Family Memories: It’s a Boy!... or Not?
About 19 years ago, my wife and I traveled to Argentina to support a small congregation in its evangelistic efforts; at the time, she was pregnant with our second child. A few days into the trip, she began experiencing complications, and we rushed to the local hospital. After a brief “inspection,” she was dismissed.
We felt that some “real tests” were needed to ensure our baby was okay, so we headed to a larger hospital. There, we waited several hours while they performed an ultrasound and additional tests. They finally called us into a room where the doctor would meet us and share the results.
The doctor, a young man with a confident demeanor, entered the room, sat in his chair, and asked about the problem. I began to explain, and when he perceived that my explanation was crossing the line between a commoner and a physician, he stopped me on the spot, saying, “Wait! I am the doctor here!” I said, “Okay, I get it.”
He reviewed the test results and the ultrasound and said, “The baby is okay.” We were relieved. Then he asked, “Would you like to know the gender?” My wife and I looked at each other and said, “Please!” He looked at the ultrasound again and said, “It’s a boy!” He signed the hospital discharge papers and left.
My wife and I were pleased. We named the baby “Luke” and bought him a little suit (who knows? He could be a preacher like his dad). When we returned to the U.S., we announced the news of a baby boy.
My wife scheduled a follow-up ultrasound to make sure our little baby boy was doing well. At the time, the technician assured us the baby was doing well, except that… he was not a boy; it was a girl! My wife seemed to believe it, but I was skeptical…
“Are you really sure you’re not missing anything? He’s supposed to be a boy.”
“I’m sure.”
“Can you look further, you know… around that area?”
“That’s it… There’s nothing else. It’s a girl.”
We named the baby “Ella” and bought her a dress.
Obviously the young doctor was wrong, but I am happy he was, for Ella has been a beautiful gift from God to our family. As I write these lines, Ella has joined her life with Hayden Ferguson in marriage (cf. Genesis 2:24), and now we are happy to welcome another boy (son-in-law) into our family. We love you, guys!
Published in Christian Family 11.2 (2026): 3.
