Dylon Rambharose
In the words of my amazing mother:
The word “positive” brought joy to our hearts. My husband and I had just found out that we were expecting our second child. I decided to continue to work until the end of the holiday season since the baby was not due until February 14, 1993. I went to the doctor on December 22, 1992 and he said enjoy the holidays and I’ll see you in two weeks. The next day I got up and went into premature labor. A friend took me to the hospital and the prognosis was not a good one. I was told that the baby was extremely underdeveloped- the lungs were immature; the brain was not fully developed; there were many problems with the heart and liver too. They began to give me medication to slow the contractions, but to no avail. After two hours of uncertainty, and a host of medical professionals in and out of the room, they told me that they were unable to prevent the contractions, and that the baby was breached and this posed further risks to him. I was briefed about the extent of the complications of the baby, the delivery, and what to expect.
On Thursday December 23, 1992 at 2:23 pm, Dylon Rambharose entered this world. He was the tiniest baby I had ever seen, not a healthy pink color, but rather a grayish color, and due to his lungs being so underdeveloped, there was no sound coming out of his mouth. I knew that these were not positive signs. He was quickly whisked away to an incubator and I was left with the most empty, hopeless feeling that is inexplicable. It was as though I had just brought life into the world, but death seemed to follow close behind.
Dylon was transferred later that day to Maimonides Hospital, to their Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, since the one at Lutheran was unable to provide the level of care that he needed. On Friday morning I froze in fear as I saw two doctors walking towards me with a paper in their hand. I thought he had died. However, he had to have a surgical procedure performed since a tube had broken inside of him- not even eighteen hours into this world and he would have to have surgery? On that same night, in the middle of our first snow storm, with temperatures in the low teens, I checked myself out against doctor’s orders.
When I got to the NICU, what I saw that night was the most frightening thing a mother can see. Dylon, no bigger than a two-liter bottle, was strapped down, a tube hanging out from his belly button, an IV in his hand, a tube inserted into his mouth, his eyes covered with a blindfold, under a strong UV light. His liver was failing , and in addition to the other problems, he had developed a severe case of jaundice. He was crying, but no sound came out, and I lost it. I felt that God was very unfair. How could He do this? After all, was there not some other unsaved person He could torture?
During the next couple of days things began to deteriorate. His lungs were not responding to the regimen of medicine, so he stayed on the medication longer than expected. He was fed through a tube in his nose, since he had a breathing tube in his mouth. We then got the news that he had a hole in his heart and that they would try to close it up with medication. After the initial bout of jaundice, his liver began to malfunction again, and he was given blood transfusions. Dylon’s stay in the ICU was filled with pain and uncertainty… They had inserted so many tubes in his tiny veins that they began to give him the IV through veins in his head. There were many days that I would leave to go home and shower and would then get a call to come back, since he did not look so good. One day they told us that he had improved and we can try to feed him with a bottle. My mother and I sat and began to feed him. Suddenly, he began to turn that grayish-blue color and we yelled for the nurse. I watched my child’s heartbeat get lower and lower and I could do nothing to save him. He was again intubated and placed back in the respirator.
Dylon stayed 56 days in the NICU and on the day we were bringing him home, I was excited and happy. I did not care if he was attached to monitors, since he was diagnosed with ‘sleep apnea’ and ‘bra cardia’, I was called one more time into the doctor’s office. Sit down we were told. The final MRI on the brain showed that there was a dark area. “What did that mean?” I asked. Well, it could mean a lot of things, he said. It shows that that area has not developed and he may never walk, talk and he may be very delayed in all areas, he may be confined to a wheel-chair. The doctor must have seen my face, he told me, if you believe in God, pray, because anything could happen. Here I was, faced with a situation that was hopeless, with so many possible negative outcomes, and I was being witnessed to by a Hindu doctor! The Lord can send anyone to remind us of His power. We took Dylon with joy, yet with a certain amount of trepidation, for we did not know what to expect.
