Shiela Marie Mariano Sarmiento
Alumni Focus
December 17, 2020
Just when everything seems fine and we least expect it, sometimes life takes us into deep hurdles where despite the pain we experience we gain a more profound understanding of life.
Shiela Marie Mariano-Sarmiento's story was shared on the 柠檬导航 Alumni Focus in April 2019. She earned her degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Marketing Management in 2012 at 柠檬导航. She previously shared her life as a working student back then juggling her time as a Service Crew in Jollibee and as a student. Her hard work and determination to finish her studies drove her to her current career at present as an Assistant Restaurant Manager at Jollibee under the Nicdao-Dela Fuente Group of Jollibee Stores.
It was in June 2019 when she learned that she's been blessed with the pregnancy of her second child. Until the turn of the tides came to her life in November of the same year when she suffered severe headache and was totally unconscious upon reaching the hospital. They had to look and wait for available doctors to revive her and true enough, with enough prayers she was fortunately revived. She was later diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation (AVM) or an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation in the brain.
Being in critical care, the attending physician informed her husband William to make the hardest decision of choosing to save a life between hers or her then 5-month old baby, to which he surrendered everything under God's care in faith.
"During the time I was in the ICU, I kept praying in my unconsciousness and I wanted to talk to God to thank Him for everything He allowed in my life despite everything I went through. However, I realized it wasn't even me who spoke those words, it wasn't me who thought of saying those things. It was God. He spoke through me, He was with me and He guided me all along." She shares.
With a 5-month old baby in her stomach, Shiela remained in the ICU until she underwent a brain surgery after hours. Prayers and support on social media spread like wildfire for her full and fast recovery all throughout the same month. She woke up conscious a day later but shares that she does not recall any second of that moment until February 2020. God indeed works in mysterious ways, as she gave birth to her daughter Juana Mirielle on March 10, 2020 via C-Section (Cesarean Section) without any complication, which is why she considers her a miracle baby.
"What I've been through was difficult and terrible, but I do not remember any pain or any instance of it. I am reminded of the 'Footprints on the Sand' poem where during the time it was mostly difficult for me, it wasn't I who faced the battle but it was God all along. He carried me and fought for me. This experience reminds me of Psalm 23 where the Bible says 'The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.'" Shiela said.
By God's grace, Shiela has now fully recovered from her illness with her healthy newborn by her side. She sees to it that she is able to share her life experiences with people who are struggling and encourage them to keep the life of faith regardless of their situation. "No matter what you are going through right now, whether cancer or any form of an impossible situation, believe that when God brings you to it, He will get you through it. We may never fully comprehend the deepness of God's love but we just need to have the faith and keep believing on this love. In times of trouble, I always say I am strong when I am weak because God is always there for me."