The Agony and the Ecstasy

The waiting was nearly over. After working only a few hours on Monday morning, I said good bye to Andy and headed down the road toward Christy's. When I got there, she was outside walking around trying to encourage the contractions to start and become significant. The mid-wife had been there in the morning to break her water but was unable to because the baby's head was too far down into the birth canal.

But the baby was two whole weeks overdue, so it was inevitable that something was going to happen SOON. And it did. By supper time, Christy as getting some contractions, and although they were irregular and not too severe, she called her mid-wife and went upstairs.

Christian and the kids and I were just about to sit down for our supper when I got a call on my cell phone. I looked to see who was calling and noticed it was someone from church. I hesitated about answering but in the end, did so. The person asked me if I knew Andy was in the hospital. I was confused and asked: "Andy, my husband???" It wasn't making sense to me because I had left him only a few hours earlier and he had looked and seemed fine. But it was true, he was in the hospital with an extremely high fever. Apparently, it had come on him quite suddenly around 2:30. He called the doctor at 3:00 and was able to see him at 3:30. His parents took him to the appointment because he was shaking with chills and was somewhat disoriented. From the doctor's appointment, he went to the hospital where he was admitted. His temperature spiked at 104 degrees.

So now I'm dealing with the highs and lows of emotions: the excitement of a new baby about to be born and the worry of my husband in the hospital.

Meanwhile, Christy's labor became more intense. I sat down in the living room with the kids to watch a movie with them. And believe it or not, by the time the movie was over, the baby was born. I know it didn't seem like it was that quick for Christy who was going through it, but to me - that was a fast delivery.

After she and the baby were cleaned up, the kids and I were able to go see them. Everyone had a turn holding little Claire Ruth. What a joy!I stayed the night but decided to go back home on Tuesday. Christian took the day off work and Wednesday had a forecast of rain so he wouldn't be working that day either. He is such a good help around the house, I knew Christy would be in good hands!

So I went home and visited Andy in the hospital. Dawn was there when I got there and they were laughing and having a good time together. Andy was feeling a lot better. I guess being on an IV drip really perked him up. He had a bladder infection, but it must have been a doozy to hit him so hard so fast. But his recovery was also pretty fast. He stayed in the hospital until Wednesday when I brought him home around noon. Believe it or not, he went in to work that afternoon, worked all day Thursday and Friday and is again working this morning. Well, there's a lot to do and it won't get done unless he does it. He says he feels good, so I hope he's not overdoing it.

It was a pretty intense week, especially on Monday and Tuesday, but God was there with us every minute. I'm praising Him for the birth of our 9th grandchild and for restoring Andy to health.