Five-year-old Jessica Lambert was born with an umbilical cord defect. She had the first of many seizures when she was only eight days old. Three years later, when doctors told her parents she was born with a hole in her heart and a heart condition which causes her heart to race up to 300 beats per minute, her family had no idea what they would face the next few years of her life.
But through it all, the Lamberts’ deep-rooted faith in Jesus Christ and the support of the church family at First Baptist Church, Pelham, have kept them going strong.
Before realizing that she was pregnant, Tracy Lambert had a dream her daughter, Jessica, was ministering to people in a large facility. At that time, she had only one daughter named Courtney. When she found out that she was pregnant with a girl, she knew that she should name her Jessica.
“I know God let me have that dream to give me peace about the fact that she was going to be OK,” Tracy Lambert said. “I really thought she was dying at birth. She is a miracle.”
Over the years, Jessica has endured genetic tests and countless EKGs and EEGs to give doctors more insight into her condition as well as to make sure her brain wasn’t being damaged by the constant seizures, which sometimes occurred several times per day. “There is nothing worse than taking your child to the ER and the doctors pulling out a crash cart,” Tracy Lambert said.
A few months ago, Jessica had surgery to fix her heart condition, and throughout the entire process her family could see God’s hand strengthening and providing for them. When doctors told Jessica’s parents she could take one thing into the operating room with her, her mother spent the next three weeks making a quilt called “Covered in Prayer” so Jessica would have a part of her mother with her during the dangerous procedure.
After completing the quilt, the Lamberts took it to the church and asked the congregation to write well-wishes to Jessica on it. Before long, the entire quilt was covered with Bible verses and prayers from people within the church. The Lamberts were also given personal letters from their Sunday School class and an encouragement video from the church.
“I don’t know how we would have gotten through it without them,” Tracy Lambert said. “When you are a part of a body of believers like that, it lifts you up and pours you through hard times when you don’t think you can get through them alone.”
“God has showered us with blessings,” Tracy Lambert said. “It has been a neat experience. It has been hard, but it’s been worth it. It has opened so many doors for us. We can talk to other parents and minister to them.”
Before her surgery, Jessica was taking heart medicine twice a day. Thankfully, since the surgery, she has discontinued the medication and hasn’t had a seizure since the week before her surgery. “We really hope God is just taking that away from her, and we are continuing to pray this hole will close up on its own,” Tracy Lambert said. She said Jessica’s life and experiences have provided them with countless ministry opportunities.
“We are starting a Web site for her and we hope that it will be a place for other parents of children with heart conditions and other physical conditions to go and share and find comfort,” she said. “Maybe we can start making miniature quilts like the one I made for Jessica for other children who are going through surgeries so they can have something to take with them into surgery.”
Tracy Lambert also looks forward to the ministry that Jessica will have as she gets older. “We are seeing God knitting together the foundation of her life,” she said. “What an incredible ministry she is going to have.”
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