”Every day holds the possibility of a miracle.” ~ Elizabeth David
Today is the big day. I should probably be resting, but lets be realistic, who could possibly sleep knowing that in a few short hours they’ll be going through a surgery and finally meeting their baby. So I do what I do often when my mind is overloaded with thoughts…I write. I’ve blogged throughout this entire pregnancy and I suppose I feel the need to sit down and write now…it’s probably better for me than it is for all of you who have been reading all this time. Yes, this is the final blog post you’ll receive from me before the baby arrives…it’s hard to believe the big day we’ve been waiting for is finally here.
Monday was a busy day as we spent time doing pre-admission stuff at the hospital before tomorrow’s surgery. I spent time finishing off the shortest semester teaching I’ve ever taught with all 5 of my courses. You’ll be happy to hear there are a few new photos I’ve been procrastinating uploading to flickr. The house is about as ready as it possibly can be for a new little one…and I promise, I didn’t lift a finger.
And I spent part of my time trying to stay distracted by working on creating a typographic letterpress collage for our little one. Yes, it may not make any sense right now, but then again a lot of things in my mind might not always make the most sense.
And really, I spent most of Monday filled with entirely too many thoughts, worries, and emotions…about the surgery, the baby, the baby’s surgery, the NICU, the kids. It’s tough to think about it all today without feeling teary eyed…partly out of fear but also realizing just how much life is about to change.
I’ve had several of you asking – so just to answer it now to keep you all from wondering as you wait anxiously to hear news. We’ll arrive at the hospital at 6am and surgery is scheduled to begin at 8am. After that everything is uncertain. If the baby is stable and needs the surgery to correct the opening in it’s back in the first 24 hours it’ll likely occur in the afternoon. I was informed that so long as I’m stable I’ll be allowed to go to the NICU after about an hour or two recovering from the c-section.
Tomorrow is likely to be very hectic for us and yes, we can joke all day about me being connected virtually so often, but I’m likely not to be behind a computer or my iPhone as all the big events are going on during the day. Yes, it’s tough to accept that the doctor’s won’t let me twitter in the middle of my c-section. I think I might go into withdrawals if I go an entire day without using my iPhone or laptop.I assure you all that Jason will be updating our friends and family on facebook as he’s able to and he may be able to call some but obviously it’s impossible for us to contact you all directly the day the baby is born. Everyone knows I love to push social media’s benefits on people…it is definitely the best way to stay updated with us this week because it’s likely we won’t have time for many conversations or dealing with phone reception issues. I’m sure once I’m able to you’ll hear updates on the blog but I won’t guarantee how long that might take because so much is uncertain.
Thank you all again in advance for all your continued prayers and warm wishes…they’ve helped us so much as we’ve endured so many ups and downs with this pregnancy. I suppose I leave you all with a few final words that I shared close to five months ago on the day the doctor called to inform me they suspected the baby might have spina bifida. Yes, words that remind me to continue to believe and not doubt what lies ahead for us. This pregnancy has been incredibly challenging knowing that the baby does have spina bifida and the most we can do now is continue to pray and believe. Though all the praying and believing may not change the fact that the baby will be born with spina bifida, I have faith that somehow, someway, things will all happen how they were meant to be.
James 1:2-6: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt…”
by Amanda Kern
8 comments