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Sunday, December 19, 2004
A Very Special Episode, Based On An Inspiring True Story
This weekend we were expecting some friends to come up for a visit; they were supposed to show up late last night and sleep in our "guest apartment" (aka schoolroom, storage area, and 'that extraneous area over the garage which is the REAL reason we rent that space'), and depart late this evening after driving around looking at property in the afternoon, because they are planning to move near here in the very near future. They did not show up, so when the phone rang this morning while we were getting ready to leave for church, we knew it would be them with an explanation. Said explanation totally floored us.
They didn't come because the wife is in labor. Now, that's not the surprising part, unless you're familiar with the situation, which, come on, you can't be, I'm just telling you about it now, aren't I. We hadn't been told she was pregnant. That's not the surprising part either; T and C have been friends for about twenty-five years and they are the sort of friends who may not see each other often in person, but they ALWAYS have a running gag or a joke to play on each other, so that (the "surprise! My wife is out to here!" moment), in addition to the fact that there have been many, many pregnancy disappointments up till this point for this couple, is an understandable reason why we'd not have found this out yet in all the conversations T and C have had in the past months. Which is tied into what IS the surprising part. (you knew I'd get here if you just hung in long enough, didn't you.)
C and S have been married for maybe thirteen years. For about eight of those years they tried very hard to have a baby, but S kept miscarrying. As in, ten or twelve times, ranging anywhere from just after she found out she was pregnant up to one stillbirth at five months' gestation; her doctor finally told her that she has a malformed uterus (my own personal theory is that she is a DES daughter, but that's beside the point) and that she was probably never going to carry a baby to term. So they stopped trying. Fast forward five years or so to this past summer: S was feeling sick and tired all the time. S was gaining weight no matter how much she watched what she ate and worked out. S went to the doctor to find out that she was three months pregnant. Her OB told her after a sonogram not to expect anything good; her uterus hadn't changed at all and she would probably lose this baby.
So C and S went to their church and told them about the situation. The people laid hands on S, prayed for her, anointed her, and (forgive me for sounding crass about this, but I am inexperienced) did whatever else it is that charismatic congregations do in this sort of situation. We are talking some serious praying going on. S went back to the doctor and the doctor said that her uterus was completely normal and called it a miracle.
Which we call it too. And anytime they want to skip out on a weekend date with us because they're having a healthy full-term miracle, they're welcome to do so. Even though I spent most of the day yesterday getting that guest apartment ready.
