In her youth, Ali Spitsbergen learned to surf in Australia and joined a missionary group in Thailand, seeking spirituality. It was on the sunny beaches of San Diego where she met her future husband, a Christian worship leader, who paddled towards her on his surfboard and greeted her warmly.
Ali’s story took a turn when her doctor solemnly informed her that she would never have a living child. However, she remained grateful for the four miracles that occurred in her life.
Growing up in Chicago as a Catholic, Ali decided to explore all religions after graduating from college, wanting to understand why people believed what they believed. She embarked on what she called a “crazy” journey around the world but eventually felt the power of God at work during her time in Thailand, where she witnessed true miracles.
Returning to the United States, she left behind Chicago’s cold, dark skies for the sunny coast of San Diego, where she worked as a nurse and found a community of like-minded, non-denominational Christians. There, she met her now-husband Joshua, a music teacher at a religious school, and their children currently attend the same school.
However, their family photo album initially lacked pictures of children.
The couple married and attempted to conceive. After two miscarriages, doctors told Ali and Joshua they might never have children. Despite the grim prognosis, they refused to accept the prediction and put their faith in God.
“We simply believed the scripture that says, ‘Be fruitful and multiply,'” Ali said. “God will give us the desires of our hearts.”
Doctors warned Ali of the high risks of developing high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, but that didn’t deter them from trying. Astonishingly, the Spitsbergen couple now have four thriving children, despite Ali experiencing complications along the way.
The couple conceived again—this time with twins. However, one of the twins miscarried at 12 weeks, while their daughter Anna survived but stopped growing at 23 weeks.
“They told me I needed to abort because the baby was no longer growing and couldn’t survive,” Ali said, expressing her desire for a large family so her child would have siblings. “I walked outside, crying, and called my pastor to tell him the news.”
She told him, “I will not abort this child, that is murder. I will not murder my own child, I believe God will heal her.”
Ali had to carry Anna for as long as possible for her to have a chance at survival outside the womb. However, this came at a cost.
In the following seven weeks, Ali suffered from pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, feeling like she was living a “living dead” existence. She lost a significant amount of blood, her blood cell count plummeted rapidly, and doctors warned she was on the brink of having a seizure or a stroke.
“I felt like I was going to die,” she told the Epoch Times, saying she had entrusted her soul to God. Anna’s heartbeat had also stopped. But when the doctors were ready to give up, with no effect, her husband suddenly grasped her arm and said, “You will be okay.”
His words were filled with such immense confidence that they spurred Ali on to keep fighting.
“At that moment, things started to turn around,” she said.
In what Ali described as a scene of “miracle,” her in-laws walked in to witness the birth of their first granddaughter. Anna’s heartbeat suddenly appeared on the monitor again, as if God “commanded Anna’s soul back into her body.”
Certainly, the Spitsbergen family viewed this as something supernatural. However, the medical professionals involved had differing opinions. One doctor believed Anna to be a “true miracle baby,” while an anesthesiologist was reluctant to risk Ali’s life and bring her daughter into this world. Anna was delivered via cesarean section. Despite her minimal breathing and heart issues, she survived.
Anna is now a happy and healthy 13-year-old girl, who Ali described as a “champion” for enduring the struggle of extreme prematurity. Although she was “too tiny,” her future shines brightly, as she sings like an angel.
Anna was not meant to be an only child. The Spitsbergen couple refused to be deterred by Ali’s risks of high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, as they pursued their dream of having a large family. They were surrounded by voices of hope rather than doubt.
Interestingly, Ali said her second pregnancy was “perfect,” with no complications throughout the entire gestation period.
“I think God wanted to show off, like, ‘Hey, if you believe in me, I create miracles, look at this!'” she told the Epoch Times.
Ten-year-old Naomi was born naturally healthy, with a strong passion for sports and aspirations to work in the cosmetics industry one day.
However, the Spitsbergen couple’s journey did not end there.
They aimed for four children, despite the challenges they faced. They suffered another loss. After announcing their pregnancy to family and friends, Ali miscarried. At approximately 12 weeks, their unborn child’s heartbeat disappeared. “I had to deliver that dead baby at home,” she said, “It was one of the worst experiences my husband and I had gone through together.”
The Spitsbergen couple finally found closure not long after during a surfing trip in Australia. It was there that they conceived their first son, John Samuel—a perfect pregnancy once again. John, now 7, loves baseball.
Next came Jacob.
One day, as John began speaking, he pointed to his mother’s belly and said, “Baby.”
“I took a pregnancy test because I had at-home testing supplies,” Ali said, “It came back positive.” She informed her husband, “We’re having another boy.” They never asked the doctor for the gender, yet soon their second son entered the world.
Jacob, now 5, announced he wants to be a religious leader like his father. However, his parents won’t raise their children in the same way Ali was brought up regarding religion.
She believes religion should be “about doing rather than just being.”
“When I was in church before, I didn’t feel connected,” she said, “So we’re going to let our kids form a connection with God, to know there is a loving God who is for them, not against them who has plans to prosper them, who makes the impossible possible.”
This story originally titled “Doctors Told Her Get an Abortion, Kids Aren’t in the Cards, She Said No—Then This ‘Miracle’ Happened” was published on the Epoch Times website.