A story that made my day.

Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, thoughts and prayers for Molly and our entire family. As the days pass I am learning how much Molly’s diagnosis and prognosis is effecting our immediate family and close friends. Of course our situation is very difficult for Bob and me. However, I continue to be touched by how some of our family members have shared what this all means to them. The following story, that a relative shared with me this afternoon is a great example of that…

One of our family members has had some health issues lately and spent time in the hospital. Out of respect for his privacy I am not going to share more details about his condition, but I do appreciate your prayers for his health and wellness.

So this afternoon Sean and I were visiting our relative and his wife (also a relative). Our relative’s wife and I were talking about the power of prayer. She told me that last night when she was sitting with her husband by his bedside at the hospital, that at one point he looked over and thought she was sleeping. He said to her, “if you are tired, you can go home and get some sleep, I understand.” His wife replied, “I wasn’t sleeping, my eyes were closed, but I was praying.” She went on to remind me that though she and her husband have a very loving and caring relationship, that he he has not been big on praying with her over the years. She has learned to accept that in their marriage and has found support through praying with close friends and through bible study and faith sharing groups. So what happened next in our relative and his wife’s conversation surprised his wife and warmed her heart.

Our relative responded to her sharing that she had been praying with telling her that he too had prayed this weekend. He told her that the other day, while he was having a Cat Scan done, so they could try to diagnose what was wrong with him, that he was praying. At first I misheard his wife and thought all she said was that her husband said he was praying. I thought that was awesome and was glad to hear that he was praying and assumed that he had been praying for himself, to get better, to feel well. However, his wife repeated herself or must have clarified, because she realized that I hadn’t heard or understood what she said and when she did, I was absolutely blown away. Our relative had told his wife that while he was having his Cat Scan, that he had been praying for Molly! Not that prayers from everyone in our life don’t mean a lot to us, but hearing that this relative, who does not wear his heart on his sleeve, had prayed for our unborn daughter and even used her name, especially during a time when he wasn’t feeling well (to put it mildly), meant so much to me.

I had been having a difficult day today, both physically and emotionally, and was kind of in a “funk” for a variety of reasons. But hearing about our relative’s prayer, from his wife, snapped me right out of it and reminded me that even if Molly doesn’t survive, that as many of you have suggested in your comments, emails and our conversations, that surely there will be good that will come of all this. Our relative telling his wife about his praying for Molly, is one small miracle that I find hope and comfort in today. If our journey and Molly’s life (no matter how long or short in utero and/or on this earth) helps to bring people together, to strengthen their faith and bring them closer to God, then hopefully we can find some peace and comfort in that if and when our baby girl dies and goes to Heaven.

A few other prayer requests…

We found out on Sunday that Bob’s brother and his wife are expecting their second child in early August. We are very happy for them. I know that it wasn’t easy for his wife/our sister-in-law to tell me that she is pregnant. I also found out that she was strongly encouraged by some of our family members, who already knew, to be sensitive to when and how she chose to tell me (which I certainly appreciated learning, but also felt for her position in being told that). She shared that when she first found out she was pregnant, that our baby still appeared to be healthy and she was so excited that our children would be so close in age and could be “buddies,” as well as cousins. She asked me if I thought it was okay to still hope and believe that Molly could survive and that our children would be close cousins and friends. I said “of course!” (though I know it may be wishful thinking and I think my sister-in-law understands that too.) She also told me that she has lived a fairly charmed life and hasn’t really had many trials. She said that she has never had anyone she was close to die and that this experience, that we are all going through with Molly, is one of the saddest and hardest things she has had to experience in her life. Wow. I was honest that I am a bit jealous that she is having an apparently healthy pregnancy, but am also very genuinely glad to know that I have another niece or nephew on the way. I expressed that I wouldn’t wish what Bob and I have been through, on our journey to expand our family, on anyone and I am glad that things are going so well for them. Anyway, I ask that you please keep Bob’s brother, our sister-in-law their older daughter and our future niece or nephew in your prayers. We hope and pray that they have a happy and healthy pregnancy.

On a related note, I also found out recently that a good friend of mine is also expecting and due in August. Similar to my sister-in-law, she didn’t take sharing her news with me lightly and I was touched by her thoughtfulness in wanting me to know, while telling me in a sensitive and caring way. Similar to my sister-in-law, she also told me that when she first found out she was pregnant and our baby still seemed to be healthy, that she was excited that our children would be close in age and that she was so sad when things started to not go well in our pregnancy. Please keep her, her baby and her family in your prayers, as well. Though she didn’t expect for me to “be happy for her” and spoke of how “unfair” life can be, I know that she knows, as I have told her, that I really am happy for her and her family and can be so while still dealing with the difficult and uncertain pregnancy that I am experiencing. I do really hope and pray that she has a happy and healthy pregnancy.

So while there is likely a lot more I could share about this past week or so in our life, I mostly wanted to post tonight about the hope and inspiration I found in hearing about our relative’s prayer for Molly. Seeing the look on Bob’s face and hearing his voice when I in turn shared the story with him tonight, was also priceless.

Tomorrow we have our next echocardiogram. I am doing my best to prepare for the array of possibilities that might take place. What I understand and believe to be most likely, as well as hope and pray for, is that there will essentially be no change in Molly’s heart condition and that we will be told to return in two weeks, buying our baby girl more time to grow and develop without us having to choose whether or not for me to take medication to try to help sustain her. However, I am also aware that Molly’s heart may have begun to fail or could have also failed completely by the time we arrive at our appointment tomorrow. Time will tell. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. I will update tomorrow at some point after our echocardiogram. Take care and May God bless you and yours.