Whose Report Will You Believe?

Like most people I use social media to keep up with the lives of family, friends and former coworkers.  FB has reminded me of birthdays, anniversaries and announcements of baby births.  I get to see graduation pics as well as accomplishments, promotions and weddings.  Facebook certainly has its benefits. The clever thing about Facebook using the new memories feature is that we are often reminded of things that happened during the same time last year or in the past several years that we would have otherwise not normally thought of.  I was reminded by Facebook of life changing memories a few weeks ago. As I looked back over the pictures, my mind was flooded with various emotions. I have been reflecting on those memories ever since.  On Labor Day in 2011, over 50 family and friends gathered in our home anxiously awaiting the gender reveal of the miracle baby I was carrying. The pictures that flooded my Facebook page on the day of the reveal spoke volumes. Friends and family from all around the US and abroad joined in our excitement and celebration.  And if pictures were worth a thousand words, those pictures would have screamed words like: faithful, awesome, amazing, praise God! ! A modern day miracle baby. We called our baby a miracle because after two missed pregnancies and the diagnosis that a viable pregnancy was slim to none, there was no other description that seemed fitting or appropriate. And after being told it was unlikely that I would conceive, we walked away from our final fertility appointment telling the Dr. who delivered the grim news… that we chose to trust God. She warned me in no uncertain terms that getting pregnant could prove to be life threatened for me, based on my history. It was at that moment my husband and I chose to believe the report of the Lord.  We agreed that no matter what happened… from this point forward we had to trust God. We left that appointment hopeful, despite the report we received.  We decided not to share the news with anyone.  That night as we walked into our cell group bible study, a friend said to me, I prayed for you today and God said that he was going to restore your womb and you surely will conceive and have a baby.  She was unaware of the grim report we had just received hours earlier and she proceeded to pray fervently over my womb.  And three months later, almost to the day….guess who was pregnant.  You guessed it!!

My husband and I were so excited that we were going to have a baby. We planned a vacation to Mexico as a last get away before our bundle of joy was due to arrive and while i was till safe for me to travel. While we were in Mexico, we got a call from my Dr. asking how I felt and to find out why I did not want to have an amniocentesis.  The Dr. went on to say that because of my age (and solely because of my age) his recommended was that if I were not going to consider the having the test that I would at least consider going to see a maternal fetal specialist.  I told the Dr. I wold consider it when I returned back to the US but for now I was going to enjoy my vacation.

Upon my return home, my husband and I agreed to see the maternal fetal specialist.  It was the Friday before our reveal party. The Dr. saw some abnormalities with the baby’s heart, she said these abnormalities were consistent with children who had Down Syndrome.  She asked why I didn’t want to take the Amniocentesis, I said in the end, i am having the baby regardless so taking the test wouldn’t do anything but cause unnecessary stress for the remainder of the pregnancy.  BESIDES, my miracle baby did not have Down Syndrome so the test wasn’t really warranted.  My husband jumped in, with concern in his voice and asked if I could still have the test ( since I was so late in my pregnancy)  The Dr. said yes.  My husband encouraged me to take the test, just to rule out the possibility for once and for all.  We talked about the risk, but convinced that our miracle baby was fine, I agreed but I assured the Dr. and my husband that the baby did not have down syndrome. My mind was already made up, I was going to believe the report of the Lord!  The test was completed and we were told we would receive the results on Tuesday.  (the day after the reveal party)

Labor Day 2011, The Big Reveal ….our home was filled to capacity… There was an unexplainable but very tangible sense of love and excitement in the air.  Chants of people shouting ( and I do mean shouting)”team Boy” or “team girl”  could be heard beyond the confines of our walls.  Our house could not contain the excitement. And as people waiting with extreme anticipation for us to cut the cake…. the lingering thought in the back of our minds was not whether the filling of the cake was blue or pink but whether the results from the amniocentesis were positive or negative.

We cut the cake……  “Team Boy” wins!  We’re having a Boy!  A namesake for the Harvey Legacy. The crowd roared!

