At 39, Suzy Mack was overjoyed about her pregnancy. However, when she and her husband, Zachary, received a fatal diagnosis for their unborn son, they were devastated. Upon hearing the news, Suzy was in tears.
Little did she know, her testimony would one day save lives.
The problem was identified seventeen weeks into her pregnancy when her water broke, and she lost all of her amniotic fluid. A medical specialist examined her and discovered her baby was smaller than he should be.
The specialist told Suzy that most women with her condition go into labor within a few days.
“You have two options,” she recalled the doctor saying. “You can go home and wait for your baby to come, and say goodbye. Or we can schedule an appointment, and you can terminate the pregnancy.”
He added that abortion was the safer option because it was very likely that Suzy would get an infection if she chose to stay pregnant.
Upon hearing the news, Zachary fell to his knees. Suzy looked around the room, unable to process what was happening.
“We went into the parking lot, and we cried, and we cried, and we cried,” she said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
Afterward, in the car, Suzy gazed into the rearview mirror through her tears and turned to her faith: “God, please save my baby,” she pleaded.
The Macks spent the next few days in prayer at their home in Santa Barbara, California. Suzy fully expected she would go into labor quickly and lose her baby, just as the doctor had said. After two days, though, nothing happened.
She visited her obstetrician, Dr. Sussane Ramos, who discovered the baby had a strong heartbeat and Suzy had no sign of infection. Dr. Ramos acknowledged this was wonderful, but pointed out to Suzy that her pregnancy was still high-risk; if she wanted to keep going, she would require close monitoring.
With this in mind, Suzy decided to go on bed rest under the supervision of Dr. Ramos; hospitals declined her admission due to the baby’s pre-viability status.
During this time, the couple patiently waited for the baby to reach the age of viability: 23 weeks.
“We just prayed every single day, every single day, to make it to 23 weeks. Because we knew if we made it to 23 weeks, then finally, the rest of the world would consider him a real human,” Suzy said. “And we could actually get the help we needed.”
That help eventually came in the form of UCLA Hospital, where she was admitted after the baby reached viability. To the staff at UCLA, Suzy’s pregnancy was an extremely unique case. She was defying the odds, as most people in her situation opt for termination; a key reason for the scarcity of success stories following a premature rupture of membranes (PROM) diagnosis.
The Birth of a ‘Champion’
At 29 weeks, Suzy woke up in the middle of the night and “felt different.” Tests revealed everything was normal, but Suzy insisted she was in labor. Further investigation revealed that she was correct—she was 5 centimeters dilated.The following hours were a “whirlwind,” and the next time she woke, she was the mother of a baby boy. Ozzy had come out crying with his arms raised in the air as if he was already a “champion.”
The next step in Ozzy’s journey was the NICU.
After he was finally home, the Macks needed to give him oxygen with a special machine. After six months, he no longer needed the oxygen, again defying the doctors’ expectations—they'd predicted he would need it for years.
Today, Ozzy is 2 and doing great. The Macks were told he would be disabled but he is not. In fact, cognitively, he is three months ahead of other children his age.
“He’s already starting to read, and he’s not even 3,” said Suzy, now 41.
Physically, he is a bit smaller than others his age, but he is developing just fine.
The devoted parents adore Ozzy, whom they consider “a scientific miracle” and an essential part of their testimony of faith.
“It’s like it poured this whole bucket of just unending faith for us.”
Looking Back at the Journey
Suzy relied on her faith and her support network—including her parents and in-laws, who are religious Christians—to help her through. She also credits her obstetrician, Dr. Ramos, for being encouraging and willing to treat her when no one else would.Suzy still remembers that day when she looked into the rearview mirror of her car and asked God to save her baby. She now realizes that while she was pleading with God, she was also asking Him a deeper question—was He real?
Today, Suzy has no doubt about the answer. “I feel so secure in my faith now,” she said.
Even though Suzy is a busy professional working in recruitment, she shares her story on social media in her free time. She always makes sure to connect with and pray for pregnant women in difficult situations.
The proud mother remains grateful for her beloved son and the way her story is touching others. “God just has a way of doing things,” she said.
