Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Speaker 1

It's Sanctity of Life Month. Today we're sharing an amazing interview between Joni and her dear friend, highlighting the true sanctity of human life. Listen in and be blessed.

Speaker 2

And here in the studio is my friend, Rocio Chua. Good to have you with us, Rocio.

Speaker 3

Good to be here.

Speaker 2

And her husband Jonathan is the manager of our international outreach department here at Joni and Friends. They have two beautiful little boys: Josiah, age three, and Silas, who's almost a year old.

But for Rocio, starting this family wasn't easy. Pregnancy for you was something that caused you to become deathly, and I mean deathly ill. Not your average pregnancy, right, Rocio?

Speaker 3

No, definitely not your average pregnancy. I was very ill with hyperemis gravidarum.

Speaker 2

Now what is that exactly?

Speaker 3

That's a very debilitating, potentially life-threatening condition marked with severe nausea and vomiting that leads to malnutrition.

Dehydration could lead to serious complications for the mom and the baby.

Women are often left, they believe, with no choice but to terminate their pregnancy.

Speaker 2

Wow. So this is a condition that only occurs to women who are pregnant. How many women in the United States are diagnosed with this?

Speaker 3

About one in every 200.

Speaker 2

So it's rare.

Speaker 3

It is. And actually one in every three babies don't make it, usually due to abortion as well.

Speaker 2

My goodness. So many doctors probably aren't even aware of this condition or willing to treat it as it should be treated.

Speaker 3

They aren't. They're very hesitant to be aggressive, to give medication. And so women end up thinking their only way out is to have an abortion.

Speaker 2

So there you are pregnant, and I can picture you for literally nine months with your head in a toilet.

Speaker 3

Just about.

Speaker 2

But not just in a toilet. You had to be in the hospital. You had a PICC line, you had IV supplements. Nutrition. Dehydration was a struggle. What was your darkest day like?

Speaker 3

Oh, Johnny. I was beginning to justify, in my mind, women having these abortions that, you know, what else can they do? And when I started believing that, I was terrified because I, you know, I believe that babies are a gift and life is precious.

Speaker 2

And so when you're throwing up for the 23rd time in the day.

Speaker 3

Oh, I'm only 23rd.

Speaker 2

Oh, really? More than that.

Speaker 3

Yeah. Women could vomit up to 40 times a day even. And I was getting to that point where I was vomiting blood. So that's when we went to the hospital.

Speaker 2

What were the core convictions that really held you on? What kept you from leaning toward terminating this pregnancy and saying, I give up? I can't do this. This is just not for me.

Speaker 3

Just believing that God doesn't make mistakes, and that's really hard to believe when you think that this suffering is a mistake, that it shouldn't be this way and that you have an easy way out.

But knowing that God doesn't make mistakes and that he will work this for good and that life is precious, you know, baby made in the image of God and blessing.

Speaker 2

Well, Rocio, you're one of the few women who have come through hyperemias gravidarum. If I said it right, I think they also call it hg. No doubt you've had a chance to counsel other women with the same condition, Is that right?

Speaker 3

That's right. I'm part of a network of volunteer women who counsel, provide resources, go to women, go to doctors offices to advocate for these women. They're very vulnerable and they need that encouragement that there are other options.

Speaker 1

Listening friend, I know you've been blessed by this incredible testimony.

And if you're struggling with the crisis pregnancy or know someone who is, remember there are options other than abortion. I know this firsthand from my own crisis pregnancy 19 years ago, which is why I'm so passionate about Sanctity of Human Life Month.

So pray for babies, pray for women, and pray for families this month.

And go to johnnyradio.org for even more encouragement.