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Prayers to saintly priest save 'miracle baby'

The doctor said it would take a miracle for Susan and Dave Bender's baby to survive. Defend Lifer Eileen Feeney prayed for one­and got it.

He's named Michael Joseph Bender.

Here's how Eileen tells the story.

On March 18, 2002, her daughter, Susan, in her 20th week of an apparently normal pregnancy, underwent a routine ultrasound. The threefold results were alarming:

1. The baby was two weeks behind in growth.
2. The amniotic fluid level was very low, to the point of being dangerous. .
3. A Doppler flow study showed gaps in the blood flow through the umbilical cord.

The doctor told Susan that this third condition was "non­reversible," and the baby would most likely die in utero.

"It would take a miracle for the baby to survive," he said.

His only suggestion was complete bed rest; it might not help, but couldn't hurt.

Susan phoned her mom that evening with the upsetting news.

When Eileen heard it, she recalled some prayer cards she had sent for and just received in the mail from the Marians in Stockbridge, Mass.

They were prayers to Fr. Stanislaus Papczynski, founder of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in Poland, who lived from 1631 to 1701.

"I had read in their Marian magazine that they had just started his cause for canonization," says Mrs. Feeney.

'They had a whole page of people who had gotten favors through his intercession. They were astounding!"

"I told my daughter, 'I think we should all pray to him immediately. "

That same night the Feeney family in Baltimore and Susan and her husband Dave, in Ojai, Calif., began their prayers to Father Stanislaus. They prayed specifically that the gaps in the umbilical cord would be healed.

Two days later, Susan saw a specialist in Los Angeles recommended by her obstetrician. He ran the same tests-an ultrasound and a Doppler flow study.

The baby was behind in growth and the amniotic fluid was low. But there were no gaps in the blood flow through the umbilical cord.

The cord was perfectly normal.

"Father Stanislaus had heard our prayers!" says Eileen.

But the doctor cautioned that if the baby did survive, he could have some handicap or disability.

He also needed to grow sufficiently, and the fluid level would need to hold or increase to get the baby to at least 27 or 28 weeks in order for him to be safely delivered.

The Benders and Feeneys began to pray to Father Stanislaus for the baby's growth and an increase in fluid.

Two weeks later, the night before Susan's next visit to the doctor, she was lying in bed, unable to sleep, when she happened to look toward the bedroom door.

Standing there was a tall, slender man, dressed in a white robe, with short hair and a closely cropped beard. His hand was raised, and as he looked at her, he seemed to float toward the door and was gone.

Susan woke her husband and told him what had happened.

He said, "Susan, I think the baby is cured."

As the weeks passed, the baby continued to grow and the amniotic fluid level came up to normal. Because of concern about a lag in the femur length of the baby, the doctor decided to deliver him at 32 weeks.

Michael Joseph Bender was born June 17, weighing 3 pounds, 6 ounces, and 14 3/4 inches long. His scores on the APGAR scale far exceeded the normal for premature babies.

When Michael met the requirements to come home (proper weight, ability to feed, good respiration, etc.), he was joyously welcomed by his family, especially his "big brother," 3-year-old David.

"We know we were granted a miracle through the intercession of Father Stanislaus," says Eileen.

"We are grateful to him and grateful to God for His wonderful gift of life."