Today I saw God at work. I saw a tiny, little hero leave a legacy in just a few, short hours.  The three pound hero was a beautiful baby girl who we’ve been praying for ever since we found out that her parents were expecting her… and surprisingly expecting her twin brother too.  The expectant dad and I work together and I am fortunately a part of a very close staff.  We were excited enough to find out that they were going to be first time parents, but when they added the twin part of the equation to the pregnancy all of us on staff were elated and couldn’t wait for the June babies to arrive……I already loved those little ones as if they were family… in fact, I was ready for those little ones to call me “Aunt Nancy.”

Several months ago, though, our friends received discouraging news about their babies.  It seemed that there was some trouble with one of the babies and things didn’t have a great outlook. With the discouraging news of low amniotic fluid for baby girl, came low percentages of the chance for her to make it to 24 weeks… likely both babies would not make it.  Eventually bed rest was the only solution and for two months, mom and dad have lived at the hospital.  It has become their second home.   Prayers went out, time went by and baby girl surprised us all.  She was doing remarkably well.  She was growing and moving and regardless of the fluid situation was doing quite well.  Baby boy was growing too, and according to experts should have been much bigger than his sister but she was holding her own.

Weeks passed and 24 weeks was long gone… each day was a milestone and each additional week was a miracle.  The goal was to get the babies to at least 31 weeks and hopefully to 34 weeks but knowing that at anytime mom could be rushed to the OR.

Today was that day, at 31 weeks the babies had grown so much that it was safer for them to be born than to risk the lack of fluid.  Mom and Dad were ready to deliver their babies and the rest of us were waiting in anticipation outside the delivery area.  When they were born baby boy was doing quite well… but more discouraging news for baby girl.  Her lungs weren’t developed enough and the doctors gave a grim outlook.  Their prediction was correct.  We were in the room as we watched Mom and Dad cuddle her, hold her and tell her goodbye.  Three hours after her birth little Addison was gone.

So how did I see God at work?  I guess one would think that God at work would mean a miraculous recovery for this little baby and we would be able to tell the world about how we saw a critical little baby become perfectly healthy… I had hoped that for my friends.  I didn’t want them to experience something that most never have to experience… .I hoped that God would work that way but that was not his plan… but as I left the hospital I began thinking about what, according to those giving medical advice, should have happened long before this date.  Little baby girl was not supposed to have lived this long but if she had died in utero then her brother would have likely died too.  Both would have had to have been born at the same time and little baby boy wouldn’t have had the developed lungs to get him through too. …

The more I thought about it the more I thought about the miracle that I saw today… a little, tiny baby girl saved the life of her brother…. she fought when others thought she couldn’t… she grew when others thought it was impossible… she arrived and gave her parents the joy of seeing her move her little hands and feet  and the joy of holding her in their arms… what a hero she lived to be and what a legacy she left behind… her brother.

My friends are not alone… they trust in a great big God who has a plan that we can’t always understand… they have friends and family who have gathered around them as they grieve for one child and rejoice in the health of the other… they also have experienced something that others have also experienced…. If you or one you know is going through a similar situation please know that there is a God who wants to comfort you through and  that there are others out there that have gone through what you are now… support can be found at:

http://www.climb-support.org/index.html
http://www.nationalshare.org/
http://www.missfoundation.org/