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Mr Mark White
Wow! What a week. I'm not even sure where to begin with
this article. One place to start is Praise Jesus! And I don't say that just
for the birth of my son, Elijah. I say that for everything that has taken
place in the past week.
There has been a whirlwind of emotions over the past ten days that have
really put things into perspective. In case you weren't aware, Ambryan was
admitted into the hospital Sunday night (10/21) with pre-eclampsia. They
would end up inducing labor due to her high blood pressure. Our little boy
would be 5 weeks early. We were happy that she would be relieved of the
high blood pressure but were concerned about our boy. So, they induced labor
that night. On Monday, the doctor came in and checked things over and said
that we should be proud parents by 5:00-6:00 Monday evening. We were getting
pretty excited! But after 4 attempts of breaking
her water and Ambryan never getting past 2cm dilated (you need to be at
10cm & sorry for all the details), the doctor said a C-Section would
be necessary. So at 6:25am Tuesday, our son was bom. We were so excited.
The NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) nurses were in there for the delivery.
They wrapped him up, showed him to Ambryan and took him back to bed 15 in
the NICU. They said that I could go back there to see him in about an hour.
Due to her high blood pressure, Ambryan would have to remain in bed on IV
meds to lower her blood pressure for 12 more hours. This was not easy to
watch the woman you love and who just gave birth to your son not be able
to go visit him. So, I would go and see him, take pictures, and show them
to her. I was doing pretty good until the visitors slowed down and reality
hit that we would not be coming home
with our little boy. I lost it on several occasions.
However, on many more occasions, I was reminded of how good things were
for us. I hesitate to use the word "blessed" or "fortunate"
because for me, that indicated that other parents who are in worse shape
in the NICU aren't blessed or fortunate. All I knew was that God was seeing
us through this time in our lives. I kept seeing this one couple hanging
out at the desk right outside of the NICU. They looked hopeless, defeated.
My spirit was drawn to theirs. I did nothing about it though. Later on that
night (Tuesday) after Ambryan was able to get out of bed, they moved us
to the Mother-Baby Unit.
After we were settled in our room, I wheeled Ambryan back to see our little
boy first time she would really get a good look at her son.
It's not the easiest thing in the world to have to touch your son through
little holes in the tank that he was in
and see him with tubes all over him. The hardest thing though was not being
able to hold him. We both sat there at his bed and cried. After visiting
hours were over, we went back to our room. Ambryan was dozing off. I took
the opportunity to return some phone calls.
As I went to do this out in the hallway, I had to pass the couple who I
kept seeing (the one mentioned earlier). I gave the "I'm sorry"
smile kept walking. So, I made some calls, all the while I could hear them
weeping just 20 feet around the comer from me. I knew God was telling me
to talk with them. So, I ended the phone call, and asked God for the words
to say. I approached them and told them I had seen them in the NICU and
that I had a little boy back there too. I asked them if they wouldn't mind
sharing what was going on. They told me that this was their first child.
She was bom at 24 weeks (16 weeks early). She weighed 1.5 pounds. She had
been in the NICU for 5 weeks at this point and had been doing well until
today (Tuesday). She had taken a turn for the worse that morning. My heart
broke for them. I felt ashamed inside for the way had been feeling. It was
tough to see your son in the NICU. But our biggest worry was, we wanted
to take him home with us when we went home. Some parents back there are
wondering if they are even going to get to go home with their little one.
We knew our little boy was going to be alright. So, I asked them simply,
'Svould you mind if I prayed for you guys". I did. They hugged me and
told me that they had lost hope and felt like peace had been given back
to them now. I told them good night. They went to their hotel room (They
lived in Louisa and traveled back and forth to see their daughter) and I
went back to our hospital room. The next morning, I wheeled Ambryan back
to see our boy. As we went in, I saw the couple coming out. They had been
crying, but appeared to be at peace. I greeted them and asked how the baby
was doing. They said, "She's gone. She died this
morning." They said they knew she was in a better place now and was
not suffering. I hugged them both and we said good-bye. Ambryan and I humbly
went back to see our little boy. After visiting hours were over, we went
back to our room. Ambryan was dozing off. I took the opportunity to return
some phone calls.
As I went to do this out in the hallway, I had to pass the couple who I
kept seeing (the one mentioned earlier). I gave the "I'm sorry"
smile kept walking. So, I made some calls, all the while I could hear them
weeping just 20 feet around the comer from me. I knew God was telling me
to talk with them. So, I ended the phone call, and asked God for the words
to say. I approached them and told them I had seen them in the NICU and
that I had a little boy back there too. I asked them if they wouldn't mind
sharing what was going on. They told me that this was their first child.
She was bom at 24 weeks (16 weeks early). She weighed 1.5 pounds. She had
been in the NICU for 5 weeks at this point and had been doing well until
today (Tuesday). She had taken a turn for the worse that morning. My heart
broke for them. I felt ashamed inside for the way had been feeling. It was
tough to see your son in the NICU. But our biggest worry was, we wanted
to take him home with us when we went home. Some parents back there are
wondering if they are even going to get to go home with their little one.
We knew our little boy was going to be alright. So, I asked them simply,
'Svould you mind if I prayed for you guys". I did. They hugged me and
told me that they had lost hope and felt like peace had been given back
to them now. I told them good night. They went to their hotel room (They
lived in Louisa and traveled back and forth to see their daughter) and I
went back to our hospital room. The next morning, I wheeled Ambryan back
to see our boy. As we went in, I saw the couple coming out. They had been
crying, but appeared to be at peace. I greeted them and asked how the baby
was doing. They said, "She's gone. She died this
morning." They said they knew she was in a better place now and was
not suffering. I hugged them both and we said good-bye. Ambryan and I humbly
went back to see our little boy.
Mark
The First
Baptist Student Ministry
J.A.M. (Jesus And Me) Grades 1 - 5 and ages 4-5
The four through five year youth and grades one through fifth grade
will enjoy the exciting program based on Solid Bible content from 6:00-7:00
p.m. every Sunday Evening.
Wednesday Night Live (Grades 7 - 12)
Wednesday evenings 6:30 PM--visitation, service projects, and studies