life: a learning experience

The events of last night have got me pondering about the purpose for coming to the earth. What are we here to teach others? What can we learn from others and their trials? What can we learn from the tiniest miracles...babies...who are so innocent and pure. They all come to this earth for a specific purpose. Even if for only just a short little while.

At 12:35am this morning, Chance was born. His mom came to Gladney a few months ago. She had a routine sonogram done in February to determine the babies gender. It was a boy, but it showed he had a brain defect. His brain was fluid filled. He was given a grim prognosis at the time. If the baby made it full term, it was presumed likely the baby would not survive outside the womb. I was with her at that appointment when she received the sad news about her baby. That was my hardest day at work yet. After that sonogram, she was referred to a specialist at that point. The high risk specialists ran several tests and did sonograms to determine the extent of the condition as best they could. They gave the condition some big fancy name that I can't pronounce. I had been attending several of her appointments with her since that diagnosis. She was due last Friday, the day my baby would have been due, so it was extra significant to me to be involved. When she passed her due date, the doctor scheduled an induction for this coming Friday.

Last night, I was called. She was having contractions and leaking. She and her mom headed to the hospital and I was shortly behind them. It was 8:30pm We had to go to a different hospital than the girls usually birth at because of the extenuating circumstances. Needless to say, they aren't familiar with Gladney procedures and I had to get the staff up to speed on our adoption processes. When it was determined she was in labor, she was taken to a room. When she was comfortably medicated, the neonatologist came into the room to explain the procedures that occur when a high risk baby is born. The condition the baby has is lethal. She explained all the risks involved and what to expect if he lived or died. In the event that he would be struggling right after birth, there would be no efforts to revive him, as that would have caused him too much trauma. Another scenario would be that they would take him away to the NICU immediately to do an assessment. Another would be that he would be alert enough for her to be able to hold him and feed him right away. It all depended on so many things.

Her labor progressed very quickly and shortly after midnight, she was pushing. I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect. None of us knew he would look like or if he would be born alive or cry or move. My heart was pounding with each push. When he was born, the doctor immediately clamped the cord and he was placed in the warmer with three nurses and the neonatologist at his side. I heard him crying as I stayed near the mom's side to comfort her. Her birth went so smoothly and she didn't require any suturing. The baby was still fusing and crying. This was a good sign. I listened as the neonatologist explained to the grandmother that the baby had none of the normal physical birth defects like cleft pallet, blindness, and unusual eyes, that babies usuallly have when diagnosed with his condition. He looked like a normal baby. His APGAR score was 9/9. And, that is the best score a newborn can have. That score rates a baby for heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflexes, and color. So far, it appreared as though he was in perfect health. They swaddled him and gave him to his mother. She fed and he ate just fine. He cried. He did all the things a normal baby would do. He was even going to get to stay in the regurlar nursery and not in the NICU. It was hard to imagine that anything could have been wrong with him. I stayed with them until 2:15am. On the way home, I thanked God for the opportunity to be a part of and witness such a miracle.

This morning the baby was to have an MRI to determine the extent of the brain condition. I have not gotten any more information, but I am guessing that means that nothing dramatic has happened. Babies with the condition that Chance has are not expected to lead a long life. Most children die by age two. It is a very sad situation and I have kept him and everyone involved in my prayers continually. Only God knows the plans He has for that little one, but I surly did not take for granted the two hours of his life that he shared with me.