On our first full day of visiting in Ohio,
some very dear friends drove down two hours from Michigan
to introduce us to their precious little miracle.
This little sweetie came to them through much prayer and
much longing.
Her Mama and Daddy were married over 10 years ago,
and had tried for a very long time to have a baby.
Through fertility treatments, they finally saw their dream realized
when they found out they were expecting not one, but TWO baby boys.
Things were going fine for Mama and she would call me
regularly with lovely updates about cravings,
colors of the babies room, and shopping for twins.
But right around 22 or 23 weeks along, things started going wrong.
Mama's blood pressure started going up.
She wasn't feeling well.
Then all-of-a-sudden, she started vomiting.
Her doctor knew right away that she was is crisis,
and so were the babies.
As the hours wore on, her condition worsened.
She had developed a condition called
Her doctor determined that the babies had to be delivered
for her to survive.
Because of fear of her bleeding out, she could not have a
C-section, nor could she have an epidural.
I begged God for mercy and prayed with her over the phone for a miracle!
Those two precious baby boys were born without heartbeats
the following morning.
That was three years ago, yesterday.
This gentle, sweet couple and their families and friends
were just devastated.
The agony, the pain, the unimaginable heartbreak.
Why, Lord Jesus?
Calvin and Caden were so loved, so wanted, so perfect.
A dream realized, shattered and crushed.
But after some time and healing,
Mama started talking about having another baby.
What courage in the aftermath of such trauma and fear.
Doctor visits, more fertility treatments, more disappointmentss, more waiting.
But then!!!
"We're having a baby!!"
Joy!!!
Mama started calling me again about cravings,
and fatigue, and shopping,
and anxiety.
If only she could get beyond 24 weeks, when the twins were born,
then she could rest easy.
24 weeks came and went without anything unusual.
Her doctor was keeping very close tabs on her this time,
and told her to call him if she started feeling bad in between their visits.
Around 27 weeks, her blood pressure started going up.
Then her doctor told her she needed to stop working.
She took it easy, and followed her doctors orders.
Then, after eating out after church one Sunday, she threw up.
Out-of-the-blue.
She thought it might be food poisoning, but went to the ER
of the hospital where her doctor was just to get checked.
Within just a couple hours, she was rushed back to the OR
for an emergency C-section before her husband or any of her family
could get there with her.
She was in the beginning stages of HELLP again, and they
were desperate to save this baby!!
We stopped everything at our house and begged God to save
them both!!
Baby Cate was born at 30 weeks weighing 2 lbs. 14 oz and measuring
11 inches long!!!
But she was gorgeous.
She was in the NICU for 7 weeks before she could come home.
We kept on praying!!
She came home on oxygen, as most preemies do, and did perfect for the first week or two.
Then her visiting nurse noticed some problems and they took her back
to the hospital where she was admitted with pneumonia.
How disappointing for Mama not only that her baby got sick when
she got home, but that she would be in hospital over Mother's Day!!
So when we arrived at my parents home at the end of May, you can just imagine
our joy and excitement to get to meet this GORGEOUS baby
whom we had prayed so fervently for for so very long!!!!
What a precious miracle baby!!
We just couldn't get enough of her!!!
This Mama is a WARRIOR SURVIVOR EXTRAORDINAIRE!!!!
"Because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted......
to give unto them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord,
that He might be glorified."
Isaiah 61: 1, 3
