Cheryl gave birth to a beautiful little angel on 
 December 17, 1999, after a pregnancy that 
 had presented quite a few problems. At birth, 
 Moriah weighed around 4 lbs, 8 oz. and it was 
 known immediately that there were problems. 
 Her color was almost black from lack of oxygen 
 (she had to be revived) and there were obvious 
 genetic problems. The next day she was diagnosed 
 with Trisomy 18, a genetic disorder. Most babies 
 do not even survive the pregnancy. After birth, 
 they do not usually thrive for very long at all. 
 Needless to say, Cheryl and Mike were told that 
 Moriah would die and that she would never survive 
 an operation, just take her home and let her go.
 
 A lot of very well-meaning people have 
 told her to just let Moriah go and the 
 doctors recommended counseling because 
 she just had "too much peace." Cheryl has 
 managed through the strength and faith 
 that God has given her, to continue to 
 take care of her home, and still visit 
 Moriah every night at the hospital to 
 bath her, sing and read the Bible to her, 
 and tuck her in before she drives the 45 
 minutes back home. She will tell you that 
 it is through God that she has managed to 
 do it all. His Word says He will not give 
 us more than we can bear, and through 
 depending on Him through every step, He 
 has been faithful to keep His promises.
 
 
 God's glory has been manifested mightily 
 in Moriah's life. As I have watched Cheryl and
 Mike hold on to His promises, I have seen 
 many miracles. The doctors have been amazed. 
 They were told that Moriah would not survive, 
 would never suck a pacifier, would not survive 
 any surgery, that she wouldn't live 6-8 weeks 
 and basically to let her die. Cheryl sat 
 before 11 doctors and said, I guess you 
 don't know what my God can do. All of the 
 things I have mentioned Moriah now has overcome.
 
  
 Her feet were diagnosed as Rocker Bottom, they 
 are now healed. Her aorta was twisted, it is 
 now healed. Her hands were clenched shut, now 
 she can open and close them. Also, through much 
 opposition Cheryl researched and found a doctor 
 that agreed to do open heart surgery on her to 
 close two holes in her heart. She is one of the 
 first Trisomy babies to have successful open heart 
 surgery and she will be published in Medical Books 
 worldwide, so I guess her story will be heard 
 around the world. 
 
 
 Cheryl has had promises from the Word that 
 have been spoken over Moriah, even while she 
 was pregnant, she didn't understand them at 
 the time but now sees that God has had this 
 little girl in His hands since creation and 
 as Cheryl and many other friends and family hold 
 this little angel before the Throne Of God, He 
 manifests His glory just as He told Martha and 
 Mary, If you would only believe, you would see 
 the glory of God. Cheryl has believed! We are 
 seeing changes in Moriah every day. The nurses 
 and doctors are amazed and people come from all 
 over the hospital to see her. She was even removed 
 from the support group for terminally ill children. 
 They said she was doing too good to stay in the 
 group. Praise God, I have never been so happy to 
 hear of a person getting kicked out of a group 
 before now.
 
 
 As Cheryl has been faithful in believing against 
 all odds, God has been faithful to her and Moriah. 
 This story has increased my faith and even when I 
 visit her, there is such peace. Please, all moms 
 and anyone else that reads this, Believe that HE 
 IS and Trust that HE WILL. 
 
 
 By the way, Moriah's name means, "God is My Teacher". 
 He has certainly taught us a lot through her little 
 life and what believing and trusting in Him can mean 
 in our own lives. God Bless You All!
 
 Your Sister In Christ, Julie