

October 3rd changed that…

Reality Hits

During the procedure, my mom was unconscious. As she began to wake afterward, she didn’t know where she was and none of her senses were working yet. However, she could think.

“I couldn’t open my eyes,” she said. “I couldn’t move and didn’t know where I was, but the first thought I had was Our Lady.”

At that point, she didn’t know if she was in heaven or on earth. It wasn’t normal for my mom to think about Mary, so why was this happening now? Was she in heaven?

As her hearing started to come back, my mom heard my dad’s voice and realized she was still on earth. She overheard him say that they had conceived but lost the baby.

Tears started to flow down my mom’s face as she began to connect the dots.

My mom had a ruptured tubal pregnancy, also known as an ectopic pregnancy. My parents had conceived and didn’t know it. The baby had gotten stuck in one of my mom’s fallopian tubes and grew there until the tube eventually ruptured, causing my mom to bleed internally.

“Mary Saved My Life”

My mom was overcome with emotion as she recognized God’s hand and the influence of His Mother in all that had occurred:

• How the doctors said she and my dad would never have children.
• How they did, in fact, conceive, but had lost the baby.
• How she had gotten away from praying the rosary and praying through Mary’s intercession in the past.
• How she had lost six units of blood and still survived.
• How the first thought she had was of Our Lady.
• How she wasn’t supposed to be alive right now but was getting a second chance at life.

As my mom laid on that hospital bed, she made a promise that would change her outlook on life moving forward.

“I made a promise with Our Lady that I’d pray at least one rosary every day for the rest of my life,” she said. “I related her to my femininity, and I realized she saved my life.”

My mom almost died that day, but her Heavenly Mother protected her. Momma Mary was there with my mom, guarding her for what was to come. God had a plan to fulfill for my mom and our family, and there was more left to the story.

The Purpose

Mary brought my mom back for a purpose: to teach others about Her Son, and raise her children to do the same.

“I knew I had a second chance to live,” she said.  “I realized I wasn’t that bad of a person before, but I felt like I had to step up and do my part evangelizing to build the Kingdom up on earth.”

October 3, 1983 was not just one of the most important days in my parents’ lives, but my whole family’s. It’s the day my six siblings and I were almost never born. It’s the day my parents knew God’s hand was in everything.

Three months later, my parents conceived my oldest brother, Pete, through practicing Natural Family Planning (NFP). And in the following sixteen years, the Lord would bless them with a total of five sons and two daughters (and two more children in heaven).

Growing up as the sixth child in the family, people often asked me how my parents did it, how they raised seven children to be faithful Catholics. I often didn’t know how to respond because the truth is my parents are radical. They live on purpose in everything they do. They’re never quiet about their faith and don’t shy away from controversial topics. My parents understand that every relationship has a purpose, and that purpose is to point each person to Christ. Each person is in their path for a reason.

Including the doctor who saved my mom’s life on October 3, 1983…

[ctt template=”11″ link=”r88fL” via=”yes” ]”The purpose of relationships is to point each person to Christ. Each person is in your path for a reason.” #beautifuldepths [/ctt]

Full Circle

“Don’t let that man operate on me. I don’t know why, but I feel such evil around him.”

Those were the words my mom said to my dad about the man who saved her life. For years after the event, my mom didn’t really know why she felt that way about him. She couldn’t explain it.

Until one Saturday morning when I was about eight years old. My family and I were praying peacefully outside the abortion clinic in town, part of our regular Saturday routine.  This one particular day we were praying a rosary under a large oak tree when my mom’s friend came up to her and asked if she knew who the abortionist was.

Without hesitation, my mom blurted out the name of the doctor who saved her life.

Her friend stood there in shock.

“How did you know that?” she asked.

My mom replied simply saying,

“Remember that feeling I had October 3, 1983? It never went away, and I didn’t understand it until now.”

My mom wouldn’t be here without that doctor. I wouldn’t be here without him.  Neither would any of my siblings. It’s ironic that the man who saved my mom’s life (and all our lives), is the same one who takes other lives. However, that doctor is an intricate part of God’s plan for our family.

In addition to praying for that man’s conversion daily, my mom also ministers to other women experiencing infertility through teaching NFP. She shares her story because she knows God is everywhere in it and each moment has a purpose.

What’s YOUR Purpose?

My favorite part about my mom’s story is how she’s recognized that each person and circumstance is part of God’s plan for her. It’s the same for all of us!

We all have a purpose, and it doesn’t have to be big. It’s about finding the purpose in each moment of life. It might be something small like being there for a friend going through a difficult time, doing your work diligently, or sharing your heart with someone.

If there’s one thing I know it’s this: God didn’t put us on this earth to be silent. We all have a story. A testimony. A purpose.

So what’s yours?

And an even better question… Are you living it?

From the depths of my soul,

Josie

ABOUT 

Patricia Kuhlman is a registered nurse and Billings Natural Family Planning instructor. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband, Peter, and keeps busy with her seven grown children and six grandchildren. In her free time she enjoys teaching NFP and working in the pro-life movement. To find out more about NFP or find an instructor near you click here. To find out how you can volunteer and help in the pro-life movement, click here.