Happy Birthday Isabel

Isabel was our first, and remains that, baby born in the morning. She was also born as hurricane Isabel (purely coincidental that they share the same name) headed for the North Carolina coast. Because my delivery with Nehemiah was so quick we decided along with our midwife to have her delivered at home. I had a wonderfully easy three hour labor with a single contraction delivery. And I was left very thankful that we had decided for a home birth as she would have been born there anyway.

Isabel's delivery sure was nice for me but it wasn't so good for her. She was a solid 8 pounds, even though she had just reached term, 37 weeks. But her rapid birth plus slightly immature lungs set her up for major problems. Though she would go back and forth between blue and pink her hands and feet remained a deep blue. She wouldn't cry, nor would she nurse, the only thing she did was maintain a low moaning sound. This certainly caused concern for Scott and I as well as our midwife. After she had a grey spell we rushed her to the pediatricians office.

Our doctor couldn't get a good blood oxygen reading so we headed to the ER just to have her Blood O2 levels checked. As her levels were being checked her saturation suddenly dropped from the 80's (not good) into the low 50's (very bad). They rushed her off with Scott following close behind. She was put on Oxygen which helped her pink up right away. Her blood O2 levels stabilized and it was decided she would stay the night for observation.

The next afternoon they decided to do a room air test and since her numbers stayed high they kept her off the O2. Less than 30 minutes later she began moaning and had another grey episode, back onto the O2 she went. However, she just plummeted from there. In the wee hours of Monday morning they decided she needed to be transferred to Charlotte by helicopter.

As the hospital worked out the arrangements the nurses began to prep her for the flight. I was heartbroken as I watched the nurses make attempts to get an IV into her arms then her legs only to give up and wait for the transfer team. The ambulance team arrived after they found a good vein in her head they did their pre-transfer preparations which included giving her a medicine to open up a valve in her heart. I was able to ride with Isabel in the ambulance to Charlotte as her airlift was changed to a regular ambulance because the air teams were all out on other emergencies.

When we arrived they rushed her through the hospital and I watched her disappear behind the doors of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit while I was told to stay in the waiting room. Finally, someone came out to explain the rules of PICU and the tests they were planning to run - ECG, Strep B, Meningitis, among others. I was also told that she was very jaundiced and would be under Bili lights. I was asked a lot of questions regarding her birth and my prenatal care and was told that I could not nurse her, touch her, or even speak to her. I could spend a few minutes with her every 4 hours. In addition, Scott and I were told that because of the time at such low oxygen levels that she likely would suffer from brain damage. I was devastated!

Just hours later the nurses called me to her bedside for what I thought was going to be a grim announcement. They explained that many of their restrictions were due to questions of negligence regarding the home birth that had since been cleared up. She had shown dramatic improvement and I was allowed to nurse and spend time with her. God really worked in her little body that night and she was sent to the regular pediatric floor on Tuesday afternoon. Several times that week they did room air tests that she kept failing. It turned out that the nasal cannula was obstructing room air so they pulled that to the top of her nose for her last room air test on Friday morning. She passed, with flying colors, and was released to go home.

Every time we took her in for well baby checks our doctor was amazed that she was hitting the normal milestones without any problems. During her first appointment her doctor told us that when she was sent to Charlotte he had very little hope for her survival, let alone for her to be without any handicaps. Praise God, she has never had any problems with learning delays or any disabilities. The only thing we have experienced with her is some asthma like episodes and an allergy to Cashews.

Now I have a confession to make: Throughout my entire pregnancy I really, really struggled. When I found out I was expecting Isabel, Nehemiah was just 9 months old, plus Adeline was only two. I was overwhelmed with the thought of having another baby. There were only a handful of days that I didn't struggle to accept God's will in giving me another child so soon. However the moment she was born I loved her without question. And I was greatly concerned over her condition.

I remember telling Scott, in Charlotte, that I knew God was punishing me for my sinful attitude. I thought for sure God was going to take her, or leave us with a severely handicapped child. Thankfully, I have a Godly husband, and friends, who were able to correct my wrong thinking. They reminded me to think Biblically and focus on the character of God as well to trust Him and rest in His plan. I found myself relating with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." Job 13:15 and God brought to mind many other verses and songs about resting in Him, trusting in Him and keeping my eyes on Him.

Now four years later, I reminisce as I look through her scrapbook about that first week of her life and remember all that God brought her, and us, through. Certainly the sadness is still palpable as I look at her blue little body and I recall all the emotions - the despair, joy and relief. Yet, I hope that I never will forget to rely on the Lord as I learned to do those first few days of her life.