The extraordinary case of the pregnant pig. Her fever spiked significantly after giving birth, and everyone worried that she wouldn’t make it. When the sow started to look better, the owner was astounded because he had assumed she would give birth to a few chicks.
Emma’s piglet was in critical condition when it was sent to the California farm at Apricot Lane. She had a number of illnesses and was extremely frail, but she was also pregnant. When he got it, the farm’s owner summoned the vet to confer with him and stabilize the animal’s condition, but he had some bad news to deliver.
After a consultation with the sow, the veterinarian told the farmer that she would give birth to no more than six pups and then die. The doctor’s words turned out to be wrong, because on the night the animal went into labor, she gave birth to 17 piglets. Of the 17 piglets, unfortunately, only 13 survived, the other 4 having conditions incompatible with life.
The sow Emma was worn out after a lengthy delivery. Due of her issues and the difficult, protracted labor, her condition was quite precarious.
Farmer Chester was astounded by the sheer number of chicks that gave birth to the piglet as he was concerned for Emma’s health. Emma was exhausted, had a very high fever, and appeared to be giving up. The sow was then thought to be recovering, so Chester decided to remove the chicks to make room for her.
After the farm owner took the chicks close to Emma, her health grew worse. He believed that if the sow had perished, the farm’s workers would have been left to care for rearing the piglets and providing them with many feedings per day, which would have required a tremendous amount of effort and time and not much benefit to him.
Chester decided to make another call to the vet after observing that Emma was unable to even stand up. Chester claims that the veterinarian advised her to bring the chicks home. A miracle occurred after Chester did exactly that and returned the chicks to her: “If I hadn’t been there and someone had told me, I wouldn’t have believed it!”
When the farmer returned with the chicks to Emma, a miracle occurred. Emma sat up and managed to eat just as she spotted her chicks once more. Instantly, her condition had improved.
Chester claims that he wished for the sow’s survival to be their own but that she was only saved because of her ability to reproduce and take care of her piglets. The farmer also claims that, on sometimes, what appears to be a threat to our lives is actually the only thing that can spare us and even make us better.
In this instance, Emma was motivated to fight for her children by her joy at being a mother and her pride at holding her newborns.