Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Better Tuesday – Choosing Life

Walking home after the PP stint today, I hummed some praise songs and asked God to bring some relief, some joy, from the grief I felt.  I wondered into a new juice bar that I noticed for the first time today in the market on Greenleaf and Mar Vista.  I was quickly in conversation with a woman who was probably planted there as advertisement, as she was very obviously enjoying her orange concoction of carrot, pineapple, and orange juice.

I told her what I had just been doing.  She told me about her 4th pregnancy, an unwelcome surprise since she already had three kids, and the youngest was 11 years old.  She and her husband were sad; her family thought she was nuts to keep the child when she could abort.  Yet, she was determined to go through with it.  Three months into the pregnancy she miscarried.  She brought the little body of her baby to the emergency room.  And there she waited, and waited, and waited.  When she started bleeding again, she got the attention she needed.  But rather than rushing her in for the customary D & C, they did an ultrasound and discovered she was still pregnant.  She had been carrying twins, and one had survived the miscarriage.  Six months later she gave birth to a little girl. 

Six weeks later came the second shock!  She was pregnant again.  She made it clear to everyone that there would be no sadness and despair this time.  She had grieved over the baby she lost, and now counted this one as a blessing.  Because she was older, the OB wanted to do the amniocentesis.  She declined.  She knew she would keep the baby no matter what.  Her fifth child was a boy and had Down’s Syndrome.  She had no idea what that meant.  When she asked what to expect, she was told that he would not grow very tall. (Had she been told that he was “Mongoloid” she would have understood – but this Down’s Syndrome was a new term to her.)   She named him David, for she remembered in the Bible story, that David was not very tall, and was the youngest.

David has been a huge blessing to her.  He is now 25 years old.  He is the most affectionate and kind of all her kids.  He has a sixth sense about her emotions, and seems to know just the right things to say.  He is also full of faith and encouragement.  When her husband left her 10 years ago for another woman, David continued to tell her that he would be back.  One year ago, the husband returned – though difficult, they are working things out in their marriage.   It is because of her son’s faith, love, and automatic forgiveness that she is moving forward with mending her marriage.

Most parents abort their baby when they learn it may be Down’s Syndrome. (http://www.lifenews.com/2011/04/19/90-of-down-syndrome-children-aborted-survivors-bring-joy/)  I think it would be really hard to care for a handicapped child… but truth is, though obviously difficult, I have yet to hear a parent of a Down Syndrome child say anything but what a blessing their child is –they can’t imagine life without such a gift. (http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/children-with-down-syndrome-bring-joy.html)

Yes, God heard and answered my prayer.  I got to hear a story of a woman carrying two crisis pregnancies to term.  (Her family continues to live in poverty, yet she has never regretted choosing children over an “easier life.”) And I found a good juice bar!  I loved the carrot/apple/spinach drink!

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