THE GIRL SAVED BY GRACE

It was the fall of 98. The leaves had just turned brown and the colors of autumn were bright. Things were starting to fall in place for my father and mother’s lives.

Excitement filled my mother’s eyes as she was driving to her parent’s house to announce the special news. They were going to be grandparents for the first time.  At the beginning of the new year, my mother found out she was baring twins. The emotions of being scared and anxious flowed within her. Little did she know, this was going to be the last doctors visit before her babies were born. In the afternoon of February 23rd, 1999, my mother was going between offices while she was working at the bank. She was in her 25th week of childbearing. On that day, snow was falling. The roads were covered with snow dust and thick sheets of black ice. Her little teal car was winding down a curvy road, unaware of the driver in front. My mother had rear ended the back of an old man’s car. Shaken and frightened with a throbbing leg, my mother noticed something unreal. “Are you okay?” the man asked. She just stared at him in silence, too panicked  to speak. Suddenly the words flowed from her lips, “I’m pregnant with twins and my water broke.” The ambulance took my mom to the Ohio State Hospital in Columbus. A preemie is a baby that is born before 37 weeks of completed pregnancy and usually weighs a lot less than regular babies. Hours and hours of labor had passed. Finally on February 24th at 10:28 pm, a baby girl was born. She was 13 and a quarter inches long and weighed 1 pound and 8 ounces.  A name was given to this beautiful baby girl, Lindsay Kay. At 11:08 pm her twin brother, Luke Daniel, had arrived to earth. My mother had to  a c-section for Luke because of how he was positioned. Luke weighed 1 pound and 8 and a quarter ounces. He was 13 and a half inches long. The twins looked very similar. The two both had lots of dark hair and had very long and slender bodies. My family was devastated as the doctors explained to them, that the twins were micropreemies. A micropreemie is a baby that is born under 29 weeks gestation.  The twins had many battles to fight in order to save their own lives. There are several developments that occur while in the womb, however, the twins were unable to accomplish this. A thin layer of opaque skin covered over their fragile bodies. The cartilage of their tiny ears was not developed. The most important organ needed to survive was nascent. The children had very weak lungs. In order to keep their little lungs pumping, the doctors had decided to put the twins on a ventilator and life support. This was just the beginning of the roller coaster my family had boarded. Every second, hour, and day was a constant battle. The process of recovery was underway. There were good days and bad days, but everyone kept on praying for the twins. Some days Luke would get stronger than Lindsay, until a bacterial infection spread through his entire blood system. Soon after, his heart rate began to weaken. He was placed in various surgeries for his heart. My father donated blood since his contained more iron, to save Luke’s life. He donated more than a quart. Luke continued to fight for many days. Luke put up a good fight but  the sickness and infection had overcome and won. Luke died on March 29, 1999 as a 33 day old baby. The first baby my mother had held was Luke. She stared at the handsome little boy; his long eyelashes. He had Daddy’s nose and her chin. The little mouth that would never take a breath again. She would never hear him say “Mommy”, never hear his laugh, never watch him grow up. Luke would never get to experience the things we take for granted in life. For the short time he lived, he got to experience the  positives and negatives of life. He knew that his family cared and loved him so much. All in all, that’s not a bad way to start or finish. The world collapsed on my parents. Anxiety and fear ate at them everyday, scared to lose her too. The tests and IVs continued just as the prayers. Each day was a progress. Living with a tube in your throat and needles in your veins is difficult. Miracles happen everyday. “He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.” -Job 5:9 (NLT)  After 103 days of being in the hospital, Lindsay finally got to come home. She weighed 4 pounds and 7 ounces at the time. Everyone was thrilled of her homecoming. Visitation hours were very slim. My mother had to feed her every 3 hours around the clock. When Lindsay came home, she was placed on oxygen a monitor….

  Now at age seventeen, I still ask myself, Why did this tragic event occur in my life? Why was I the chosen one to survive? Why is my brother not here on earth with me? These are answers that can only be answered by one simple statement. Life is not about a series of random events, but instead it is guided very carefully. Jesus has a plan for every human being. Every event in life has a purpose. It is not for us to try to understand the plan and what God is doing. Instead, our responsibility is casted upon us to use our life experiences in a positive manner…

I hope you are inspired by my story, my parents might had lost a child, but they also had gained a huge blessing, me. If you are going through a tough time right now, just know that there is still hope. God has a plan for you that is far more than what you could ever imagine. You are not alone in this situation. Something good can come from the tough spot you are in right now. Jesus experienced hard times too.. the road to the cross was no small matter. He even asked GOD if it was necessary. Jesus endured the cross because He knew what was waiting on the other side of it- something AMAZING! Just remember good things are coming, be still…

XOXO-