Prayers have been pouring in from across the globe for a Texas pastor’s wife and newborn daughter, who are both fighting for their lives.
Daniel Villarreal, pastor of Grace Avenue Church in San Antonio, Texas, has taken to social media to ask for prayer for his wife, Jannelle, who is suffering from HELLP Syndrome, a serious pregnancy complication involving high blood pressure, as well as the couple’s baby, Eden Raine, who was born premature at 31 weeks, KENS-TV reported.
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With Jannelle’s liver and kidneys initially failing and with Eden Raine arriving early, Villarreal has been asking for people to life his family up to the Lord.
And despite all the chaos his family is facing, Villarreal has clung to his belief that miracles are entirely possible.
Watch the pastor introduce his new baby below:
Villarreal said in a Facebook update published on Wednesday that he’s with his wife or baby “at all times” and catches a few hours of sleep when he can.
He also thanked the community for reaching out to ask how they can help, specifically showering praise upon congregants at Grace Avenue Church for helping with food, errands and hospital visits.
“Jannelle’s condition has been serious,” he wrote, explaining that he initially shielded his desperation and worry and, instead, published hopeful pleas for prayers. “I chose faith instead of fear. Hope instead of hopelessness.”
Villarreal said on Wednesday that his wife is recovering, despite noting that the situation was quite dire just a few days ago. He also shared a message that he previously wrote but chose not to publish until things started looking up — one that presented the harrowing struggles that his wife has been facing in recent days.
Here are just some of those details:
“In the last 7 days, she’s given birth, had or has preeclampsia, had or has HELLP Syndrome, potential TTP or ITP (or whatever diagnosis they may or may not land on), delivered a baby by c-section, dealt with the blood infection that took over body, had blood transfusions, multiple dialysis treatments, 4 plasma exchanges, kidneys and liver have shut down, maybe 75 needle sticks minimum during the first the first few days at another hospital) for drawn blood before the PICC Line was inserted, no food for a week, gasped for the smallest of breaths for hours upon arrival in the ICU, as I held her hand, and head and prayed over her while I tried to coach slow consistent breathing, in the hopes of avoiding intubation, due to 70% of her lungs being filled with fluid.”
This isn’t the first time the family has faced struggles, as the couple previously suffered a stillbirth at 21 weeks.
You can follow the family’s ongoing journey on Villarreal’s Facebook page here, and consider lifting them up in prayer.