BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!

IT IS NOW THE FALL OF 1978 AND WE ARE THRIVING. THE MONEY ISN'T GREAT, BUT WE WERE GETTING BY. THE HOUSE WAS ONLY TWO BEDROOMS, BUT FUTURE PLANS CALLED FOR PUTTING IN AN UPSTAIRS, AS THE ATTIC WAS REALLY TALL AND THERE WAS PLENTY OF ROOM. FOR NOW, WE HAD ENOUGH ROOM, WE HAD PURCHASED A SET OF METAL ARMY BUNKS FOR THE GIRLS AND AARON HAD A CRIB IN THE SAME ROOM. HALLOWEEN WAS FUN THAT YEAR, WE ALWAYS HAD SO MUCH FUN FOR HALLOWEEN AT CHURCH- AND THEN WE COULD TRICK OR TREAT A BIT TOO. I ALWAYS STARTED DECORATING FOR HALLOWEEN IN SEPTEMBER. THAT YEAR WAS NO EXCEPTION, AND THE CHILDREN WERE TICKLED TO HAVE SUCH FUN REMINDERS THAT THE BIG DAY WOULD COME PRETTY SOON. WE WENT TO THE FARMER'S MARKET AND BOUGHT PUMPKINS THE WEEK BEFORE HALLOWEEN, AND JESSICA BEING THE OLDEST TOOK OVER THE PLANS TO CARVE AND WHAT KINDS OF FACES WE WOULD DO. WHEN WE DID CARVE THE PUMPKINS THE DAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN, I WOULD SCOOP OUT THE SEEDS AND TRY YET AGAIN TO ROAST THEM LIKE THE RECIPE DIRECTED- ONLY TO FIND THAT YET AGAIN THEY WERE GROSS! I NEVER DID STOP TRYING, EACH YEAR I WOULD TRY AGAIN, AND I DON'T THINK WE EVER ATE THOSE PUMPKIN SEEDS. THAT YEAR FOR HALLOWEEN, I FELT KIND OF YUCKY, AND HAD BEEN FOR A SHORT TIME. I THOUGHT I WAS DOING TOO MUCH, AND DECIDED THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO FOR IT AS I HAD A BIG LOAD AND THAT WAS IT. MARTIN AND I HAD STARTED A PAPER ROUTE TO HELP WITH FINANCES. WE HAD TO GO AND PICK UP THE PAPERS, FOLD AND BAG THEM AND LOAD THE CAR, ALL BY 5AM IN THE MORNING. THE KIDS WOULD SLEEP IN THE BACK OF THE STATION WAGON, I WOULD SIT IN THE MIDDLE SEAT AND HAND MARTIN THE PAPERS AND HE WOULD THROW THEM AS HE DROVE. THIS WOULD HAVE WORKED PERFECTLY, BUT EVERY MORNING, JUST LIKE CLOCKWORK WHEN WE REACHED A STREET NAMED CHERRYBROOK, I WOULD BECOME VIOLENTLY ILL, AND MARTIN WOULD HAVE TO STOP THE CAR SO THAT I COULD THROW UP. WAS THERE SOMETHING ABOUT THAT STREET THAT MADE ME SO SICK? EVERYONE ELSE WAS FINE, BUT NO KIDDING, CHERRYBROOK STREET MADE ME ILL. IT GOT SO BAD THAT I COULD NOT GO ON WITH THE PAPER ROUTE. MARTIN TOOK IT ON BY HIMSELF, BUT WE FOUND THAT I CONTINUED TO BE ILL AT THE SAME TIME EACH MORNING. THEN I FIGURED IT OUT. WE HAD BEEN VERY CAREFUL THAT I WOULD NOT GET PREGNANT, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE AARON WAS NOT QUITE A YEAR OLD, BOBBIE JO WAS NOT QUITE 3 YEARS OLD AND JESSICA WAS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD. THE HOUSE WAS THE PERFECT SIZE FOR OUR FAMILY, AND WE HAD WORKED OUT A BUDGET THAT WE COULD LIVE WITH. SO WE WERE QUITE DILIGENT IN OUR EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE POSTPONED THE NEXT ARRIVAL FOR AWHILE. THE