(LifeSiteNews) — When expecting her sixth child in spring 2021, Sarah Wilhelm “couldn’t bring myself to buy even a car seat” due to the “devastating” possibility that the baby would die before or shortly after birth. Two-and-a-half years later, her son has not only defied the odds of survival but is “almost perfectly normal.”

Judah was diagnosed with prune belly syndrome at 20 weeks’ gestation, a rare condition that primarily affects males and causes “significant abnormalities of [the] urinary tract.” His parents knew along with the diagnosis that he only had a 50% chance of living more than a few weeks after birth.

Today, as Judah continues to live his miraculous life, he also persistently faces the possibility of declining health and premature death. But his family chooses to cherish every moment with him rather than fear the worst, as his mother described him as being “the joy in every day.”

Choosing life amid ‘fear of the unknown’

Wilhelm told LifeSiteNews via email that roughly halfway through the pregnancy “it was found via ultrasound that he had some significant abnormalities of his urinary tract. His bladder was excessively large. His ureters were “dilated and tortuous.” His abdomen was the size of a full-term infant’s. It was difficult to tell if he had any abdominal muscles.”

Because Wilhelm was expecting Judah “during the height of COVID and no visitors were allowed at the hospital, we knew there was a very high probability that the older children would never meet their little brother.” Judah’s parents also explained the “terrifying” possibility “of having this child just long enough to fall in love with him and have him leave a giant hole in our lives.” If children with prune belly syndrome survive birth, up to 75% of them “don’t live to see their second birthday.”

However, while the condition was suspected, there were still two other potential diagnoses — one that would be fixed with a simple surgery and another with an even lower survival rate. Prior to his birth, there “wasn’t much that was known as a fact,” and the Wilhelm family “did our best to stay positive and not worry.”

“We prayed the Rosary every day, asking for healing of sweet baby Judah,” Wilhelm said. “I had suffered two miscarriages in a row prior to Judah, and it was really hard on the younger kids to think we might lose this baby, too. They all found ways to offer up little sacrifices for his healing, and it was beautiful to watch them have such pure faith.”

The window to decide whether to abort was only three days long as Sarah was receiving care in the state of Maryland. She told LifeSiteNews that “termination was offered as soon as the doctor explained his issues,” which she “immediately declined.” She added that the option to abort was only mentioned twice as the window to decide ended after three days, describing it as “a blessing to not have this continually brought up at appointments.”

“The decision to choose life was both easy and difficult. I had always believed that it was not our place to choose when a person was to die. If God’s plan for Judah was to never see this earth, or only see it for a short time, it was for Him to decide, not us.”

However, Wilhelm also shared that “Satan took an opportunity to create fear and doubt in my life. For one brief moment, I thought of how this was going to impact our other children. Due to COVID restrictions, I realized that I could tell my family that Judah had died, and no one would know any different. Even my husband wouldn’t know. It would save them all from the far greater heartache of meeting and loving this child and then losing him.”

She told LifeSiteNews that having these thoughts “shocked” her as she had “always prayed I would have the courage to give my life for my unborn child, if necessary.” But the fear was countered by the possibility of a miracle, either through healing or a less serious condition.

“What if God chooses to heal him? What if, despite all the struggles and medical complexities, this kid goes out there and changes the world in a way no one else can?”

Despite the fear, Wilhelm did choose life for her child, who has defied the odds beyond all expectations.

 An ‘almost perfectly normal’ child

Nearly three years after making the decision to embrace life with whatever difficulties that may bring, baby Judah has “changed our world.”

“The kids still fight over whose turn it is to get him up in the morning. They fight over helping him with things, following him around the playground, and teaching him new things,” his mother related. “Our 13-year-old recently commented, ‘Mom, if we didn’t have Judah, what would we have as our wallpaper or lock screen on our devices?!’”

Wilhelm shared that although “the fear of losing him” occasionally “creeps in,” she “can say without a doubt that every bit of that heartache would be worth the time with him.”

Throughout pregnancy, “Judah’s prognosis actually seemed to decline,” to the point where doctors “didn’t expect him to breathe on his own.” However, the hospital team planned various details ahead of the scheduled induction to give the baby the best chance. As it turned out, because Wilhelm had “too much” amniotic fluid rather than the low levels typically associated with prune belly syndrome, “Judah’s lungs were able to develop perfectly normally [and] he never needed intervention.”

His mother commented that, even with “the incredible advancements in modern medicine, doctors are humans, and they can be wrong, especially in utero. It’s so heartbreaking to think how many children have been aborted because of inaccurate information, or just fear of the unknown.”

“We know that a large number of pregnancies with perceived prune belly syndrome are aborted. How many of those children would have been just as perfect and virtually normal as Judah?”

“It’s been nothing like the doctors told us to expect,” Wilhelm continued. “He has had two surgeries, one to reconstruct his abdominal muscles and urinary tract; the other to clear scar tissue that formed a blockage after the first surgery. In every other way, life with Judah is no different than life with any other ‘normal’ two-year-old.”

At 2 1/2, “he is doing absolutely amazing. Despite all that we were told during the pregnancy, he is almost perfectly normal. He has hit every milestone in the normal range. He recently broke his arm, and that was the moment that it hit me just how beautiful normal is.”

“He can run and play and act just like any other two-year-old boy, broken bones and all. The most common comment I hear, besides how cute he is with those curls, is how you’d never guess there was anything wrong with him. You really wouldn’t. He looks and acts like all of his peers.”

‘Never doubt God’s wisdom’

As a mother who has faced a parent’s biggest fear of losing a child, Wilhelm also shared words of encouragement for others facing similar situations and wrestling with the temptation to abort.

“Never doubt God’s wisdom,” she said. “He knows what you need and will help you handle the challenges that lie ahead. This child is nothing short of a perfect miracle in our lives.”

“While I won’t lie and say life with him hasn’t had its challenges, they have all been more than worth it. If there was one word I could use to sum up life with Judah, it would be joy. He brings us such joy every single day. He is truly the favorite of everyone in the family. We all know we shouldn’t have a favorite child or sibling, but we can’t help but adore this child … Homeschooling the older children allows him to almost always have someone to read to him or build a tower, take him for a walk or to play outside — and no one seems to be able to tell him no.”

“The things that have helped me the most have been Adoration and finding others going through similar things,” she said when asked what advice she would give to parents struggling with their child’s illness. “Sometimes it is just making it through a day, or even an hour, at a time. Find support — friends, family, online forums — to help you keep your head.”

She added that praying and asking others to pray “helped so much,” noting that “God can handle all of your feelings; give Him your anger and frustration, tell Him you are overwhelmed, beg Him for a miracle.”

Wilhelm emphasized that even though they “didn’t get the ‘big, perfect’ miracle” of “complete healing, we got so many little ones.” She added that her family “cannot deny that God has blessed us all tremendously.”

Baby Judah’s miraculous journey can be followed on the family’s blog, which can be found here.