Hi, my name is Gert Zyrowski. I am going to share my testimony about God’s strength, comfort and grace. The only reason I’m sharing my testimony is to give my Lord
Jesus Christ all the praise and glory for what He has done in my life.
I was brought up in a loving home that went to church every Sunday. My mother
had fifteen children, ten girls and five boys. I was the 5th oldest so you can imagine
how I had to help by taking care of the younger siblings. When I was 21 years old I
was married to a wonderful man named Danny. Since I was not eager to have children right away, we waited for about four years before we decided to have children. My first pregnancy seemed to go well until I had my six-month check-up. I went to the doctor and he could not find a heart beat of my baby. He immediately had me go to the hospital for an ultrasound. They had found that my baby had died. All the excitement of having my first baby had disappeared. The doctor wanted me to carry the baby until it aborted itself. So I took the doctor’s advice and waited day by day for it to happen. After two months carrying a dead baby, I was getting very depressed. Many times I wanted to take my life. You see I knew and believed there was a God and heard about Jesus but I did not have a personal relationship with him and I did not know how to reach out to him for help. I tried to do it all in my own strength and power. I finally went to the doctor and told him I could not handle it any more. In two days I was in the hospital and they induced labor. I was in labor for eight hours without any hope or joy. It was a horrible experience. It took me many weeks to overcome my heart ache and sadness.
About a year later I was pregnant with my second child. My son Eric James was born
October 7th 1981, weighed 8 lbs. 8 ounces. He is now 24 years old and married to a wonderful Christian wife, Alisa. Eric is a second lieutenant officer in the Airforce. I am so proud of all his accomplishments and I think he is the best son in all the world!!
When Eric was around 1 year old, Danny (my husband) and I were confronted with questions about what we believed in and eternal life. I was asked: if I died right now would I go to heaven? I said I was pretty sure I would because I was a good person.
The gentleman that confronted us gave us a Living Bible to read. I was real hungry to find the truth about everything I grew up believing. I wanted the peace, joy and assurance of knowing I would go to heaven. While reading the Bible, God started working on my heart and He showed me what I needed to change in my life. With God’s help and my husband’s we decided to go to an evangelical church. This was a very difficult decision for us to make. Shortly after attending the church, Danny and I walked up front to the altar and gave our hearts to Jesus. I sobbed with joy and I now had the assurance of eternal life.

JOHN 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

About a month after I was saved I was expecting my third child. I had a very healthy pregnancy and everything seemed to be going well. On November 18th 1983
I went into labor and I had a little girl Dana Marie. She only weighed 4 lbs. 11 ounces
even though I carried her for nine months. I knew that there was something wrong with my baby. The nurses immediately took my little girl out of the room. I was confused and frightened. I cried out to the Lord for help and to give me strength. That first night at the hospital, God gave me so much peace and I leaned on many of God’s promises.

2 CORINTHIANS 2:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Dana was having a hard time breathing during the night hours and she ended up
with pneumonia. The next morning I was told she was going to be transferred to a large
hospital that had a children’s critical unit. The hospital ran all kinds of tests on my little
girl. Before the test results came back, the doctor told us that they thought she
was probably a down syndrome baby. After some thought and prayer My husband
and I were excited about taking care of her even though we knew it would be a
tough road ahead. It took about two weeks before we got the results back. As
we sat around a large table with three doctors, some nurses, and my pastor and his wife we were going to finally find out what was medically wrong with Dana. The doctor proceeded to tell us that Dana had Trisomy 18 . She had an extra number 18 chromosome. Unlike down syndrome children who have an extra #21 chromosome. He told us that Dana would never be able to sit up or walk. She has brain damage and will have respiratory problems. Most trisomy 18 children die before they are born and if they are born 90% will die before one year. I remember my husband’s comment right after the doctor told us about Dana’s condition. He said, “The devil is going to try to defeat us but we won’t let him.” Thanks be to GOD!! I am so blessed to have a praying church, family and friends. It was amazing the comfort and strength my husband and I received during this time.

