Chloe...and Comfort

August 15, 2015 - I just realized that this never was posted.  Most know of our story and know the happy ending it was, but I thought I would post anyway.
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Dec 8, 2014....will be a day that will live....okay...I'm not Franklin Roosevelt.  I'm far from it.  And it will be a day that Amy and I will never forget.  I'm pretty sure Chloe will, but we won't.

We arrived at Riley Hospital at about 8:30am and after registering we were taken to a pre-op room where Chloe's vitals were taken.  We also had the chance to talk one on one with the Anesthesiologist, Dr. Walker, and then we had the opportunity to talk with the head surgeon, Dr. Askegard.  She once again explained the procedure.  We signed a few pieces of papers that said we were okay with them taking the knife and putting to sleep our baby, then the time came to give her up.  Our Pastor, Steve Colter, came into the room and prayed for us as we held her and kissed on her one more time.

Then we were shuffled off to a "Family Lounge."  It's a fancy way of saying.."waiting room."  So we waited.  Every hour we had updates and I passed the time away.

 A little before 1:30pm, we were escorted to a consultation room.  We were warned up front that this was not a bad thing, but that it was formality.  Dr. Askegard joined us and after a second, she told us that the surgery was a success.  That everything went perfectly!  We were so thankful and with tears of joy we walked back into the waiting room.

It wasn't long after that we were directed to go into the Recovery unit and there we saw our little girl for the first time since giving her up.  We found her wide awake and Amy was happy to be able to hold her.  Within the hour, with Mommy in a wheelchair and carrying her baby, we were taken to the 9th floor.

Over the course of the next 24 hours we would start to become re-acclimated with our surroundings, while our Ms. Chloe would start to get the pain meds she would need to start the healing process.

However, I must stop there because to the world, the healing process had begun, but I know that it wasn't true.  God had already put into place those that would be praying without ceasing around us.  Before we even left our home on Sunday, a couple of dear friends from The Pointe, here in Marion, came over to pray with us.  My grandmother and momma came to be with us and pray with us.  And there is no end it seems to those that were praying all over the country.  Before we even left the hotel for the hospital we had friends and family praying.  They were more than that, though.  They were our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We received all kinds of notices that people were praying for us.  We also received the best kind of encouragement; The Word of God.  The night before my Uncle Gary and Aunt Marge sent me this:

" For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." Zephaniah 3:17

God had already begun the healing process before the surgery began.  So when we left our girl that night to get some rest, we were confident that He had it all under control.

In the morning, we found her all calm and peaceful.  The nurse did a great job getting the meds regulated.  I was pleased.  But even more so, was her Mommy.