I was hit by a girl in a hurry (much like myself) not paying attention and with too much on her mind. The car spun a full circle and came to a stop against a telephone pole. At first, I had full clarity. I climbed out of the passenger side door as I couldn't get the driver's side door open. I walked around the back of the car to find the candy for our delicious candy/dessert table scattered on the ground amidst a sea of glass (from the car and all the gorgeous apothecary jars we planned to display the candy in).
It seems that all the items in my trunk had taken flight including framed maternity pictures and my little blue elephant given to the baby by my ailing grandmother. At first, I kept thinking, "How can I salvage this day?" I can probably find more orange gummy bears at walmart. Then, I realized the magnitude of the mess and just wanted to get my blue elephant out of the road.
That's when the sweetest man/guardian angel came up to me and convinced me to sit down. I took a seat in my car in the passenger seat and another sweet angel came to talk to me. I don't remember much after that. I remember seeing Justin come flying to the scene asking if anyone had called 911. Then there is a memory of firefighters asking me questions that I couldn't answer. It is terrifying when you don't remember how many weeks gestation you are (33 to be exact). Then things went blurry.
My next memory is being in the back of an ambulance in a cervical collar and strapped to a board. I saw Justin and said, "Someone I know!" but I couldn't remember how I knew him. Just that he was good and I couldn't let him leave me. EMS let him ride with me to the hospital and he kept talking to me so I wouldn't get anxious. I just kept thinking that I couldn't feel the baby move and that I shouldn't be lying on my back. I was terrified that he wasn't okay and that today would be a day we would lose the baby we loved so much when we should have celebrating his near arrival.
Time flew by in the ED. The first order of business was to check on Baby Jack. He had his own nurse too. Her name was Lynn and she was absolutely amazing. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and as soon as I heard that healthy heartbeat, all was well. I can't tell you how much a relief it was. I was completely at peace regardless of what the rest of the day was going to be like. Justin's uncle Myron brought everyone in to the bay and said the most beautiful prayer for us. We had so much to be thankful for.
Apparently, I was there for nearly six hours but it seemed like 2 hours at most. I was nauseated and the lights were giving me the worst headache. My CT came back clear and I was finally able to get the cervical collar off. The baby shower was officially cancelled and I was admitted overnight to monitor my contractions. Keeping a pregnant woman NPO for over 24 hours should be criminal but thankfully they never needed to intervene. The baby did fantastic.
On the plus side, we had an impromptu baby shower in the hospital room. Katie when to the Harbour Club and picked up all the food which I was told was delicious. I found out later it was, in fact, incredible! After a short visit, everyone packed up and headed home expect Katie, Sherry, and Cliff. I don't know what we would have done without them. Katie helped pick the house up, walked the dogs, and packed an overnight bag. Sherry and Cliff stored all the food, cleaned up, stayed the night with the dogs, and helped us the next morning after we were discharged from the hospital. Even brought us breakfast. I have amazing family!
The one man I mentioned earlier, went around and picked up all the baby shower decorations, candy, etc and put them in Justin's car. He even kept Justin's car at his apartment complex so Justin could ride with me in the ambulance. I was told he even offered Justin deer meat (if you know me, you know why this is funny). However, super sweet and he is going to get a huge thank you from me!
I learned so many things from this experience...
1. God is always in control. His timing is perfect. Injury, illness, and death are never convenient but they are all in His time and often, I think, perfectly timed to get your attention and make you realize what a blessing life is and just how fortunate we are to have who we have in our lives.
2. Never let a celebration become bigger than an event. I feel that we often times allow ourselves to be consumed in the planned, me especially. I allow the stress to overshadow the joy and this experience was a reminder that no party or baby shower is worth losing sight of the miracle of our little bundle.
3. Always wear your seatbelt. This is an obvious one.
4. Never leave the house upset. I've always heard never go to sleep angry. It's even biblical but I have to say that sometimes the best thing I did in an argument was just go to sleep. You have a chance to rest, cool off, and often times I'm far more forgiving in the morning after a restful sleep and cup of coffee. Leaving the house angry is an entirely different thing. You have no guarantee that you or your significant other will return. Never, ever leave the house angry.
I am so incredibly thankful for the family and friends who helped Justin and I through such a stressful weekend. While I'm disappointed that the shower didn't happen, I'm absolutely convinced that it just wasn't meant to be. I was wrapped in so much more love this weekend than I ever expected.
Well those are my thoughts on the shower-the-wasn't. If you made it to the end of this entry I am super impressed with you! I leave you with a picture of the most precious cake you've ever seen...
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