I am not sure where I am going to go with this and it is just possible that in sharing what I am about to share it is an attempt to shed some of my own grief. That said; the request for prayers is for my daughter, her husband and their precious little boy. After spending Sunday morning at their home helping them get ready for a new baby, goofing off and just being silly I was at home prepping the boat for the Marine Area 9 opener and a trip to Mid-Channel Bank (I was hoping for both early limits and a long delivery). I received a call with an urgent request to head for the hospital. I knew that they were headed that direction but figured that I had a day or so before the blessed event would occur and was surprised that they were being admitted. Arriving at the hospital in record time, nothing in the world could have prepared me for the next 24 hours.
My daughter and her husband were expecting their first baby. My daughter had been preparing for the moment ever since she was a little girl and so very excited. Sunday morning, she was glowing in anticipation as we did a few last-minute preparations. She was one happy young lady. Her husband was just as excited but the whole baby thing was kind of new for him. He had never really been around babies but had stepped up and got on the baby band wagon. It was fun watching him as he matured into his upcoming fatherly duties. He and my daughter had been busy for weeks assembling cribs and other baby furniture, crafting baby things and weaving their nest. My son-in-law, being a small-town Texas boy even had a zip-loc bag of Texas dirt that he had planned to place under the delivery bed so their baby could be born on Texas soil. Their little guy was going to be one very loved little boy.
On arrival at the hospital I was rushed into the delivery room and as I entered my son-in-law lovingly handed me the lifeless body of their baby. I tightly held both of them for a very long time, maybe hours trying to take some of his grief away. Thankfully my daughter was still out recovering from the anesthesia and did not yet know what had happened.
Their pregnancy had been textbook normal. All the prenatal milestones were met with flying colors. My daughter didn’t do drugs, smoke, ate well and was generally healthy. As they arrived at the hospital everything was progressing as to be expected and with a sense of excitement their moment was almost there. After being admitted and with regular contractions the Delivery Center staff prepared for a routine delivery. They had placed the fetal monitor and noted that babies heart rate was crashing with each contraction. The delivery team determined that an emergency c-section was required. My daughter and son-in-law were rushed to the OR where they performed the c-section. Unfortunately, his little heart beat one last time and he was gone shortly after the delivery. My son-in-law was there, lost in the middle of the lengthy but unsuccessful resuscitation effort.
I had stepped out of the room for a bit and when I returned my daughter had just woken up. My son-in-law had somehow summoned the strength to relive the terror he had just experienced and told my daughter that their little boy didn’t make it. My daughter who has a very special gentle spirit was lost and in complete despair. She was holding their baby, knowing that he would never see her. With eyes pleading for help, once again their little man was handed to me. My heart was breaking for them and their beautiful little boy. I was willing him to open his eyes, I even prayed that god would take me and give them their baby back. He was cute as a button and perfect in every way. I hope he knew how much they loved him.
The sorrow shared in the room even extended to the delivery team. Her doctor, our family doctor who had delivered two of our other grandkids was shaken and crying with us. With swollen eyes my wife and I had to make arrangements for our grandchild. My request for prayers is not for us but for my daughter and her husband. They will be going home to a very empty home, please pray that they can find peace in each other.
For our grandson; rest in peace little man we love you.
Thank you
Sorry for their great loss.