During the first months of his life we had our uncertainties with him. At eight months, I took him to the doctor and they told me he had ‘strabismus’ a turning of the eye, which originates with the malfunction of the brain. He got his eyes tested and began to wear glasses. At ten months, I took him to the cardiologist and they said that the hole in his heart was not fully closed up and they needed to perform surgery, since the heart was being overstressed. I shared this news with our church and our Pastor encouraged the members to fast and pray for this situation. This was on a Sunday. Dylon was taken the next day for the tests and the hole was still there. We continued to pray. On the Thursday, the day before the scheduled surgery, he went in for his pre-op tests. I was told to wait outside while the cardiologists checked him. I began to notice a flurry of doctors going in and out of the room with a look of confusion in their faces. What could possibly go wrong now?! Finally, the doctor came out. “Mrs. Rambharose, I am unable to find the hole in Dylon’s heart, I even got the pediatric cardiologist to verify, and we cannot find it. You can take him home, there will be no surgery”. I looked at their confused faces, but I fully understood what had happened. Our prayers and fasting worked, Dylon’s hole had completely closed up, and it was because of God’s grace towards this child.
Dylon had great difficulty standing and walking, however he was a speed creeper and he managed to get into all the trouble all little ones get into. Yet, at seventeen months, he still had not taken his first independent steps. I was told that he had cerebral palsy, and that could delay him, and that there was a great possibility that he may never walk. Every week, rain or snow, four days a week, Dylon and I would take the B63 bus to Lutheran for physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I refused to have my child who beat the odds and survived, be placed in a wheel-chair. It was time to get serious with God so I began to challenge God, “If you’re real, make him walk!, If you’re real make him talk clearly! If you’re real do something!” Dylon took his first independent steps at eighteen months on right foot that was twisted in and a heel that did not reach the ground. His therapists were amazed! I was convinced that my God is real, His healing power is real, and that He hears the cries of His children. At age 2, Dylon had an Achilles heel release to lengthen his tendons. At age 7, he had a more intense surgery that required some muscles to be switched around. Prior to this surgery, we were told that X-rays showed that some bones were out of position and would need to be broken and re-set during surgery. However, once again, when they went in, the bones were set in their right positions, and God spared Dylon the pain once again. At five, he had his first surgery to correct his vision, and another at seven and a half. At age nine, the pediatric ophthalmologist told me that he had “Retinal Degeneration” and he would be blind by fifteen, as this was a degenerative disease. After much prayer, we took him to various specialists and again, the final report was that his eyes were fine. These are just a few of the bigger miracles that have surrounded this child’s entrance, and existence in the world.
At a very young age, in his burbled and unclear speech, Dylon would praise the Lord, sing praises, pray for himself and others, and preach God’s word. He was, and still is, an encouragement to our family and others around him. He was determined to survive and I always tell him that he fought for his spot on earth and to never let the devil take it away from him.
Today Dylon stands before you a strapping, handsome, talented young man; a young man whose life has touched the heart of the Creator. A young man who was going to be retarded- now has an above average IQ and a college degree. A young man who would be dumb- now sings for the glory of God; a young man who was going to be in a wheelchair- now walking and sharing tracts for God’s kingdom; a young man whose hands were to be shriveled and useless- now uses those hands to play the piano; a young man who was to be blind at 15- now uses those eyes to read God’s word; a young man whose future was so dim- now is married and has a child of his own!
I am convinced that as my Jesus took those 39 stripes, He had Dylon on His mind; as the blood and water flowed, He had Dylon on His mind- for He knew him before he was formed. What is more amazing is that the same healing power that was provided to Dylon, is also there for you to tap into. All you have to do is believe. God can do anything, even if it seems hopeless in our eyes. There is healing and power in the blood of Jesus, and if ever you doubt it, just remember Dylon, for he reminds us of God’s power every day.
Fazeeda Rambharose
Dylon Rambharose 