A Prayer Circle and a Cerclage

Since college I have had my ups and downs with close friends. Some have gone from my life and come back. Some are forever gone. And some filled a void in my life and quickly became forever friends. Earlier this summer Keith and I had the opportunity to celebrate one such friend as she got married. Kaleb was a ring bearer and wore his first little suit! He was just the cutest. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and it was wonderful to reconnect with some old friends. I love the friends that I may not see often, but when we get together it’s like no time has passed at all.

At the rehearsal the day before, I told the bride, Jessica and a few other friends that I was pregnant again – with TWINS (I can’t help it, every time I say “twins” it must be shouted in all caps)! I had expressed my excitement, but also my fear for what the pregnancy would hold. We discussed the prognosis my doctor had given me, and all of us agreed that we were glad we knew there could potentially be an issue and that I would be watched closely. It was so much fun to have others sharing in the joy and excitement for our expanding family.

The following day, the wedding went of without a hitch, with the exception of the beautiful couple (get it? They got hitched..). It was a spectacular evening with all the fun formalities and lots of country music. As the night wore on, and my line dancing feet grew tired, Keith and I decided it was time to head home. I don’t think I’ve ever left before a wedding was over, but that first trimester exhaustion was forcing me to leave early. Before we left I started saying my goodbyes, when my good friend and maid of honor Sam, told me we HAD to wait. I assumed there was a special song that I just had to stay for, or maybe the groom was serenading the bride or something.

Pretty soon though I was being rounded up with Jessica (the bride), another good friend Tara, Sam and of course Keith and heading out of the tent to a spot where there were no crowds or anything. I joked and asked if I was being baptized in a river! Little did I know, Jess and Sam had planned something special for me. Jessica’s grandmother, Kay, wanted to anoint me and pray over me. I almost immediately burst into tears! She asked me a little about Kaleb and asked if it was ok that she pray for me and my babies. Of course I said yes and she began to pray. She prayed that the Lord would take away all the fear in my heart as fear is not of him. She prayed for the little lives taking form in my womb and for the mighty things that they would do in their lives. She prayed for my cervix (and we all couldn’t help but laugh a little) that it would stay strong and do it’s job for the duration of my pregnancy. She prayed for the Lord’s protection over my family and over me. She thanked the Lord for my sweet boy Kaleb and the miracle that he is.  As the prayer went on I became more and more overwhelmed. I was so incredibly touched that my friend Jess had wanted to take time out of her wedding reception to pray over me. I was filled with gratitude to the Lord for sparing my son and for giving me two more sweet babies to love. It was one of the most blessed and amazing moments of my life. It is something I will cherish for the rest of my life, and a story these babies are sure to hear over and over again.

Grandma Kay prays over Keith, the babies and I. Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.

A few weeks later it was time to get my cerclage. Our prayer circle at Jess’ wedding had given me confidence and hope for an uneventful pregnancy. Going to the hospital for surgery was a small reminder that this pregnancy was still at risk, but that we were doing what we could preventatively. Getting checked into the hospital was becoming second nature for me. They tried for quite awhile to find a vein for an IV, drew blood, asked me a zillion questions and then we waited. Every doctor, resident and student (UCH is a teaching hospital so you always have a full audience) that would be in the operating room came in one by one and introduced themselves. My doctor, Dr. Sung, came in and did a quick ultrasound of the babies and made sure everything looked ok. The babies were awake and wiggling all over – seeing the little babes will never cease to take my breath away. We went over the potential risks of the procedure and discussed cerclage options. Dr. Sung was insistent we go with the traditional McDonald cerclage. She said that she would put it up about half way. I had hoped to have a cerclage as high as it would go and a more secure option, but I trust that God has put doctors in my life who are knowledgeable and experienced, and chose to trust that, as high risk pregnancy is her job, she knew what was best. After a spinal, and a very awkward procedure, I was wheeled to the recovery room where Keith met me. The worst part of the whole experience is waiting for the lower half of your body to wake up. Imagine the novocaine you receive at the dentist, but in your legs and feet. It’s so weird not to be able to move! After about 4 hours of recovery, I was starving and ready to go home! I was told to take it as easy as possible for the next week as my body healed. I had a follow-up appointment a week later where Dr. Sung checked the stitch and measured my cervix. It was a very long 3.8cm and she was very happy with how everything went. We discussed coming in weekly to have my cervix checked and I was also given a prescription for progesterone.

As I get further along in this pregnancy, I am starting to feel more secure and trusting that the cerclage will do it’s job and I’ll make it far into the third trimester with these babies. I pray nightly that my body will protect these babies and that God will protect me and my heart. If you remember us on Tuesdays, please say a prayer as that is the day we go in for my weekly checks. So far everything still looks good and is holding up. At our check this week, we were told the genders of our sweet babes! We are revealing that to our family first, and then I will be sharing with the world! I will most definitely do a blog post on our reveal. I’m excited to share it with you! Thank you again for your continued support and prayer. We love you all.