Seven Minutes To Motherhood

On this Mother's Day weekend, I've been thinking about the seven minutes between life and death that made our youngest daughter a mother. I prayed a lifetime in those seven minutes. I even heard Amazing Grace playing in my head and got a warm feeling that, against all odds at that moment, all would be OK.

I decided to do this post today because so many of my blogging friends are asking for prayers for friends and loved ones who are struggling with disease, cancers, or the death of someone close to them. I want them to know there is hope and that sometimes prayers do get answered. Sometimes we are flooded with Amazing Grace.

When Jaimee's daughter Lily was born a few weeks before Mother's Day seven years ago, baby Lily wasn't breathing. A nurse started working as hard as she could on the baby, but each minute that went by one of the medical team (who were working on complications with mama) would call out the time since birth. 
One minute...two minutes... three minutes...four minutes...

Someone in the room yelled, ring the emergency bell for help! Seconds later, in came a doctor (Dr Gray) in emergency-orange-colored scrubs. She shot to the baby's side and worked with all her heart...five minutes....six minutes... Under her breath, I heard Dr Gray say: "...come on baby, come on baby..." And just before the "seven minutes" call, like from way down deep in a well, we all heard a quiet little cry that meant the world to us.

After a day or so, mama could start to touch Lily through the armhole in the bassinet. Everyone warned Jaimee there might be complications that would last a life time. Here I am at five days, when I was able to hold Lily in the NICU.

Lily went home at the end of one week. She surprised everyone by overcoming the complications and thriving. Of course everyone wanted to love on her and kiss on her.

Everyone on the medical staff that day would be surprised to know that she has no lasting complications, despite their dire warnings.

Sometimes when we're visiting and Lily is not feeling well, she holds still for a little while, and I get to hold her and rock her again. It's then I'm reminded that prayers really do get answered.

Here's Lily playing cards with her Grampy a year or so ago. He was concentrating and giving it his all...Lily not so much.

Across the table from him, Lily was multi-tasking! She's ahead of her class in reading, writing, math, etc. Nothing holds her back.

I heard Dr Oz tell someone on a "miracles" show last week that people are often brain-dead after 5 minutes without breathing. I'm so glad that wonderful Dr Gray, wearing her emergency-orange-colored scrubs, was in the right place at the right time that day. 

And by the way, Dr Gray was the head of the Neonatal ICU on the 2nd floor below, and it was by the grace of God that she was walking by that room, clear up on the 3rd floor, that day. She told me later that something kept telling her to go up to the birthing wing on the 3rd floor. She walked up to the nurses station just as a call for help came from the room right across the hall. 

If you don't think prayers can be answered, just think about the chances of that day. That the one person in the hospital who was the most qualified to resuscitate a newborn, the top pediatrics doctor, was pulled by some unknown force to leave her duties in another part of the hospital and go upstairs and walk up to the nurses station right outside that room - - right at that moment! 

Amazing Grace. There's no other explanation for it. And the doctor's name, Dr Gray(ce), didn't escape me either. 

Thanks for dropping by and Happy Mother's Day!