At the hospital Tracy Hermanstorfer was in labor with her third child. Her first two deliveries were perfectly normal and there was no reason to believe that this delivery would be any different. Shortly after she received a local anesthetic she said that she felt the need to “rest her eyes.” Suddenly she went into cardiac arrest. A quick assessment revealed that she was clinically dead! Her doctor and medical team tried to resuscitate her but the deceased mother didn’t respond, so the they turned their attention to the life of the baby. In desperation an emergency C-section was performed but when the baby was delivered he was limp showing no sign of life.

The rest of the story is told in this excerpt from Times On Line, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6972008.ece .

“We are both believers . . . but this right here, even a nonbeliever — you explain to me how this happened,” Mr Hermanstorfer, 37, said. “There is no other explanation.”

Mrs Hermanstorfer, 33, was in labour and had just received a local anaesthetic with her husband by her side when she began to feel sleepy and lay back in the bed.

“I was holding her hand when we realised she was gone,” Mr Hermanstorfer said. “My entire life just rolled out.”

Dr Stephanie Martin, a specialist in maternal-foetal medicine at Memorial Hospital who rushed to the bedside, said: “She had no signs of life. No heartbeat, no blood pressure, she wasn’t breathing.”

Doctors told Mr Hermanstorfer: “We’re going to take your son out now. We have been unable to revive her, and we’re going to take your son out,” he said.

After the emergency Caesarean section without anaesthetic, staff rushed his wife to the operating theatre to complete the procedure while the others attended to the baby.

“They handed him to me, he’s absolutely lifeless,” said Mr Hermanstorfer. The doctors attempted to save the newborn as Mr Hermanstorfer held him, and soon he began to breathe.

“His life began in my hands,” the father said. “That’s a feeling like none other. Life actually began in the palm of my hands.”

Mrs Hermanstorfer’s pulse returned even before she was wheeled out of the room and into the operating theatre.

Mother and baby were able to leave the hospital on Monday after tests showed them to be in good health. However, they failed to reveal the reason for Mrs Hermanstorfer’s heart attack and recovery.

Mrs Hermanstorfer remembers getting sleepy and closing her eyes in her hospital bed, then awakening in intensive care. “I just felt like I was asleep,” she said.

Tracy’s physician, Dr Martin said, “I don’t have a great explanation. From my personal perspective, I will take help wherever I can get it.”

What did God do here? Was it a miracle?

I think that while the frequency of miracles today is not the same as when Christ walked the earth — And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? John 7:31 — God still intervenes on our behalf, He still loves us, He still does miracles as He did for the family in our story.

Leadership Take-away: I believe this to be a genuine miracle. The mother was without a pulse or blood pressure for 4 minutes! In my 28 years in the Fire and Emergency Medical Services I have never heard of anything like this happening before. A genuine miracle — that means that this was a work of the Holy Spirit. Do you want more of God’s power in your life? Do you want to be more effective as a mother, father, coach, or supervisor? Then ask God to pour out His Holy Spirit upon you. Ask him every day. Jesus said, If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13

Consider the following excerpt from Traveler and the Chaplain:

“How is asking for the Holy Spirit going to increase my level of enthusiasm?” Traveler asked.

“The Bible says that when the Philistines came against Samson…”

…the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. Judges 15:14

Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit Samson then went on to defeat 1,000 of the enemy by himself!  When you receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit your passion increases, among other things.  You said that you wanted more enthusiasm?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting word.  We get our word enthusiasm from the Greek word en-theos which means full of God’s spirit.”

“Hmm,” Traveler said.  He was beginning to understand.  “So how do I get it, or Him?  The Holy Spirit?”

“You ask God,” the Chaplain replied.

“I just ask God?”

“Jesus said,”

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13

“So, pray,” the Chaplain said.  “Just ask God.  Ask Him for the Holy Spirit, every day.”