BEST LAID PLANS ALWAYS GO ARY! IT SEEMS THAT ONE MORNING, SOMETIME IN OCTOBER, AFTER JESSICA HAD GONE TO SCHOOL AND THE LITTLE ONES WERE STILL ASLEEP, THE SAME MORNING THAT MARTIN HAD A DAY OFF, HE DECIDED TO CHASE ME THROUGH THE HOUSE FOR SOME "PRIVATE TIME". USUALLY, OUR "PRIVATE TIME MOSTLY CONSISTED OF CLOSING THE LAUNDRY ROOM DOOR OR SOME OTHER SNEAKY PLACE AS WE ALWAYS HAD A CHILD HANGING ON US FOR SOME REASON. I TOLD HIM TO THAT PRIVATE TIME UNSCHEDULED COULD RESULT IN ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE FAMILY AND HE SCOFFED IN HIS "HURRY HURRY" ATTITUDE AND SAID, "ONCE WON'T HURT!" WELL, IT SEEMS THAT ONCE DOES HURT, AS I FOUND OUT IN NOVEMBER THAT NUMBER FOUR WAS ON THE WAY! BEFORE THIS, I WAS NEVER MORNING SICK, BUT THIS TIME, EACH MORNING AT THE VERY SAME TIME, I WAS IN THE BATHROOM DOUBLED OVER. I THOUGHT IT WOULD PASS SOON, BUT IT CONTINUED. I DIDN'T THINK IT PRUDENT TO TELL THE FAMILY YET, AS MARTIN'S FAMILY ALREADY THOUGHT WE HAD ENOUGH CHILDREN AND I DIDN'T WANT THEM TO HARASS HIM ABOUT IT. SECRETLY THOUGH, I WAS SO HAPPY, I LOVED HAVING MY CHILDREN AND CONSIDERED IT THE GREATEST GIFT IN THE WORLD. THANKSGIVING CAME AND THEN CHRISTMAS AND THEN NEW YEARS. PAWPAW LOOKED AT ME AT NEW YEARS DINNER AND THEN SUDDENLY ANNOUNCED, "WELL, SHE DONE IT AGAIN! STILL FAT AS A CALF, STILL CUTER EVERY DAY AND NOW SHES BROODING AGAIN!" I SNATCHED MARTIN IN THE OTHER ROOM AND ASKED HIM WHY HE HAD TOLD PAWPAW THAT I WAS EXPECTING! HE TOLD ME HE DEFINETLY HAD NOT TOLD PAWPAW OR ANYONE ELSE-BUT PAWPAW HAD A MIND ABOUT THESE THINGS AND PROBABLY JUST GUESSED. WELL, THE CAT WAS OUT OF THE BAG, AND THE FAMILY POUNCED. "THAT BOY CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH YOU KNOW, HE CAN'T GO SUPPORTING A BROOD OF KIDS BY HIMSELF!" SAID MARTIN'S DAD. "LOOKS LIKE HE'S DONE ENOUGH!" SAID LOLA. PAWPAW SAID, "THATS THE WAY BOY, KEEP HER PREGNANT AND SHE WON'T GIVE YOU ANY TROUBLE!" AND SO, NUMBER FOUR WAS ON THE WAY. THAT YEAR, I WAS THE ROOM MOTHER FOR JESSICA'S KINDERGARTEN CLASS. I SO ENJOYED BEING ROOM MOTHER, AND FOUND MANY WAYS TO STRETCH THE PARTY BUDGET. I ALWAYS MADE SURE THAT EACH HOLIDAY WAS SPECIAL, AND IT MEANT SO MUCH TO ME BECAUSE MANY OF THE CHILDREN IN THE CLASS WERE VERY POOR AND COULD NOT AFFORD TO DONATE. HEAVENLY FATHER SEEMED TO STEP IN AND FILL IN THE GAPS WITH DISCOUNTS IN EVERY DIRECTION. NEAR THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, AS I WAS GEARING UP FOR SUMMER FUN WITH THE FAMILY AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE BABY WHO WAS DUE IN JULY, I BEGAN TO REALLY FEEL WEAK AND MUCH MORE TIRED. JESSICA TOO, CAME DOWN WITH SOMETHING THAT GAVE HER FEVER AND VOMITING FOR A FEW DAYS, AND I TOOK HER TO THE DOCTOR, TO BE TOLD IT WAS THE FLU AND NOT TO