A Reminder to be Thankful Always

A friend of mine lost her baby. She is supposed to give birth this coming September but almost two weeks ago she had excessive bleeding. She was immediately rushed off to the hospital. Upon inspection, her doctor gave her family a choice; conduct an emergency CS to at least save the life of my friend or lose both mother and baby. Her family had chosen to save my friend while hoping that with the medical advancements of today her baby girl will be able to survive despite being weeks too early. They were ecstatic when the baby cried loudly and even got a good Apgar score after birth but being premature, she still needed to be confined at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital.  

Unfortunately, the next day complications start cropping up. She had difficulty breathing. The doctors had given her surfactant to help her lungs function but for some reason it did not work. After an X-ray examination, they found out that she got an enlarged heart. Her condition just continues to go from bad to worse. Baby Czarina Isabel took her last breath around noon of that day.

When I find out what happened, my heart broke into pieces. Losing a child for me is the saddest thing a parent can ever experience. It does not matter whether the loss occurred because of a miscarriage, a sickness, or an accident. A dead child is a dead child.

We attended baby Isa’s wake last Monday. She was a beautiful baby. As I stood staring at her small body encased in a tiny white coffin, I realized how blessed I am that I can still hug, kiss, tickle, and nurse my little Queen B. What happened to my friend could have happened to me too.

I left out a detail in my labor story. When my doctor plucked out our little Queen B from my womb, she had observed that my amniotic fluid level was far lower than expected. My water bag had been leaking longer than we thought it was. Urinary incontinence is a common occurrence in pregnant women but the small amount of fluid that came out of me that morning felt different. I just knew that it is not urine but amniotic fluid. If I had not listened to my instinct and waited until my scheduled checkup a few days from that day, it might have been too late for my Georgina or even for me. I know I have God to be thankful for my safe delivery.

Death is a fact of life. I lost my Papa at the age of 15. At anytime, I could lose my Mama, any of siblings, my husband, even my baby or they could lose me. The mere thought of it is enough to make me cry. But it is also a reminder to me to be thankful always to the Lord. I owe everything I have in my life to Him. Every single day I am still with my loved ones is indeed a blessing I can never ever repay like His gift of salvation.

I still haven’t talk to my friend about what happened. When we attended baby Isa’s wake, she is still in the hospital recovering. She had lost a lot of blood that blood transfusion was required. Right now, she is already at home. I want to give her time to be with her family especially her son and husband but one of these days I’ll visit her. Honestly, I don’t even know what I will say to her except for the “sorry for your loss” line I had already said in my text message to her. I can’t claim I know what she feels because I don’t and I hope I will never know. I guess I don’t have to say anything but just be with her and listen if she wants to speak. For now, I will include her in my prayers.

Let me end this post with these verses from the Bible. I hope all of us will find comfort from the words of our dear Lord and Father. 

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone”. Lamentations 3: 31-33