And then the call came, Mrs. Harvey…. the test was positive.  Your son has down syndrome and will be mentally retarded.  Wait!!! what??!!

Psalm 27:13-14  Isa 53:1

For Such a Time as This…

A few weeks ago, I took my son Jon Jon to a routine Cardiology visit.  I was following up after a recent Urgent care visit to make sure the pins that were used to close his chest after his heart surgery were still intact.  We walked into the Doctor’s office and the Nurses were elated to see Jon Jon, noting how much he had grown and how vibrant his personality was.  Jon Jon in his usually fashion greeted everyone with a quick wave and a flash of his million dollar smile.  He found his way to a little boy who was sitting in the waiting area while his Mom finished up the check-in process.  I immediately followed Jon Jon to his new found friend because Jon Jon is known for his overly affectionate greetings.  I urged him to used” kind hands” and to my surprise Jon Jon climbed in the chair next to the little boy and said hi and then quickly ran over to entertain himself with some of the toys that were in the waiting area.  I left Jon Jon in the waiting area and took my turn at completing the check-in process.  I could hear Jon Jon’s cheerful chatter in the background as he entertained himself with the toys.  The nurse and I caught up on all of the exciting things that had taken place in Jon Jon’s life over the past year.  I shared that he had started Pre K and had adjusted  very well.  We shared that he was speaking a lot more and had mastered a lot of the goals set for him during his last school year.  After catching up with the Nurse I returned to the waiting area to update and sign some paperwork.  As I glanced over at Jon Jon I smiled internally knowing his journey and how far he has has come.  I said Jon Jon you are playing nicely like a big boy…Mommy is so very proud of you.  Just as I was about to finish signing the last page of the paperwork, the Mother of the little boy turned to me and said…. your son is blessing me so much right now! I smiled not sure what she was referring to exactly.  She went on to say I just had a little girl and she has…. And she burst into tears.  I knew what the end of that sentence was and I knew the emotions she was feeling at that very moment.  I could relate.  I stood up and walked toward this perfect stranger sitting in the waiting area of the Cardiologist’s office and opened my arms to offer her a hug.  She received my hugs and cried in my arms…. They weren’t tears of sorrow… But I understood those tears because I have cried them,  at times I still cry them.  But now they are silent tears…. Tears that acknowledge that my greatest fears have become my greatest joy. Jon Jon was born with Down Syndrome and what the second time Mom said without words was that her daughter who was just born, was also born with Down Syndrome.  She said he’s amazing! I said and she will be too!!! I told her she may not understand it now but having a child with Down Syndrome is an amazing and rewarding Journey.  All Children are Gifts!  but Children with Down Syndrome are an indescribable gift, it’s a surprise package.  As we sat there I began to share my story with her..(the one I will share with you).. All of the details…. she listened intently in amazement and while she was fascinated by my story, she could relate…because there were so many similarities.  We discovered that God had performed miracles in both Jon Jon and her daughter’s life. Life changing miracles that made the question of his existence impossible to deny.  And then they called her son’s name and she exited the waiting room encouraged and hopeful. The Nurse overheard our conversation and she too was blessed by what I had shared…..she said and just think if your appointment wasn’t cancelled last week and if you weren’t late today you would have missed the opportunity to meet her.  It was a divine appointment and it was at that very moment I realized that “for such a time as this”Jon Jon was born!. His story is a miraculous one indeed, one filled with lots of rain and many “Reignbows”.  And for this reason alone….  I can’t keep silent.  I must continue to share our journey..  Esther 4:14

Hello world!

After spending several months of my life in the “rain” of life’s experiences, I realized a profund truth.  There are rainbows after the rain! These rainbows are created so that we can see the beauty of the experience we faced.   It creates a level of appreciation and respect for the rain.  It makes us conscious of the necessity of the rain.  And in a weird way it makes us look forward to more rain understanding that more rain will bring new, brighter and even greater rainbows.  And if we are truly wise, we will learn how to “reign” in the rainbows… Sharing our rainbows help others draw strength, encouragement and hope from them.  It’s in the sharing that our “Reignbows” are illuminated the brightest.

“Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”- C.S Lewis