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I'M THANKFUL

© Carrie Webbenhurst

Well, I was going to write all about the cute things that my boys used to say. But – that all changed last week when a friend of mine gave birth to her twin daughters.

She went in to have her labor induced and, at one point, one of the twins’ heart rate plummeted. The doctors ended performing an emergency cesarean. During the course of the delivery, one of the girls swallowed some amniotic fluid and was without oxygen for a couple minutes. The other twin was born without complications. Now, my friend and her husband, have one normal baby, Kate, at home with them and another baby, Grace, in the hospital. The prognosis for the one in the hospital: chance of death, 10% chance of being normal.

That was on Friday. It is now Thursday and it looks like the baby will make it and has been upgraded to a 10% chance of having some sort of brain damage and it getting stronger every day.

Thinking about my friend going through this and praying for Grace; I just can’t help saying an extra prayer that my husband and I were blessed with 2 healthy, happy babies. When I think of all the complications there could have been, I am just very thankful how my pregnancy turned out. I have talked with other mothers who were not so lucky and now have one normal twin and one mentally retarded twin. I know that God only gives you what you can handle; but I really think it takes an extra special person to withstand having a handicapped child.

I talked with my friend on the phone and she sounded very positive about the whole thing. She told me the one thing that was holding them together, was all the prayers and well wishes from people. If you don’t think that prayer works, ask my friend. She told me that she was amazed at how well they were handling this whole thing and that she could physically feel the prayers.

I’ve never been one of these people who will give my kids an extra hug when something bad happens to someone else’s child. In fact, I actually don’t like it when people tell you to go home and hug your child after a tragedy. I don’t like it, because it sounds (at least to me) like a person would never hug their child until something bad happens. I know this is not true, because I am constantly giving my boys hugs and kisses. That said, I did hug my kids extra and I did say prayers thanking God for healthy boys. I think it was because this was someone giving birth to twins, she and her husband were so excited about the babies and I was excited for her. I guess it just hit a bit closer to home.