Waters of Life

Community members of St. John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville took Robbie and Crystal White by the hand in their time of need.

And the Whites have not let go as their family entered the Catholic Church at St. John at the Easter Vigil Mass on April 8.

The Whites, who entered as baptized candidates, have two children, Aubrey, 9, who has autism; and Amelia, 2.

After Aubrey’s birth, the Whites had difficulty conceiving another child but in the middle of the pandemic Crystal became pregnant.

“We pretty much had complications with the pregnancy from the beginning,” said Crystal.

When she was 35 weeks pregnant, Crystal was advised by her doctor to deliver Amelia.

“We delivered expecting Amelia to be healthy and fine,” said Crystal.

When Amelia was born at Baton Rouge General Hospital in Baton Rouge, she weighed four pounds, 11 ounces. The medical staff immediately took her to the neonatal intensive care unit and she was having difficulty breathing and had suspected liver issues.

Doctors ordered a dye test to see if her liver was secreting bile, which carries toxins and waste products out of the body. The dye tests showed it was not.

Amelia was transported to Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge for a rare surgery in which dye would again be put in her body and doctors would “open her up” to see if her body was secreting bile. If not, a liver bypass would have to be done and she would have to have a liver transplant.

After the doctors performed the surgery, they told the Whites “her liver is functioning but we don’t know what’s going on with her.”

“They ruled out the most serious (possibility) but now they had to figure out what was happening, because she was continuing to get sick,” said Crystal.

Amelia’s body eventually healed and doctors determined she had Gilbert’s syndrome, which is considered harmless and which she would outgrow.

Interplaying with this medically distressing medical situation was God’s call to come into the Catholic Church.

While Amelia was in NICU, Katie Bamber, a nurse case manager in the Baton Rouge area, asked the Whites if they would like Father Jerry Martin, the pastor of St. John the Evangelist where she attends, to give Amelia an emergency baptism before she was transported to Woman’s Hospital.

As Amelia was undergoing surgery, Mass was celebrated with a special intention for the White family.

“We watched it (online) from the hospital cafeteria while we were waiting to hear about the results of her surgery,” said White.

Additionally, Karen Vidrine, who makes rosaries together with her aunt, Ione LeBlanc, 90, of Sorrento, asked if the Whites would like for Amelia to have a rosary.

“We said absolutely we would love for Amelia to have a rosary. We’d love to put it on her bassinet as she’s transported and moved from one place to another. She went into surgery with it and she came back with it. And now it is on her bed at home.”

Crystal said, “When Amelia was baptized, we said we wanted to be of the same faith, and we wanted our children to become Catholic.”

The couple’s decision was solidified by the support and comfort given by the St. John community in their vulnerable time.

In a moving night of celebration of family and friends March 10,  Father Martin blessed the White’s marriage. Additionally, Aubrey was baptized and Amelia’s parents, godparents, family and friends gathered to celebrate her and Amelia’s baptism. Robbie and Crystal entered the church at the Easter Vigil Mass April 8.

During their RCIA journey, the Whites learned about the unity of the church.

“It was explained to us why we take Communion together, how it brings us together and as a whole,” Crystal said.

Her experience of this unity with St. John that began during trying times is now complete for her and her family as members of the Catholic faith.

“We couldn’t imagine being part of a different community because we want to be there for others like everyone was there for us,” said Crystal.