The Count Continues

By Roma Amor M. Jamon

She hadnt had nose holes within her skull at birth, but they miraculously appeared in a matter of two days. She
had had two holes in her heart one was healed and the other was reduced from 0.4 cm to 0.2 cm. She had
been born with underdeveloped lungs, which eventually formed and worked properly. Diagnosed with Edwards
Syndrome, the medical team thought she would die shortly after birth, but she lived for days and weeks and
even months. This premature baby had been on ventilator support three times with prolonged exposure to
oxygen which would have caused severe brain damage, but her brain activity was classified as normal. She had
three blood transfusions something even adults find painful, and survived an overdose of ten times the dosage
of heart medicines that could have led to cardiac arrest and instant death. All this would have been too much
for a human her age, but she defied the odds as people who knew her would so often say. Shiloh Jubilee
Curtis was born at 29 weeks and 5 days (a full-term baby is born at around 39 or 40 weeks), lived a full life as her
journey unto wholeness inspired many. Very young as she was, she heard more worship songs, more bible
verses, more prayers and more preaching than an average teenager probably even more than some of us.
Three days before she would have turned four months, she died.
Many who knew her story thought on the onset that it was a tragedy. Just when everything seemed perfect, death
suddenly came. To Jon and Anna Curtis, parents of Shiloh, it is nothing like it. Painful as it is to lose her, they know
they did the best thing for Shiloh they gave her every chance for life. And what it would have taken great
Christian movements years to accomplish, the power of their testimony achieved in about four months.
Jon and Anna are foreign Christian ministers in the Philippines. They got married in June 2013 and Shiloh Jubilee,
whose name meant to whom belongs joy and celebration, was their first born. Everybody would feel the
couples anticipation of her coming even through their Facebook posts. I look forward to every night as we lay in
bed and lay hands on Annas stomach and pray, quoted from Jons Facebook status on December 16, 2013. He
and Ana would talk to Shiloh in the womb and Shiloh would respond to their voices with pushes and kicks.
They had known that this journey with Shiloh would not be easy when she was diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome
even before birth. They knew the odds, they were given options either to continue with the pregnancy, which
meant caring for Shiloh at a very high cost with limited medical resources available in the country, or to
discontinue with it. Chances were slim, yet they chose life. On December 27, 2013, Shiloh was born premature,
unable to breathe on her own, very susceptible to infection, with her brain haemorrhaging and her heart having
two holes; not to mention she had low set of ears, bilateral clenched fists and clubbed feet. Even after birth, the
medical team would give options on the grim outlook. Jon would always say, In the natural, we acknowledge the
reports of the medical team, but we stand on the report of the Lord, followed by Scripture verses, one different
from another every day.
Jon gained many followers as he would post daily updates on Shiloh. Every single day, Jon would tell of how Shiloh
was and hundreds would like it and would leave comments on the thread within minutes. Some days brought
great news, while some were too much to bear; yet any kind of news didnt seem to have any difference as Jon
would always say things with the same amount of faith in Gods goodness.
Heres one of those many moments. After nearly three months of staying in the hospital, Shiloh could finally come
home with them.
March 22 via Jons Facebook page: Shiloh is HOME!!! She was so excited that she fell asleep. God is good!
March 23 via Jons Facebook page: Shiloh Update 3/23: We were discharged on Saturday afternoon. Shiloh,
however, must have missed the hospital, because she stopped breathing, dislodged her feeding tube, & became
lifeless twice within a few hours. I loaded her, Anna, & our nurse into the car & rushed back to the hospital later
that evening. We are checked back in & under observation. Our cardiologist will check her over Monday. She is
stable though her O2 saturation has been inconsistent. We are thankful for our nurse that assisted in the removal
of phlegm & got her breathing again. As parents it is a scary thing to witness your daughter turn blue to black &
become lifeless. We are physically, emotionally, & mentally exhausted from the events of last week. God continues
to provide strength to continue on in this journey. His grace is truly sufficient in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
We continue to speak life & wholeness over Shiloh. She is a fighter! God's plans for her are glorious! God is faithful.
God is good! with Anna Galpo-Curtis.
This kind of thing was just one among many. There are a lot more stories like it in Jons daily updates of Shiloh.
She was in and out of the hospital from time to time. Yet the journey went on that in itself made it phenomenal.
Some may call it positive thinking. Jon and Anna call it faith and worship.
