Charlotte's story... part 2

cont. from here... Thankfully the spinal tap went well and another didn't have to be done (which we had been told was a possibility).  Two visitors were allowed at a time and there were 5 of us in the waiting room... waiting.  We all got our turns and then Cory took the girls and I back to the house to pack some clothes and necessities for Monte, Hillary and Charlotte who were now looking at 3 more days away from home.  We stopped at the store on the way back to the house for sandwich fixings since these parents who had just had a baby yesterday morning hadn't had much to eat in two days.

As I said in the previous post, the hospital was almost an hour away so by the time the food reached our little family it was just after 10:00 p.m.  They were supposed to be transferred to a 'real' room in the children's hospital but we found them in the cramped little space we had left them in.  They had Hillary on a bed and were trying to figure out how they might fit another in for Monte.  I honestly don't know how they did it but they did.  Apparently there was no room at the hospital which only happens a couple of times a year.

Now Charlotte was hooked up to an antibiotic drip which made nursing quite difficult for the brand new mama.  I'll add that she wasn't complaining.  She was doing a wonderful job at going with the flow and just loving on and caring for her baby.  Monte was doing what he does best and keeping on top of the staff and information... taking care of his family.

The next day they were moved out of the emergency room into the children's hospital.  I'm only going to say that from here on out Charlotte was a human pincushion and nerves were getting quite raw (as were her arms, legs and feet) by the third day.  Prayers were constant and we knew that she was in the loving care of her Father in heaven as well as the sweet parents that were given her on earth.  That was our comfort.  On day three Hillary's mother in law picked me up at the house and together we went to be with them while they waited to be released. By now we felt confident that Charlotte was well.  Close to check out time we were visited by a doctor who told us that there was something wrong with Charlotte's last blood draw and they would have to do yet another.  Dad had pretty much 'had it' and questioned if it was really necessary and we were told that her platelet count was very low and that if the next draw showed the same it could be very serious.  Here we were, almost like we were starting this nightmare all over again.  Once again blood was drawn and we all sat in tearful silence for quite some time.  We were told that we wouldn't know the results for 2 hours.

Several hours later we were finally visited with the release papers and the "all is well."  All was well.  Just like that.

And here we are 2 months later with the sweetest baby girl ever.  The beautiful baby girl who has smiled since she was born.  No kidding... every day since she was born and now she laughs out loud.  I don't understand the rocky start but I do know that the One who orchestrates all things know's exactly what the plan is and I thank Him for His grace and His perfect gift!

It's almost midnight.  We just got back from 4 days of church camp and I'm tired.  I've written the happy ending to the beginning of Charlotte's story and now I'm going to bed.  

Blessings, Debbie

*  The above photos are from 2 weekends ago...  We had them for 3 days!