‘Faithful Over and Over Again…’

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By Michaela Suver

“Well, there’s something in your abdomen, but it’s so large, we can’t see any of your other organs or tell what it is and what it’s attached to.”

Hearing this comment from an ultrasound tech was one of the scariest moments of my life. I was 16 years old at the time, a junior in high school. I was an active volleyball player and overall healthy, but over time, I had noticed my abdomen was growing larger. It was slow, but enough for me to know that something was wrong. I had no idea what it could be as I knew there was no way I was pregnant and I had no other symptoms. I attempted to hide it, ashamed of the shape of my body. I mainly thought I was just gaining weight. I wore baggy clothes. I tried stricter diets. I tried not eating at all. When I got light headed too many times at volleyball practice, I decided I couldn’t function that way without drawing attention. I was at a loss for what to do. 

It wasn’t until we had an away game one night that I - and my parents - decided we needed to see a doctor. A mother of one of the players on the opposing team approached my coach and asked if I was pregnant. As I said, there was no way this was possible as I was saving myself for marriage. This parent also “happened to be” a nurse and she advised us to see someone. If I wasn’t pregnant, there was no way the shape of my stomach was normal, she said. My mom kept me out of school the next day and we went to see my pediatrician. 

When we got to the doctor, he had me lay on my back and listened to my abdomen. He also noted that when most people lay on their back, their stomach sinks in and mine was quite distended. He ordered an ultrasound and sent me to the hospital for further testing. He put a rush on the orders and told us we would need to come back that evening for results. In the medical world, it was a blessing that he could see us again that day.

At the hospital, things began to get a little scarier. The ultrasound tech was the first to see me. As she placed the wand over my belly, the first thing she said was, “Hmm…” followed by the quote above. When we looked at the screen, the entire frame was white. No information was obtained from this test, so they ordered a CT scan for a deeper look. Contrast was needed for this test and it came in the form of the delicious “vanilla milkshake.” I was sent home with it to wait for 2 hours and come back. Having only been able to keep down half of it, surprisingly, they were still able to do the test with success and back to the pediatrician it was. 

This appointment provided us with more unknowns. As my doctor reviewed the scan, it was concluded that there was indeed a mass, but it would likely need exploratory surgery, which my pediatrician was not equipped for. We were advised to go to Louisville to see a specialist. 

God provided a very quick, “unexpected” opening with Dr. Chad Wiesenauer, a pediatric surgeon. He was very kind, and explained things so well. He told us we would get scheduled as soon as we could for the exploratory surgery. He said there would be an OB-GYN, a urologist and gastroenterologist on call during the surgery to advise if needed after he found what the mass was attached to. He explained it was about the size of a baby doll and likely pretty heavy. He would do his very best to remove it with little complications and it would be sent off for testing.

My mother held it together until he left the room. The fear, anxiety, and sadness were palpable. I, however, was feeling none of that. In that moment, I felt the peace of God like I never had before. I should have been crying, I should have felt my heart racing. I should have been scared out of my mind. Instead, I felt a pressure on my shoulders as if someone was holding me. I looked at my mom and said, “It’s okay, mom. I feel peace.” Dr. Weisenauer reentered the room and told us he “magically had an opening” for the following Monday. It was the end of the day on a Friday, so this was the best outcome we could have hoped for. 

We returned home to wait. We went to church on Sunday like normal and many were shocked to see me as they had been following updates on social media. During the invitation time, my parents asked if they could take me to the altar with my sisters for prayer. As we knelt there together, the same peace I had felt in the doctor’s office enveloped me again. The tears were flowing, but not out of fear. I was so thankful to God for already showing up. My sister whispered to me, “Michaela, look. Look at all the people praying for you.” I looked up from the altar and saw no less than 200 people gathered behind me. I didn’t know what kind of plan God had for me through this time, but I knew I wasn’t doing it alone. 

Monday came and I was admitted to Kosair’s Children’s Hospital for the surgery. I was fully prayed over and we could feel it. I was put to sleep; the surgery was done and I woke up in recovery next to a nurse who was solely there to wait for me to open my eyes. I looked at my stomach and groggily said, “Ma’am, I have hip bones. I can see my feet.” She said, “That is correct, honey. You just lost 22 pounds.” I fell back asleep, sure it was a dream.

It wasn’t. To sum it all up, the report came back that I had a 22-pound ovarian cyst that had been growing over the course of two to three years. There was eight liters of black fluid contained in a sac that had grown its own blood vessels. The fluid was drained first and the sac was able to be brought out with a minimal cut in my belly button. They were able to save that right ovary in hopes that I could have my own children one day with no complications. The doctor also noted there was no way I would have survived if that cyst burst - like while playing volleyball, for instance. But God had other plans. 

I had minor complications following that surgery, but they have been resolved. The gravity of the situation hit me a few weeks after, and I came to realize just how good God had been to me. He orchestrated all the readily available appointments, the right doctors, the right nurses, and the right support people for my family. He protected me from the cyst bursting beforehand. He provided me with my best friend who prayed for me through it all. He also provided a report that the tumor was benign and non-cancerous, one of the greatest blessings. 

I was able to tell of His goodness every time someone recognized me as “that girl” they heard about. My high school newspaper reported on the story and I was able to share Who carried me through it all, as weird and crazy as it was. I can still share His ongoing goodness as I have been able to birth two of the most beautiful girls in the world when there were questions about fertility. I thank Him every time I stop to really look at my daughters and marvel in His faithfulness to provide as He knew the desire of my heart was to be a mama. He has been there through every step and every “that should have been worse.” He is faithful over and over again and He has provided in me the miracle to write this story out today.