Social Media is not the only witness to this unwavering faith. The room where Shiloh was cared for, the doctor
who took on the challenge to proceed, the nurses who attended to her needs, the babies who went through
similar challenges and the parents of those children can attest to it. Jon and Anna would visit Shiloh every day,
sing songs of worship with her (to which Shiloh would sometimes respond by smiling and lifting her hands up), lay
hands on her, pray and speak life over her. Shiloh was not the only beneficiary; they would even pray for Shilohs
roommates and minister to their parents.
An even more interesting thing is that in the midst of what seemed to be a very heavy cross to bear, Jon never quit
or even lay low in the ministry. He still made time to be present and sometimes speak in worship gatherings,
minister to people who were discouraged, and even went to Tacloban in March to reach out and share the love of
Jesus.
On February 21 in an interview by Pamela Haddix, author of the bible study book Worship and the Word, Jon was
asked what compelled them to do these things. Jon replied, Honestly, we were compelled to worship because we
know that all we need is found in His presence. We are both well versed in the Word, so the Holy Spirit brought to
recollection the stories of Joshua and Paul & Silas in their worship experiences. We needed peace and wisdom for
our hearts. And we needed healing and wholeness restored for our daughter. So we worshiped. We invited His
presence to move and invade our situation. True enough, whenever they would pray and make faith declarations,
breakthroughs happen to the point of Shiloh making it to more than a hundred days and even making it home,
when Science said she could have lived only a few day.
In the series of highs and lows regarding Shilohs medical condition as reported by Jon in his daily updates, people
might have been used to them and had believed that with every bad report would follow a good one. That was
why Jons post in the morning of April 22 came as a shock to many if not all of his followers. Just when they
were expecting to be able to bring Shiloh back home yet again after she had been confined for days, their relatives
happily awaiting her comeback, Jon breaks the news: It is with a heavy heart that I share with the faithful that
have battled with us that Princess Shiloh Jubilee had an apnea episode at 6:00am today and our doctors could not
revive her. She received her complete healing at 7:45am as she crossed over into Glory with Jesus. She was just five
days shy of her 4th month birthday. Princess Shiloh has touched so many lives with her journey. Thank you to
everyone for your prayers, love, generosity through this journey. God is faithful! God is good!
A memorial service was held on April 23 in the Alabang New Life Center to celebrate Shilohs life. In a statement
made by Jon, he said the following:
For 117 days, Shiloh Jubilee fought and found victory each and every day. She found the ultimate victory when she
stepped into Glory with our Lord Jesus Christ yesterday. Our daughter whose time was very short on this earth
impacted thousands upon thousands around the world with her journey. Through her life several were saved,
several received their own healing, faith was renewed, hope restored, and hearts transformed because of her story.
She didnt have time to store earthly treasures where moth and rust destroy. However, she did enter heaven rich
with the legacy she left behind.
We knew before Shiloh Jubilee was born that this journey wouldnt be easy, but we were assured by our Father
and His Word that it wouldnt be one walked alone, He would be alongside us the whole way.
Many have said that our faith and strength throughout has been inspiring, encouraging, and life giving. Its
humbling to hear that. All glory is Gods. Our faith and strength come from Him. Perhaps, it is our stubbornness
that helped us, because we refused to accept a report contrary to what we believed. If God is for us, who can be
against us? Even when the voices of our medical team and what we saw in the natural were so loud, the still small
voice within was louder, speaking Shalom peace over our hearts. When it seemed so heavy to carry, He carried it.
When the rains and storms came, He provided the umbrella to protect us. We fought the fight of faith and won. It
was a win-win. Shiloh received her healing.
Anna Curtis said the following in her Facebook status on April 24:
Many ask us, What can we do for you? When you remember Shiloh, remember that Faith Makes All Things
Possible. She lived a life where impossibilities became possibilities. Her life had Gods signature signed all over it.
God came through for our little Princess every step of the way, so will He for you. Though you walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, fear not for He is with you.
When you remember Jubilee, remember that every day is a day to celebrate God, your family, friends and life
itself. His mercies are new and fresh every single day.
Miracles still happen. God is real. He is Life. He is Healer. He is Provider. He is Comforter. He is Joy. He is Peace. He
calms the storm. Whatever we need Him to be He is I AM. Allow Him to take you where your faith is without
borders its a pretty scary thing because its a place of total surrender allowing Him to take control. Reach out to
those around you itll keep you stable.
This is not the end. Gods work continues. We were stretched beyond our abilities but we are stronger and bigger
on the inside, with a renewed appreciation and passion for life.
Shiloh Jubilee Curtis. Born: December27, 2013 ~ Died: April 22, 2013. Lived: 117 days. Lives touched by her story:
maybe a hundred. Or a thousand. And the count continues.