the joys of boys: Fiery February Part 2

    I had been at my in-laws house when my mother frantically called and said "Emergency c-section, Tynlee's hand is out!". By the time I processed the info, she was already off the phone. I made it to the hospital in record time, praying the whole way, still shocked that it went from nothing, to crazy in a few short minutes. I was upset and worried because Jessica's platelet counts were barely high enough to give her a spinal, yet that's what she was being given, and they were going off of labs that had been done that morning. We quietly waited in the waiting room at DMC for news. When Stephen opened the door with his scrubs on, I started to stand up, excited for news, but he looked at my mom and Karen and said "you two, come with me".

     About 15-20 (?) minutes later my dad and Steve were asked to go back. We were informed that Tynlee was here, weighing in at 5lbs, 5oz, and Jessica was good, but I felt a little baffled, because it didn't feel like the rejoicing you do when a newborn makes its entrance. Probably another 15 minutes passed (no sense of time at this point, especially because my phone was broken), and Stephen came out to talk to us. He was extremely serious and extremely mature in the way he handled everything. He reassured us that Tynlee and Jess were doing great, Tynlee's vitals were very good, and she was very healthy but she had a tumor like growth coming out of her mouth, and the doctors here had never seen anything like it before. Therefore, she would be transferred to Stanford Children's Hospital for further evaluation, and her ambulance would be arriving shortly. Stephen encouraged us to be strong for Jessica, because not only had she gone through everything that was the exact opposite of her birthing plan, but she was now going to be separated from her baby and her husband for an unknown amount of time.

     Because I am 11 years older than Jessica, I have always felt extremely maternal and protective toward her. Having 3 children of my own, I couldn't even imagine what she was facing or about to face. And then, as I watched my dad walk out of the waiting room doors looking defeated and completely vulnerable, it broke my heart. It literally crushed me. He had been through so much lately, he had been at the hospital with his parents for 6 straight days, and the day his mom was released his baby girl was admitted. Not too many months ago, he himself had a stent put in, so of course I worried about his health also. How much stress would his body be able to take? As with the other events of the night, I could only give it to God.

     When I finally called Mark about 15 minutes after Stephen spoke with us, I allowed myself a short minute to break down to the comforting words of my husband. He felt helpless, as we all did, but it was of greater comfort for me to have him be with our 3 boys rather than me at that time. I asked him to not pass on the details of what was happening yet, because for one, I didn't know exactly myself what on earth was going on, and more importantly #2, in no way at all did I want word to somehow get back to Jessica and cause her any more worry or fear. Only those of us there had even a slight clue as to what was going on, and trust me, we had NO IDEA as to how to process the information. It was so surreal for all of us. It seems a little silly now, but because emotions were so high, and because my brother and I had tried for 40 unsuccessful minutes to contact his wife, we also worried about her. Jeffrey even left the hospital to go home and check on her.  She hadn't received the news about what was happening yet, and she was out in the country, all by herself, so, for a few minutes I worried about her and my nephews too. Turns out her phone had completely stopped working for a while! And again, I was gently reminded that God was in control.

     About that time my mom came out to tell me I would be able to see my sister. I had to be extra sure that I would remain composed and upbeat for her. She looked radiant, not at all like she just had an emergency c-section! I tried my best to avoid talking about Tynlee, because I didn't know how she would react, but I was amazed by her stability when we did finally talk about it.  About an hour later I was asked to share in the joy of getting to see Tynlee down in the NICU. I even got to hold her!!  My heart melted, and as her auntie I wanted to protect her from everything I absolutely could, especially the unknown that was facing her. She was so beautiful and my heart broke for her and this thing she had to deal with for so long. How long had it been since she had been able to fully close her sweet little lips? Was it painful for her? So many unanswered questions, yet God's resounding answer, Isaiah 41:10; "Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

     As soon as my mom and I walked out the NICU doors I allowed myself to cry again, this time for only 15 seconds, because I feared that Jess would see my tears and worry more. We walked back up and I was easily able to proclaim how absolutely beautiful she was and that she looked so much like Stephen and Jessica! Now it was just a waiting game, and the more we waited, the more peaceful I felt about everything. I think it was around 11:30 pm when Tynlee's "vehicle" arrived to chauffeur her away to an amazing medical staff at Stanford.