So yesterday was my birthday. My 25th Birthday. The night before- my twin sister (whose birthday is the same day as mine- duh.) was in the ER waiting to be checked out. She had severe side and stomach pain and a headache- all of which had gradually gotten worse. After talking with her and both of my parents I went to sleep. The morning of my birthday Larry prepped cereal for me and let me open my presents. I got a yoga block, a candle, and perfume from VS. I called my parents to see how Rachel (my twin) was doing. They had released her at 6am and found out that she was going to have a baby boy- so exciting! I asked if she was still hurting and indeed she was, but as long as the baby was fine (which he was) she was going to be okay. After Larry and I ate, we walked for about half an hour. We came back and stuffed Phoebe's diaper bag so we could go shopping. Now shopping is my favorite thing in the whole world to do so needless to say I enjoyed myself thoroughly. My friend Jamie called me around noon to tell me happy birthday and that she has a present for me and one for Phoebe too and if we could get together this weekend. I talked to Larry about it and I'll have to call her sometime today. I also got a call around 1pm to hear that Rachel was once again in the ER, but this time with bleeding and of course pain. The doctors hadn't found anything amiss in the sonogram and were confused as to what was going on. So I told my parents to keep me posted on her condition and said bye. Larry and Phoebe joined me at the theater to watch Star Trek- the movie I had been dying to see since I saw the first preview. It was a good movie. We got out around 4pm and headed home to get ready for dinner and for Phoebe to get ready to go to church with her grandparents. I heard from my parents again and this time my sister was being admitted into the hospital and she was dilating and scared. I was scared for her and for my little nephew- and prayed that they would be alright. I was expecting them to sew up her cervix and everything would be okay. Afterwards Larry and I went to dinner at Osaka and they sang happy birthday to me and cooked our food right in front of us. It was very entertaining- even if it was a Wednesday night and slow. I had sushi and it was sooooo good. Larry had filet mignon and enjoyed it thoroughly. After we picked up Phoebe from Larry's parents' house we went to bed.
Larry woke me up to kiss me goodbye before heading off to work. And around 7:45am I just couldn't sleep any longer so I got out of bed and started cleaning and such- the things a housewife does normally. I called my sister to see if she was okay, but no answer. My dad called me a few minutes later to tell me the news I feared would reach my ears. My sister had an infection in her uterus (where the baby is) and once the infection reaches the uterus the baby has no chance of survival. It was a really bad infection. They let her dilate and she gave birth to a 4 inch long baby boy at 6am on May 14th. He was born at 16 weeks gestation and as Rachel would later put it, "He was perfect". I cried- it felt like someone punched me in the stomach and I felt so much pain for my sister. It was as if my heart broke into little pieces and I felt numb. I called Larry crying and he said no words could express how sorry he was. I was angry and sad at the same tme. I was angry that the hospital didn't find it out sooner and deeply grieved for my sister.
So as I tried to compose myself before attending to Phoebe as she woke up- I thought to myself. A year ago around 5am San Antonio time my water broke. That would've been 6am time in Durham, where my sister is. I was 3 weeks early and my body was not preparing itself to deliver a baby- my contractions were eratic and infection was what I feared the most. 37 hours later my daughter was born. It could've happened so differently and Phoebe might not have made it, but she did and for that I'm thankful. Tomorrow I celebrate my daughter's entrance into the world and grieve for my nephew's departure. It's at times like this you ask God why? Why would you take away this precious life from someone who wanted it so much? Only He knows the answer to that question, but all I know is that in this tragedy good still reigns and my little nephew is smiling into the face of God- something I draw closer to with every breath I breathe. I never thought jealousy would creep up in a time like this, but my nephew is so happy and perfect and oh how I long to do what he is doing now. Face to face with Christ my Savior...
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