PHILIPPIANS 4:13 “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

At Christmas time, the doctors let Danny and I take Dana home from the hospital. She
only weighed a little over 5 lbs. We had to take CPR for children and we had to know
how to feed her with a tube. She also came home on a heart monitor. We were
very excited about bringing her home. The first week went real well. She was
drinking from a bottle and she gained a few ounces. The second week we had her home
she did not do well. She was not eating very much and she started to cry more. I had to start tube feeding by putting a tube down her nose. One night she kept crying and I rocked her and cried along with her. I prayed that if she was in any kind of pain please
give it to me so she would fall asleep. Early in the morning I called the doctor and
told her what was going on and she had me take her back to the hospital. They admitted
Dana and I knew that if God did not heal her she would never come home again.
About two weeks passed and on January 14th 1984 we received a call from the hospital
around 3:00 in the morning. The doctor told us to get to the hospital right away
because she stopped breathing twice and they revived her back again. Our neighbors took
care of Eric as Danny and I went to the hospital. I remember praying to God to
have her still be alive so I could tell her how much I loved her. When we walked
into the room the doctors just got her breathing again. My husband held Dana for awhile
and he gave her to me. She was looking up at me with tired eyes. I looked at my daughter and told her how much I loved her and how special she was. She looked at me as though she understood what I was telling her. With tears running down my face I told her that Jesus loves you so much and it’s time for you to go home with Him. She closed her eyes and died in my arms. She was completely healed now and had no more pain or sickness. My heart was full of sorrow but also filled with joy and peace.

ROMANS 5: 3-5 “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope
does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the
Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

When I look back, I can see the hand of God and how he was preparing Danny and I for something we would have to face that would be harder to go through. About a year later after Dana’s death I was pregnant with my fourth child. This pregnancy was also a healthy one and the doctor told me I was going to have a big baby. I decided to have this baby at the larger hospital just in case any problems would arise. On April 15th 1985 I went to the hospital to have my fourth child. I was taken into the delivery room and I pushed and pushed but the baby would not come out. The doctor checked to make sure the baby’s head was turned the right way. I looked at the doctor’s face and I could see a puzzled look. He told a doctor next to him that he couldn’t fine the soft spot on the head of my baby. My heart sank I was terrified to ask the doctor what was wrong. My whole inner being cried out to God for help. The doctor had my husband and a nurse interlock arms and push forward and down on me to help the baby come out. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the baby was delivered. Jeremy Daniel was born. My baby boy weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. I could barely see my son but from what I did see I knew his hands and feet were not normal. Before they took him out into the intensive care unit I asked if I could see my little boy. He was not a pretty sight but the love of my son poured all over me. With my husband by my side I cried for the protection of my little boy. It amazes me how the Lord gives you strength when you need it. The promises of God kept me strong through this painful time.

JOSHUA 1:5 “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
JOSHUA 1: 9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

