Twenty-five Years Ago

Twenty-five years ago I was laying on the couch with feet up, ankles swollen, awaiting the arrival of my first set of twins. A C-section was scheduled for February 1st since one of the babies was in a breech position. I was so excited to be having two babies at once yet overwhelmed at the same time. I already had a little toddler at home and she was so helpful and also excited to be having two babies at once! I felt so special.
 The day arrived, we went to the hospital and got prepared for the c-section. I chose to be awake during the procedure. I was able to watch the birth on a large mirror positioned above me. I am not sure I would recommend it! Seeing your belly sliced open while you are awake is a bit much! However, when the Dr. removed baby no.1 and then baby no.2, only one minute apart, a sudden rush of joy overwhelmed me. What  a miracle and gift from God!
 There was a lot of hustle and bustle in the operating room and I heard the Dr. saying they needed to transport baby no.1 to an Intensive Care Unit in another hospital down in Chicago which was an hour away. He was in trouble and in critical condition and may not survive. My heart sunk. I didn't even get to hold him, they just rushed him away. Baby no.2 was stable and was okay at the time but needed oxygen so I could not hold her also. The next thing I knew it was the next day.
I awoke not knowing whether or not baby no.1 had survived the night or not. Soon after awaking a nurse came into my room to tell me that baby no. 2 had also been transported to the Intensive Care Unit in Chicago. I felt so alone and disappointed and my heart was aching for my babies. I wanted so desperately to get to them but there I lay trying to recover as quickly as I could from a C-section. I pleaded with the Dr. to discharge me early so I could go and be with my babies.They gave me a phone number that I could call to get the update on their status but that just was not enough! After only staying in the hospital for three days they discharged me and off I went to Chicago, pain and all.
It was a painful sight to see both of my babies in such a predicament. They both had tubes everywhere and wires and machines of all sorts. I think back to that day and realize that I was only twenty-five at the time. It was a lot to absorb. The Dr. told me that baby no.1 would probably not survive since his lung had collapsed and overall was not doing well. He wanted me to bring in a chaplain and to say good-bye to my baby. I refused! I told him that I was praying for my babies and I was believing that God was going to get them through this. It was an emotional roller-coaster for two weeks as they both struggled to hold onto their little precious lives, but as me and their Dad and the sweet people of our church held them up in prayer, things began to turn around and they began to improve and gain weight and breathe on their own. After two and a half weeks we were able to bring these two babies home. They were born at 28 weeks which is considered premature, but for a twin pregnancy not too bad. They both weighed over 6lbs. which was very good. We were so thankful to have them. In just a few days from now those two babies will celebrate their 25th birthday! That in itself is something to be very thankful for. God is good, all of the time!