This Post has been a long time coming..........
there are 2 reasons...
1) I was waiting for the photos
and more importantly....
2) I was waiting for the courage.....
Tears are falling down my cheeks and onto my keyboard......
and once again, I am in awe of The Power and Grace of My God......
I have this new found addiction...
I am addicted to "A Baby Story"
Everyday from 1-2pm, you will find me in my kitchen...
Prepping for Dinner with tears rolling down my cheeks.
I watch these stories of babies being born and I am just in awe of this miracle of Life,
and I think of how many healthy, beautiful babies are born each day,
and I think of how easily we take that for granted.
And then I think of Bailey.
and the tears don't roll down my cheeks they Flow out of me like a river,
Still....
11 years later.
It was in April of 2002,
My sister, Jami and her husband, Scott live in Illinois with their 2 yr old daughter Rylee
My sister Jami was pregnant for her 2nd child.
We were so excited because she was coming to NY for a visit.
Prior to her trip, Jami and Scott were told that there was a problem with the Baby.
Tests were done, the waiting began and Jami made the trip to NY.
I will never forget that Sunday in church,
Jami went up to the altar and we prayed,
I mean we cried out,
The congregation began laying hands on Jami and that precious baby that she was carrying,
We didn't know what we were dealing with,
but we prayed together and we believed together.
Well, soon after, the answers came...
I'd love to tell you that the baby was healed instantly and they found no cause for alarm...
That's not how the story goes.....
Instead, news came that this baby suffered from a Diaphragmatic Hernia,
Basically, she had no diaphragm,
the part of our body that separates our organs in our chest from those in our abdomen.
Prognosis....
Not Good.
Jami carried that baby girl to full term...
not knowing what would happen when she made her appearance...
I can't imagine the strength that it took...
how she did that, for months,
the uncertainty...
There's only one way that she was able..
GOD's GRACE.
On August 21...Miss Bailey Rae Brower made her debut..
By GOD's GRACE,
Bailey was born at the hospital which just happened to have the The World's Leading Surgeon for CDH babies.
Bailey was whisked away and evaluated..
She had little to no diaphragm,
her abdominal organs were in her chest cavity,
her heart was displaced and she had one lung.
Prognosis for survival 10%
Bailey was placed in the NICU,
she was on a heart lung machine
and she was SICK...
For 5 months,she lay in that NICU,
For 5 months, my sister lived at The Ronald McDonald House..
For 5 months, she sat in that NICU,
praying. believing, willing her child to live..
telling her, begging with her to fight.
Jami and Scott would return to The RMH exhausted,
sleep was elusive.
How do you sleep when your child is fighting to live?
Then the phone call came...
They believed that Bailey had developed a yeast infection that was growing into the Gortex Diaphragm they had used to repair her hernia.
They were told, " Go take some time and make plans for her final arrangements"
WHAT????
How do you hear those words, and keep breathing?
Then the words came.....
Jami heard these words....
"BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"
That right there, those 8 words are a perfect example of GOD's GRACE.
There were many more ups and downs....
Many unknowns, many uncertainties....
But one thing never changed...
One thing was certain...
GOD's GRACE was present at every moment and through every situation.
This story isn't over......
Not even close....
On August 21, 2013....
Miss Bailey Rae Brower will be celebrating her 11th Birthday.
She is as perfect as they come, she is active and brilliant and beautiful and has the brightest personality
I've ever seen!
She "lights up" a room.
I remember going to see Bailey shortly after she was born..
When I walked into the NICU, I felt like someone had sucked every bit of life out of me.
I wanted to leave, I wanted to run out of that room.
All that I could think was "How do Jami and Scott do this all day, every day"
How do they walk in there and sing to her and talk to her,
Where do they find the breath?
The strength?
What do you cling to?
How do you sleep?
How do you get up in the morning?
I couldn't fathom any of it.
Once in a conversation with my sister, long after Bailey was well, I asked her..
How did you do it?
How did you hold it together?
Her response was" I don't know, I don't even remember alot of it"
That, that unknowing, that inability to remember, it's GOD's GRACE,
when life is more than we can comprehend,
When the burden is so heavy that it is inconceivable to carry,
GOD's GRACE takes over..
HE brings us through...
Our job is only to be still and know.......
My heart is full and my tears are many,
Shelly
For you Jami and Scott, you are true heroes
Miss Bailey Rae, God's plan for you is unbelievable!
<3
