Family Miracles

Today in Primary, sharing time was about Doctrine and Covenants 63:9--"But behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe." Sister Thompson talked and gave personal and scriptural examples of how having faith precedes miracles. She told the kids that in every family, there are miracles that come from faith and prayer, and encouraged everyone to go home and have a discussion about what miracles families have seen.

It got me thinking about the day Eli was born. I know I've talked about how miraculous it was before, but there's a part II to that miracle. Here is the original post about his birth. To sum up, I had a very healthy pregnancy until week 37, when I started having pain under my ribcage. Eventually it got to the point where I couldn't even stand. I stopped going to work and started going to the hospital every day, saying, "Something is wrong." They would run all kinds of tests and, every day for a week they sent me home saying, "You're fine. It's pregnancy. Nothing is wrong." Soon, they were sending me home after giving me Morphine shots/IV treatments because I was in SO. MUCH. PAIN.

You can imagine Spencer and I were praying every day that the pain would go away, or we'd be able to find a solution. Most of all we were praying for safety for the baby. FINALLY, we went to the hospital one morning at 2am because I literally thought I was dying. They decided to do an ultrasound this time and realized, "hey, she is actually dying!" I was in liver failure. They immediately got to work delivering Eli and treating my HELLP syndrome. Eventually I got better.

My doctor was shocked that I had HELLP because none of the symptoms I had were common to that diagnosis. That's why it took them so long to figure it out. It was a miracle that everything worked out the way it did.

But here is Part II of that miracle, that we learned from my doctor a few weeks after Eli was born. 

Two weeks after my HELLP scare, a woman in the last month of her pregnancy went to the hospital with pain under her ribcage saying, "Something is wrong." The staff ran all kinds of tests, and tried to send her home, saying, "You're fine. It's pregnancy. Nothing is wrong." But before she went home, they called her doctor. Who also happened to be my doctor. They told Dr. McCarter there was a woman there with a lot of pain under her ribcage and he said, "It's HELLP. Prep her for an emergency C-section right now." The nurses protested saying, "No really, it isn't HELLP. She doesn't have any of those symptoms."

But Dr. McCarter said, "No, you listen. It's HELLP. This exact same thing happened two weeks ago. Emergency C-section. Now." They delivered that woman's baby and everything worked out fine.

I love this experience because it really taught me something about how the Lord works. Every thing we experience in this life has a purpose. Our experiences may prepare us for things in our future, or they might happen to us so that we can help others.

Having HELLP was so hard and so scary. It was definitely a trial. But Spencer and I knew that through our faith and prayers, we were blessed with health and safety. It's also amazing to know that my doctor learned something through our experience that helped him bless the lives of another family. It's miraculous, really.

Come, be in my tribe.

I just read an inspiring post from Scary Mommy (read it, it's so good) with this same title and immediately thought of the women in my ward. It's been years since I've been in a "tribe" outside of my family. My social hesitation, anxiety, career, and little family have kept me from reaching outside of myself and comfort zone. For years I've been content to limit my interactions with others to fairly superficial relationships.

But the women in my ward have slowly been knocking down my walls. Through visiting teaching, conversations at church, watching over my child, and asking for help, they've taught me the importance of having a tribe. 

Over the past year I've had so many positive interactions with the women in my ward and their families. Then, a few months ago, it hit me. I've been denying myself (and now Eli) something that is so important to the soul: friends. I'm not going to do that to myself or my family any longer! It isn't always easy for me, but I'm trying so hard to reach out to others (and allow them to reach me in return)! So, thanks to all those who have reached out patiently to me :) I am trying to reflect your good examples. Come, be in my tribe. 

"What greater gift dost thou bestow, what greater goodness can we know, than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways, strengthen our faith, enrich our days."
Each Life That Touches Ours for Good #293