Healthy Baby Brings Joy
After the death of two babies, my wife Sheila gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
“Wow, he’s just great,” I told Sheila as I leaned over her hospital bed to kiss her on the forehead. She was in pain from the C-Section incision, but this time happiness enveloped her, diminishing any discomfort.
“I was able to suit up in whites and special sanitized gloves. In these, I can enter the Infant Intensive Care Unit. I’ve held his hand and touched his face through special holes in the side of his clear plastic covered crib. Doctor Dawes says Daniel is doing great and you should be able to hold him tomorrow when they release him from the Unit.”
“I know having him down there is just a precaution because of our past history. Doctor Dawes didn’t want to take any chances. I’m so happy and at peace, but I long to see and hold him. Well, in another day and I will.”
Mother and Child are Fine
Just then Doctor Dawes entered Sheila’s room.
“Your son is doing quite well as I’m sure Ken has told you already.”
“You’re so comfortable down in the Unit, you look like one of the staff,” he joked, looking directly at me. Then he looked back at Sheila.
“Your C-Section went fine. Given some of the advances we’ve made in the surgery, you may be discharged in just a few days, rather than the week required when you had your last one three years ago.”
“And we performed the tubal ligation as you had desired. It also went quite well. As a medical doctor, I’m really pleased that the two of you made the decision to have the procedure. It just makes sense.”
“Now please forgive me for the very brief visit, but I have other patients to see. Congratulations again.”
Bonding Begins
The next day, I entered Sheila’s room, she was holding Daniel, the name we had decided to give our son.
“I didn’t think he’d be out of the Infant Intensive Care Unit so quickly,” Sheila said.
“A nurse brought him to me about an hour or so ago. I can feel the immediate bonding with him. He’s so peaceful. It’s so special having him next to me. It’s just wonderful. I’m in heaven.”
The next few days I visited Sheila as often as possible.
Free of concerns, Sheila had thrown herself into holding and feeding Daniel, the brightness of her eyes lighting up the room. I lingered at her bedside, filled with happiness, not wanting to leave my wife and our new son.
“You know that you’re beaming, just the way you looked after we adopted Kim. I can see that you’re at peace. Your radiance is just so beautiful.”
Finally at Peace
“Thanks.” she said blushing. “I am at peace. That word son sure sounds wonderful when you say it. Speaking of Kim, how is my lovely daughter? As much as I’m floating on a cloud when I hold Daniel, I really miss that gal of mine. Her blond hair, her voice, her smile.”
“She’s doing fine but missing you too. Soon you’ll be together again, and now she has a brother too.”
When I drove Sheila and Daniel home from the hospital, the azure sky was lit by a brilliant smiling sun. Good fortune had prevailed. We just knew that the powerful headwinds battering our lives had abated. The storms of fate were gone forever.
Excerpted from Amazon.com: Weave of Destiny eBook : Lefkowitz, Ken: Kindle Store.
Read more from Ken on Open to Hope: Husband Admires Wife’s Strength After Child-Loss – Open to Hope