While I was in the recovery room a doctor came over to Danny and I with a book in his hand. This hospital never delivered a baby like Jeremy before. Doctors looked up his condition in some medical books and discovered that Jeremy had Aperts syndrome. It is a very rare syndrome where the baby’s fingers and also the toes are fused together and the bones around his head are also fused together. That was the reason why Jeremy didn’t have a soft spot on his head. There were also many more physical problems with Jeremy. God gave me some real special children. Dana who had trisomy 18 (chromosome disorder) was 1 in 6,000 births. Jeremy, born with Aperts syndrome (genes disorder) was 1 in 100,000 births.
Because there was not any opening in the skull for the brain to grow, the specialist told Danny and I that Jeremy would have to have major surgery in the next two weeks. If he didn’t have surgery he would end up with brain damage because there was not any room for his brain to grow. When Jeremy was about 12 days old the hospital transferred him to the University of Michigan Children’s Hospital. A couple days later Jeremy had major surgery where they cut bone from one ear to the other ear. The doctors took out bone to make room for the brain to grow. My husband and I were told that the bones would gradually fuse back together. Jeremy would have to have at least two more operations like this one. He had around 60 stitches from one ear to another. His face was black & blue and swollen.
Jeremy came home and many days passed by. He was in the hospital quite often because of other physical problems. He had his second surgery on his head around 6 months old. The surgery went well but he ended up with staff infection. He was quarantined and came home in about two weeks. Jeremy loved to laugh and loved to eat. God blessed us with a content baby. He would play on the floor for hours. Because Jeremy was in and out of the hospital often he was a little behind physically but he was a very smart boy. I loved to watch Eric and Jeremy play together. Jeremy loved to play patty cake and peek-a-boo. It was so precious to watch him play peek-a-boo because he would put his webbed like hand over his ears instead of his eyes. He was such a joy and he touched many lives. I took him shopping often even though people would look at him and some would make comments. Our church, friends and family were so supportive and encouraging. The large wall that was between my family and I when I left the Catholic Church was now broken. My Dad came to me and asked me to forgive him for what he said when I left the church. I was so touched when he said he saw how much faith and trust I had in God. That was a special and glorious moment.
Jeremy was 17 months old when he went in the hospital for his last surgery on his head.
The doctors told us they were going to do some reconstructive surgery on his face during the surgery. They would take bone from his skull and build his forehead out. I will never forget as long as I live the look on Jeremy’s face when they took him through the operating door. He put his hands out for me as to say ‘please don’t leave me mom.’ I was so torn inside and the pain inside me was almost more than I could bear. About half way through the surgery the doctor came and told us that they were going to have to take two ribs from his side because they needed more bone. The surgery took about 10 hours because they ran into a few complications. We waited about two more hours before we could go see him. With his face swollen and black and blue and his head all bandaged up, Jeremy still broke out a big smile and started to play patty cake. I was so proud to be his mom. I fed him and Danny and I spent the evening with him. Danny and I were going to spend the night in the waiting room so we would be close to him. About 2:00 in the morning we decided to go see Jeremy. We rang for the nurse so she would let us in the main critical care doors. She paused and then proceeded to tell us the doctors were working on Jeremy and that we could go as far as the hallway next to his room. The doctors were putting Jeremy on a respirator. Apparently one of his lungs collapsed and he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. He went into a coma. The pain I felt inside was horrible. Again God gave me strength and peace that could only come from Him.

PSALM 18:2 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliver; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Our church loved my boy and they prayed for him continually. The church had so much unity at this time and many peopled were saved. I know that God used my special children for his glory. Praise be to God!! Danny and I stayed at the Ronald McDonald house in Ann Arbor next to the hospital so I could spend time with Jeremy every day. Some friends or family would bring Eric to visit us while we stayed there. Eric was such a trooper through all this time. Danny’s uncle was in the University of Michigan hospital also at that time. Danny talked to him and led him to the Lord. Many good things happened while we were there. Four hard and painful weeks passed and Jeremy was still in a coma. A meeting was set up with the neurologist and other doctors. Danny and I were taken to an x-ray room where Jeremy’s cat scans for the last four weeks were hanging up on a lighted wall. The neurologist proceeded to show the difference between a cat scan that was taken right after surgery to the one taken four weeks later. She told us that Jeremy has moth-eaten brain. The brain was completely dead on the outer layer and the inner layer was dying. One cannot function without the other. She also told us that Jeremy was going to be taken off the respirator that afternoon. My nervous body became limp knowing what I would have to face that day. We wanted our pastor and his wife to be with us at that time. Pastor Davis and Corrine helped us tremendously in everything we had gone through. When they arrived we sat in a room that I can remember so clearly. Danny and I held Jeremy as they disconnected him from the respirator. We held him closely as he struggled to breathe for almost 45 minutes. All that while we talked to him and told him how much we loved him and how we would miss his laughter and the joy he brought into our lives. We prayed for a long time that Jeremy would be healed but at that moment I knew he was going to have the ultimate healing. He was going to be with Jesus and would be running the Streets of Gold with his sister Dana and my first born.

ROMANS 8:28 “And we know that all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I know many that hear this testimony have gone through or will go through some very hard times. I also know that God is our strength and He will never leave us or forsake us. All of us are special in God’s eyes and he can use anybody if we are obedient and willing. I am so very thankful for his mercy and love.
I have had to face some difficult times since my Jeremy died. I have a disease in my large intestine and at the age of Thirty-nine I was very sick. I lost 23 pounds in three weeks and ended up in the University of Michigan Hospital. For two weeks I was only fed through a tube that was placed in my artery. If my bleeding colon would not heal they were going to remove it. I am happy to say I still have my large intestines and I am now very healthy with no problems.

ROMANS 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

I pray that all that hear my story have experienced the forgiving and saving grace of Jesus Christ.

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