WORRY. SHE GOT BETTER AFTER ABOUT 5 DAYS, BUT I DID NOT. EVEN GATHERING THE EGGS WAS A CHORE FOR ME AND I BEGAN TO HAVE TO REST MUCH MORE OFTEN. I MENTIONED IT MY DOCTOR, WHOM I HAD USED FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THIS PREGNANCY, AND HE TOLD ME THAT OF COURSE BECAUSE I HAD DELIVERED ALMOST 4 CHILDREN IN SIX YEARS I COULD EXPECT TO BE EXHAUSTED. SCHOOL LET OUT AND THE SUMMER BEGAN. SWIMMING, MOVIES, PLAYING AND THE LITTLE FARM TOOK UP ALL MY TIME AND ENERGY. FINALLY, ON FATHER'S DAY, WE WENT TO A BUFFET AND I FOUND THAT I COULD NOT EAT ANYTHING. I WAS STILL HAVING MORNING SICKNESS, BUT THIS WAS SEVERE AND MY APPETITE WAS NON-EXISTANT. MARTIN TOLD ME THAT HE WAS OFFICIALLY WORRIED, BECAUSE HE HAD NEVER SEEN A TIME WHEN I DIDN'T ATTACK A BUFFET WITH GUSTO. THAT AFTERNOON, AS WE WENT TO THE CHICKENS TO FEED THEM, I JUST SAT DOWN IN A WHEELBARROW, AND COULD NOT GET UP. "I CAN'T MAKE IT BABY", I TOLD MARTIN. MY CHECKUP WAS THE NEXT MORNING, SO HE TOLD ME TO TELL THE DOCTOR HOW SICK I HAD BECOME. THE NEXT DAY, WHEN I WENT TO THE DOCTOR, I GAVE THE URINE SAMPLE AS USUAL AND WENT IN WHEN CALLED BY THE NURSE. I TOLD THE DOCTOR EVERYTHING, AND AS I WAS TALKING, THE NURSE CAME IN AND TOOK THE DOCTOR OUT. HE CAME RIGHT BACK IN, TOOK ME BY THE ARM AND LED ME TO A PRIVATE ROOM. WITH GRAVE CONCERN HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS POSITIVE THAT I HAD A CASE OF HEPATITIS. I HAD TO BE IN SECLUSION, AND HE WAS ADMITTING ME RIGHT AWAY. IT TURNS OUT THAT THE "FLU" THAT JESSICA HAD WAS ALSO HEPITITIS, BUT IN CHILDREN IT MANIFESTS DIFFERENTLY AND THEY USUALLY GET RIGHT OVER IT.. THEN, WE REALIZED THAT SEVERAL OF THE OTHER CHILDREN HAD BEEN SICK, AND SINCE THIS FORM OF HEPATITIS IS SO CONTAGIOUS, I MUST HAVE CAUGHT IT FROM ONE OF THEM. IT WAS THE VIRAL TYPE AND WOULD HAVE TO GO AWAY ON IT 'S OWN, THERE WAS NO MEDICINE FOR IT. I WAS RELIEVED, BUT THE DOCTOR THEN TOLD ME GENTLY THAT THE BABY PROBABLY COULD NOT SURVIVE SUCH AN INFECTION. IT WAS VERY CHANCY THAT I WOULD CARRY TO TERM- 7 MORE WEEKS, AND IF I DID, I WOULD PROBABLY MOST LIKELY HAVE A STILL BORN CHILD. WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE MY HORROR AND DESPAIR AT THIS NEWS. MARTIN ARRIVED AND I TOLD HIM, WE HELD EACH OTHER AND CRIED TOGETHER, AND HE SAID THAT WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO PUT IT IN HEAVENLY FATHER'S HANDS. THEN, WE FOUND OUT THAT SINCE I HAD BAKED BROWNIES FOR THE ZOO TRIP THAT THE PRIMARY HAD TAKEN, EVERYONE WHO HAD COME IN CONTACT WITH ME AND THOSE BROWNIES HAD TO VACCINATED AGAINST HEPATITIS. IT CAME TO 96 PEOPLE, AND ALL OF THEM HAD TO HAVE THE SHOT. IT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE AND MOST OF THEM COULD NOT AFFORD TO BE VACCINATED, BUT A WONDERFUL DOCTOR