Our Voice For The Voiceless Origin
It all started when I was 18, working my summer job at an organization for physically challenged children. They were 42, but my favorite was Mark Reid, a kid with Down Syndrome. Who knew? Today I’m raising my son with Down syndrome.
My name is Marsha Weigum. I am a pastor and the mother of a 3-year-old child with Down syndrome. I am the founder of the non-profit, Our Voiceless for the Voiceless Inc., which is the story of how it started.
I worked for 20 years at the organization where I had my summer job. I joined the matron and some older people to care for kids with different challenges. From deafness to blindness to Down syndrome, they were all there.
During my time, I fell in love with one of these kids. His name is Mark Reid, and he was my favorite. He had Down syndrome, and at the time, I was learning little by little about the condition. I had so much fun caring for them that I forgot about payday sometimes.
I looked forward to going to work to do things like:
The organization didn’t have state-of-the-art equipment, yet I was engrossed in what I did there. I loved keeping an eye on them and caring for them.
There were 3 kids with Down syndrome in the organization. And since Mark was my boy, I took particular interest in him because it was like we just clicked. I would put on a pair of sandals and care for his cute little feet.
I lost myself in the job, and now I can tell you that God was preparing me for something big. He was preparing me for my baby boy, Nathan.?
I moved to America and had a divine connection with my present husband. I had four kids already, and my husband and I settled on having two more children. I have a daughter, who’s nine years old, and a son, Nathan, who’s three.
When I got pregnant again, my husband was convinced that our baby would be a boy. I asked how he knew, and he said he got a vision (true to it).
There was something about this pregnancy. An aura of calmness and peace just seemed to surround it. You know what, It’s best described as pure love flowing through me from conception. Not to mention that I had reassurance from my husband as he is faithful, and we have a divine relationship.
So, we went to see the doctor for prenatal screenings, which included a certain one every pregnant woman does. The doctors informed us of the risks associated with the pregnancy since age wasn’t really on my side at the time. I was in my early 40’s.
A while later, the OB-GYN called me to say that the results were ready and asked that I come to see her. I was taking a nap then and couldn’t understand why she didn’t just let me know on the phone. Regardless, I took the 45-minute drive to her office.
The doctor’s expression gave off the vibe of a bad result. She sat me down and broke the news.
“There is a 99% chance that your baby will be born with Down Syndrome.”
I took it in and asked her what that meant. She gave me two options:?
She told me about all the downsides of Down syndrome. The baby was going to be born with retardation, slow to learn, and the like. I said, “No, we’re not sticking a needle through my womb, and we are certainly not terminating my pregnancy.”
I inquired about all the medical experts I would have to see. She let me know, and I asked that she call my husband at that moment and give him this information. True to it, my husband rebuked the idea of termination.
I went out of the hospital, and I was furious. I wasn’t mad because I was going to have a baby the doctor said would be useless. I was mad that the doctor asked me to terminate my baby. I knew then and there that I was going into a war with the enemy.
I knew this child was a blessing from God, and the scripture tells me He knew this baby before he was formed. Do you see how God set me up for the task?
For 20 years, I cared for and loved a kid with Down syndrome, and now I have a child with Down syndrome. Nobody can tell me otherwise. God had a plan, and he has been following it effortlessly.
When the news came, I started to build my community. I steered clear of people who didn’t believe and leaned on God in a community comprised of my husband, kids, and pastor.
I never really questioned God; all I asked for was healing for my child and me. On the other hand, my husband was curious when he got the call from the doctor. He fell on his knees, prayed, and asked God what to do.?
He asked that God punish him instead of his son. However, the holy spirit gave him a scripture, John 9:1-12, that read:
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”?
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.?
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”?
10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
We made a vision board decorated with mesmerizing verses from the bible. We made it so we could look at it and be reminded of God’s plan for our child.( see scripture list we used)
After one of my many visits to the cardiologist, he told me that my child would have a hole in his heart. The septum valve was open, and my baby’s oxygenated and deoxygenated blood was mixing. So, he recommended open heart surgery for my child.
I didn’t want that for my child, so I sought the face of God because God is capable of anything. The cardiologist kept telling me they had to do the surgery to fix his septum valve, and I kept praying with my vision board. I heightened my prayer and faith in God.
One day, I asked the doctor if he believed in prayer. He said yes, but this? This doesn’t change. It is what it is. I would leave his office tired and not want to go back. I couldn’t deal with how he kept painting the same picture of the surgery in my head each time I went there.
I mentioned it to my pastor, who reminded me that the doctor sees in the natural, but we thrive in the spiritual. I know God can do the impossible, but the doctor didn’t. I decided to keep up with my appointments, and eventually, the doctor promised me a cartwheel if God healed my child.
He is yet to do that cartwheel because, God? God answered my prayer.
One day, I drove to the Walmart in my area and sat in my car in the parking lot. I said, “God, I have believed in you. I know you’re not a man, so you can’t lie. I know you are faithful and that you will always be with us. I’ve been trusting you, but you’re not talking to me. I want an answer today. I don’t want the doctor to open his heart. I don’t want that, God. Can you talk with me?”
I sat there for about 2 hours in silence. Suddenly, I heard God say in my heart, “I’ll give him a new heart.” I called my husband and told him, and he said he knew God would take care of him. From then on, I had this unexplainable peace in my heart.
I had to go out of town to get a C-section when my baby was due. The OB-GYN told me that all the doctors were meeting to decide whether I would have my baby in town or go out to see another doctor. They decided for me to go to Denver since I was such a high-risk patient.
We made an overnight trip to Denver, and I delivered via C-section. And my baby was kept in the ICU after the surgery. I went to my ward to see the baby, but I couldn’t, and the next day, my husband wheeled me in my wheelchair to the ICU.
I waited for the cardiologist, a different one. He came over, and my baby was right there. The doctor did a complete examination and told me nothing was wrong with my baby’s heart. Nathan’s heart was like new.
Do you see that?
God healed his heart. That brought me back to the scripture he gave my husband, John 9. Right there, I knew I had to be a voice. A voice for these children, like my boy.
I know I am not the only one in this situation. I have read many stories about doctors telling parents to terminate these pregnancies.?
I know I have to tell this story.
I know I can’t keep quiet.
I know I have to go on this journey.
I want to give back and be that voice. Not only for my son. We are on a journey, and we are not turning back.?
We are Our Voice For The Voiceless. We have faith. We are hopeful. And we strive for justice.
Down syndrome is not a burden. A child with Down syndrome is God’s blessing.