This is the time of year we count our blessings, and number the miracles of our lives. The Sherman Family certainly has a lot of both to keep track of. This item from the Arlington Herald speaks volumes about how God, and prayer, can work wonders:

He’s known around the community of Holy Cross Academy in Fredericksburg as “the little miracle” and “a ray of hope,” but James Sherman, who fidgets in the pediatrician’s office as he awaits his checkup, can’t yet appreciate the meaning of those words.

James turned 3 years old last month, and while that’s celebrated as a natural occurrence for most preschoolers, for James — who entered the world at 25 1/2 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 14 ounces and not breathing — it’s amazing that he is here to celebrate at all. And having reached this age with no physical disabilities or health complications, gives his parents, Tom and Susan Sherman, additional reason to offer thanks.

As Tom Sherman relates their story in a private room at the pediatrician’s office surrounded by three of his four children, he doesn’t hesitate to attribute their blessings to the power of prayer.

“We had unbelievable support from day one from everybody,” said Sherman, a physical education teacher at Holy Cross where two of his children attend school. “Every morning the entire student body of about 500 children would pray for baby James.”

Many others prayed as well, including the family’s parish of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Holy Cross parents, doctors and the baby’s pediatrician, Jiyeon Becker, and her family, whose three daughters also attend Holy Cross.

Although the Shermans had faced the anxiety surrounding a premature birth with their first child, Tommy — now 20, who weighed one pound more than James at birth and was born with cerebral palsy — this situation was dire.

After Tommy’s birth, because of Susan’s connective tissue disorder, the couple waited 10 years before having another child. Both Brendan, 10, and Caitlin, 8, were carried to full-term with no complications. So the couple felt more secure by the time James was conceived.

Still, the Shermans didn’t reveal Susan’s pregnancy, mostly out of consideration for the “milestones” happening in their children’s lives: Caitlin was starting kindergarten and Tommy was finishing high school.

“We were trying to think of how to not take away from their big moments,” Susan said. “We were afraid they would be overshadowed with the birth of another child.”

So, when Tom called the school Oct. 5, 2004, to let them know Susan had a baby and they needed prayers, everyone was surprised to learn she had been pregnant. After experiencing discomfort the previous night, Susan had awakened that morning bleeding uncontrollably. Tom sent the children to school, and called the rescue squad and their pastor, Father Stefan Starzynski. By the time the priest arrived at Mary Washington Hospital, Susan was delivering.

“Father and I were outside her room praying when the nurse came out and said she’d had a baby,” Sherman said. “When we asked what it was, the nurse said they hadn’t looked. We thought that was strange.”

The Shermans later learned the baby had been stillborn and needed to be resuscitated. And while doctors were trying to revive the baby, Susan was losing blood rapidly. During the emergency delivery, the doctor had nicked Susan’s femoral artery, adding to the loss of blood.

“Both Susan and the baby were touch and go, meaning between death and life,” Sherman explained.

But when Tom asked Father Starzynski if he would give them last rites, the priest said no, he preferred to baptize the baby and give Susan the sacrament of anointing of the sick. As he baptized James David — a name Tom had been inspired to choose in the moment — Father Starzynski looked up at Tom and said, “He’s going to be fine. I know he’s going to be fine.”

The baby still had a lot of obstacles to overcome. Read on to discover what happened.

Photo: The Sherman Family, by Pauline Hovey, the Catholic Herald