THAT WAS A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH DONATED THE VACCINE AND THE NURSE TO INNOCULATE EVERYONE. I FELT HORRIBLE ABOUT THE WHOLE THING. THEN, TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, I COULD NOT COME HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL UNTIL THE BABY WAS BORN. HOW COULD I STAY AWAY SO LONG? BUT THE LADIES JUMPED IN AND BEGAN TO CARE FOR MY LITTLE FAMILY. THE 4TH OF JULY CAME AND WENT AND STILL I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. THEN, JUST AFTER MY BIRTHDAY ON THE 14TH OF JULY I WAS TOLD I COULD GO HOME WITH HOME HEALTH CARE. SO, HOME I WENT, BUT ON STRICT BED REST. THE HEALTH CARE LADY WAS WONDERFUL. SHE WAS SO GOOD TO ALL OF US, A TRUE ANGEL, AND EVEN TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MEATLOAF! FINALLY, JULY 29 CAME, AND IT WAS MY DUE DATE. I KNOW NOT TO PLACE ANY STOCK IN A DUE DATE FOR ME, SO I JUST LET IT PASS AS I KNEW IT WOULD AND BIDED MY TIME. ON AUGUST 8TH, I HAD HAD ENOUGH. I GOT OUT OF BED AND MADE MARTIN TAKE ME SHOPPING FOR GROCERIES. I WAS SO BORED AND WHAT COULD IT HURT? WHILE STANDING IN LINE, I FELT A TWINGE IN MY BACK, BUT IGNORED IT. LATER THAT NIGHT, I FELT RESTLESS, AND COULD NOT GET COMFORTABLE. THEN, AT 11: OCLOCK, A HORRIBLE RENDING PAIN DOUBLED ME OVER. IT FELT LIKE MY INSIDES WERE BEING TORN OUT. IT LASTED FOR ABOUT A MINUTE AND WENT AWAY. I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES AND TOLD MARTIN WHAT HAD HAPPENED. "COULD YOU BE IN LABOR?" HE ASKED. I SAID OF COURSE NOT, I WAS ONLY 10 DAYS LATE AND HAD AT LEAST ANOTHER WEEK TO GO IF HISTORY PROVED ACCURATE. THEN, THE SAME PAIN, DOUBLED IN INTENSITY AND FELT LIKE CLAWS WERE TEARING AT ME. THIS TIME I CRIED OUT, GRASPING AT MY STOMACH, AND TOLD HIM SOMETHING WAS WRONG. THEN, PRESSURE, UNBELIEVABLE PRESSURE! WE CALLED OUR BABYSITTER AND GOT IN THE CAR. WE STOPPED FOR A BLESSING, AS THE PRESSURE HAD LESSENED-AND THEN OFF TO THE HOSPITAL. AGAIN, A SLAMMING PAIN, PRESSURE AND PANIC. I BEGAN TO FEEL THAT THE BABY WAS COMING. I WASN'T HAVING REGULAR LABOR PAINS, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING, BUT THE PRESSURE WAS SO TERRIBLE. I TOLD MARTIN TO PULL OVER ON THE FREEWAY, THE BABY WAS COMING AND I COULD NOT HOLD IT. HE ANSWERED THAT SUGGESTION BY SLAMMING THE PEDAL DOWN AND SPEEDING UP THE CAR, SWERVING IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC ON A MAJOR FREEWAY. WE GOT TO THE HOSPITAL, HE LEFT THE CAR RUNNING AND TOOK ME INSIDE. "HURRY, HURRY, THE BABY IS COMING!" I CRIED. I WAS RUSHED UPSTAIRS, CHECKED AND TOLD THAT THE BABY WAS NOT COMING AND I WAS NOT IN LABOR. "YES, YES I AM, THE BABY IS COMING, HELP ME!"I YELLED AT THE NURSE. SHE SAID THE DOCTOR HAD ORDERED AN EPIDURAL, AND SINCE TO HER KNOWLEGE THE BABY