'Please God. Just take care of my son' - UC Davis performs 'miracle' surgery on unborn child STILL IN THE WOMB

The boy was given the name Matthew, meaning 'a gift from God.'

Thousands of babies die in the womb each year - not to heinous abortions or the mother's misconduct, but by disease, genetic afflictions and aggressive conditions.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Doctors at UC Davis were met with such a case when Khae Saetern and Bobby Angeles came to them for help.

The couple suffered three years of heartache as they struggled with infertility, two miscarriages and the stillbirth of their daughter.

Now, their unborn son was diagnosed with hydrops, which creates excess fluid in the chest. In their child's case, the fluid was beginning to fill his lungs.

Though a bit of fluid is alright, doctors confirmed a deadly amount was accumulating, prompting surgeons at UC Davis Children's Hospital to make a bold decision.

Dr. Shinjiro Hirose followed the example set in other hospitals, such as Guangdong General by performing emergency surgery on the unborn baby while he was still in the womb.

"It was terrifying," Bobby told ABC 10. "To think that something could happen and not being able to be there if I needed to."

He told CBS Sacramento: "Every moment, I am thinking when I'm driving, 'Please God. Just take care of my son. Please God.'"

"Everything happened so fast, so you really don't have time to digest everything," Khae explained. "We had our concerns and we had our questions, but ultimately, we left it to the doctor to decide what was in the best interest of the baby and my health."

UC Davis' first in-utero surgery occurred in September when Dr. Hirose made a small incision in Khae's abdomen and used a small catheter to drain the fluid.

Khae was awake throughout the procedure and admitted, "I just prayed for everything to go right and for him to be ok."

As with most procedures, there were several dangers but fetal surgeon and the chief of UC Davis Children's Hospital, Dr. Diana Farmer, shared: "Without relieving that [excessive fluid], he [the baby] would not have survived the pregnancy."

Khae was sewn up and her son continued to grow.

Baby Matthew, a name that means "gift from God," was born September 28.

Khae shared, "He's a miracle. He's our miracle baby."

"Without that procedure, who knows where he'd be right now?" Bobby asked, thankful his son was safe.

Matthew remained in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at UC Davis after doctors discovered a mass in his lung, which they believe was what caused the hydrops.

When he was finally allowed to go home to the nursery the couple has been waiting to use for several years, Bobby shared: "As soon as we got in the car we took a picture of each other and with the baby, like we're on our way home, this is really happening."

"We had the baby on board sign, and to walk in and place him in his crib that was an amazing feeling," Khae added.

According to Daily Mail, Dr. Hirose shared: "It was amazing to be able to do this for this couple. They're so nice, and everyone loved them.

"They're the American Dream - two kids who came from nothing, plodding their way to get somewhere, get married, and finally when they want to have children they faced so many obstacles...To be able to deliver a healthy baby for them...that was amazing."

Baby Matthew will undergo a second surgery when he is older and stronger to have the mass in his lung removed. He is expected to make a full recovery.

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