It has been a while since I have blogged, I guess I just not that good at this whole thing. I digress, last week my wife, Gwen, and I went to the doctor for our first weekly check up as we awaited the arrival of our first borne son, Colton James. Doc said, "Whoa! You're already dilated 1cm, and I touched his head." She was put on everything short of bed rest to prolong the pregnancy since she was only 35 weeks.
Fast forward to our appointment Friday morning: we were so excited, it was our 3rd trimester ultrasound. We would get to see our baby! The tech let us know he was small, but everything looked to be okay. After about 45min of waiting after the ultrasound we were called back. Gwen's vitals were taken as I waited in the room for her. She came in and without me asking she said, "I failed." To preface this statement; she has been fighting high blood pressure all pregnancy. Her report was not good, 159/108! Doc said, "Go straight to the hospital."
We did as instructed and got settled into our room. They promptly hooked Gwen up to a machine to monitor her BP as well as the heart rate of our unborn son. The nurse then took several vials of blood for testing. We were instructed to rest and wait 24hrs until a specialist could come take a look at the ultrasound and determine if Gwen needed to be induced. Upon the preliminary exam of the in-office ultrasound, Doc said she was afraid Colton was not growing anymore.
As it turns out Gwen had preeclampsia, a condition that affects pregnant women by raised blood pressure, among other symptoms. Bottom line; the placenta was no longer doing its job and Colton needed to come out, and fast! Due to the risks associated with preeclampsia, we along with the medical team agreed it would be safest to deliver via c-section. This was a real disappointment for Gwen because she had her heart set on a natural delivery.
Doc informed us of some the issues we would face. Because he was now only 36 weeks and 3 days gestation, his lungs might have some developmental issues, as well as an inability to swallow, and because he was only measuring at 32 weeks gestation, he would not be able to regulate his body heat. It looked like a long, unwelcomed stay in the NICU was in our near future.
I was reminded of a story our of John 9, where the disciples ask Jesus why this man was blind? "Did he or his parents sin?" Jesus' response was beautiful, "Neither, but that the work of God would be shown through him." This man was borne blind so the Son of God could be glorified in healing him. I began to pray John 9:3, that God would be glorified in protecting my son.
We were preped for surgery, and were blessed with a fellow believer for a nurse, who even prayed with us! About 3:15pm they took Gwen into the OR to finish her prep. During the in between time I sat by myself and prayed. Just before then came to bring me into the OR I said "Lord give me something!" Just then it was as if a warm blanket was placed over me, and I heard "Caleb, its okay." I am getting goose bumps right now recalling the event.
Long story short; at 3:51pm on August 25th, 2012 my baby boy was born. All 4lbs. 8oz. of him! Here's how awesome God is, all the concerns the Doc had, all the things that were causing us such anxiety, all the things that were in place to allow God to show off. Yeah all those, GONE!!! Lungs are strong, he has been breast feeding, he is regulating his body temperature, everything we were concerned about is not an issue. Just like the blind man in John 9, God wanted to be glorified! And I think, He wanted to show off just a little. He said, "I love Colton more then you, so watch what I'm going to do just because I can!" On top of it all, the second Mama got her hands on him her BP dropped to 124/78!
Thank you Father for what you did today! Until next time...