WAS STILL A WAYS OFF, SHE TOLD THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE IT TO ME. WHEN HE SAT ME UP, THE PAIN MADE ME SENSLESS, AND I BEGAN TO SCREAM THAT THE BABY WAS COMING AND I COULD FEEL IT'S HEAD. THEN, I FELT IT BABY GO BACK UP IN AND THE CLAWING PAIN INTESIFIED AND THEN STOPPED ALTOGETHER. THEN, SUDDENLY, AS I WAS TRYING TO LAY BACK DOWN, SOMETHING JUST EXPLODED FROM ME, AND I BEGAN TO GUSH BRIGHT RED BLOOD. THE NURSE PANICKED AND RAN FROM THE ROOM. MARTIN HAD HEARD MY SCREAMS AND RAN IN TO SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THE BLOOD WAS RUNNING OFF THE TABLE, AND BY NOW THE DOCTOR HAD ARRIVED. BEFORE I KNEW IT, HE WAS TELLING ME TO RELAX AND LET THE BABY COME ON OUT. I WAS HYSTERICAL, BECAUSE I THOUGHT I HAD BROKEN THE BABY'S NECK WHEN IT TRIED TO COME OUT THE FIRST TIME. THEN, IN A GUSH OF BLOOD, THE BABY WAS BORN, BUT SILENT. YOU HAVE A SON! BUT NO CRIES OF A NEWBORN. THEY TOOK HIM AWAY AND BEGAN TO WORK ON HIM. I WAS NUMB WITH PAIN AND DESPAIR. I WAS STILL BLEEDING BADLY, AND FELT MY LIFE EBBING AWAY. I PRAYED TO BE ALLOWED TO LIVE TO TAKE CARE OF MY LITTLE FAMILY, AND THEN, ABOVE ME, I SAW WHAT APPEARED TO BE A CURTAIN ROLL BACK AND THERE, GLOWING AND LOVELY WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL. SHE WAS CHUBBY, HAD CURLY SANDY COLORED HAIR AND BLUE EYES. SHE SMILED AT ME AND I KNEW THAT SHE WAS SOMEONE SPECIAL TO ME. I ASKED IF I WERE HAVING TWINS. I WAS TOLD, NO, AND YOU CANNOT HAVE ANYMORE CHILDREN! IT WILL KILL YOU, EXPECIALLY AFTER THIS! BUT I DIDN'T HEAR THAT PART, ALL I HEARD WAS THE WEAK WAIL OF A BABY IN THE ROOM! SOMEHOW, HE WAS ALIVE. THE HEPATITIS HAD WEAKENED ME SO MUCH THAT MY PLACENTA HAD RUPTURED CAUSING THE HEMMORAGING. THE DOCTOR SAID THAT HE HAD BEEN BORN AT 12:04 AM- JUST ONE HOUR AFTER THE FIRST PAIN HAD HIT ME! THEN I REMEMBERD THE BABY GIRL I HAD SEEN, AND KNEW THAT NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAID, THERE WAS ONE MORE BABY FOR ME. I WOULD TRUST IN THE LORD AND BRING HER IN HIS OWN GOOD TIME. WELL, OUR LITTLE BOY LIVED, AND WE NAMED HIM JARED OTTO FORREST SEE. A MIRACLE HAD OCCURRED, NOT ONLY DID HE LIVE, BUT TIME WOULD PROVE THAT EVEN THOUGH HE HAD BEEN WITHOUT OXYGEN FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, HE WAS NOT HANDICAPPED IN ANY WAY. THE RECOVERY WAS LONG AND ARDUOUS BUT I HAD MY LITTLE OTTO. WE COULD NOT GO TO SHINER THAT YEAR, AND THE FOLLOWING HOLIDAY SEASON WAS NOT AS ACTIVE, BUT WE HAD OUR LITTLE MIRACLE. LITTLE OTTO. WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN UNTHINKABLE TRAGEDY, WAS ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE CHAPTERS OF MY LIFE. SO, AS I SAID AT THE END OF YESTERDAY'S POSTING, LIFE DID GET BETTER- BUT ONLY AFTER A GREAT TRIAL. LOVE, NANASEE