Sarah's Story

Oh, Sarah Rachel. "Our" Sweet Sarah. I say "our" because her mother has said many a time that she 'belongs' to everyone who prayed her here. For that is how Sarah's life started, a prophecy and many prayers. I know in some churches (and I am not bashing or saying "how it should be" etc, just simply stating) men and women prophecy frequently. Our church is not quite like that, but we have had prophesies before, and I am sure we will have them in the future. One night at church, our pastor Otis told Lowella during a prayer at the alter "You're going to have another baby," and some point later, I honestly don't even think it was at that same time, but at a later date, I grabbed her and said, "Yes, and it's going to be a girl!" (The moment I found out Lowella was pregnant I went and bought a pair of pink tennis shoes to sit on her dresser!) This was a confusing time for Lowella, as she had two babies already waiting for her in Heaven, and her body suffered so from Chron's. But, when Pastor Otis says it, we believe some how, some way, it will happen. (Through God, of course.) So the day finally came that Lowella took that one last pregnancy test and it was positive. So many emotions and so many prayers later, Sarah Rachel entered into this world. A breathing, living testimony to God's power and grace. The doctor could not even find Lowella's fallopian tubes to tie them due to all the scar tissue from the Chron's, so Sarah's conception had truly been miraculous.

Unlike with Benji, I clearly remember the day Sarah was born. I was going to go to the hospital a few hours after the C-section had been scheduled to give the family time, etc, and Lowella's grandmother called me just before I left. She had stayed at home that day, being elderly, but had changed her mind and asked me to take her so no one would have to leave and come get her, so I stopped and readily picked her up. We entered the room, and there lay the most beautiful baby one could ever see. She just SHINED. She even had white-blond highlights in her dark hair that we called "Angel Kisses." Mamaw E. is satisfied that everyone is okay, and is ready to go, so I leave to the hallway with her. Just after we left, machines hooked to Lowella start beeping, and it gets wild fast. I slip back in, leaving Mamaw E. in the hallway unaware of what is going on. I gave her some excuse I no longer remember, and she waited for me out there. People are reading out of books and making LIFE or DEATH decisions from them, for they have never saw such a case as this, and Lowella has a few scary moments. I had never witnessed anything like that in my life. It was like she was on the Discovery Health channel. But all is well for mother and child, and they come home in a few short days. (Thankfully Mamaw E. missed all that, or she would have been terrified!)

I was working at Dollar General at the time, and was going to stay with them a few weeks to help Lowella heal from her surgery. I had no family or unknown job responsibilities that couldn't be dealt with, and was young and willing to help in any way I could. Let me tell you, that little girl was a spit fire just like her daddy! She WOULD NOT sleep in socks, WOULD NOT let you comb her hair too much. She certainly had her own little personality at a VERY early age.

One night when I was not there, Sarah stopped breathing briefly and was taken to the hospital. She was hooked up to a heart and breathing monitor for precautionary measures, and it found a "glitch" in her heart rate. Only once was she hospitalized for this, and she remained on the monitor for the remaining given time, the medicine for 6 months I believe, and all was well with her lovely world.

I LOVED the time I got to spend with that baby. I was young, didn't require sleep, and would just hold her and play with her for hours through the night (when she liked to be awake, of course!) We even watched the Count of Monte Cristo together, no lie! Lowella and I talked about that just last night. That baby couldn't have been more that 2 weeks old, and she lay there and watched that entire movie, then rolled over and went to sleep! We have laughed about it many times.

Another miracle is the fact that she survived ME! LOL I thought I broke her neck once while trying to burp her (of course I did NO damage to her whatsoever, but you know how it is when you are younger and taking care of a new born, etc.) I once picked her up and took off with her while she was still attached to all her leads on her monitors and they came ripping off. (I cried more than she did!) And one night when she and I both needed sleep but she would have it no other way than to be held, I rigged up a fort of sorts (wish I had known about MckMama and baby wearing!) and we slept on the big sectional in the living room, Sarah all bound in with pillows, etc. (She was still on the monitor, so I did not fear of her not breathing due to the pillows and me not knowing it.) I had to learn to perfect the art of warming a bottle, and a few were too cold for her likings so she would quickly let me know by spitting it all out! She was AMAZING. She changed me forever.

One night, when she would have no one but her mother, as goes that strong, undeniable bond, Lowella was still very ill after the huge surgery and all she had been through. But, like any mother would do, she came and held Sarah, even though she had tended to her all day and needed rest for her weakened body, and rocked her and sang to her. Lowella was so weak, I was afraid she was going to literally pass out, or get sick somehow. That is when my heart felt urge I had many years ago was revealed to me. I reached up, and put my hands on Lowella's, and helped her rock her baby to sleep. God told me in that moment, "Here is how you help Lowella and Benny." I am NOT CLAIMING to be the reason Sarah is here, to have been their only help at that time, FAR from it, etc. Do not get me wrong, but God had placed a burden on my heart years ago that I could only describe in my 12 year old mind as to "have them a baby" (or so I thought at the tender age of 12) and it had came to pass, and I thank Him for that small way I got to help them in that time. As I held my hands on Lowella's, whose hands held Sarah, I saw probably for the first time that I had actually paid note to, that God is ALWAYS working in your life. He put urges in me to help Lowella with a baby ten years before she was born. God is awesome like that. He is always looking out for us, making pathways for our future. Did I have any idea what my small role would be in that wondrous event? No way. But God did. And I thank him from the bottom of my heart to have been a part of that miracle, no matter how small my part.

Later, when Sarah was about 2, I began helping watch her and Benji a few days a week. It was some of the best days of my life. I have so many precious special memories from that entire wonderful family, and that time period in general. I learned all about Dora and Boots, learned some Spanish even, and learned how to make pancakes! lol (And how to hide frying pans! From "Benji's Story") Also how to hunt wild boar and deer. (Not that I was ever successful, or anything! lol) I would not trade that time for ANYTHING, and would love to live it again, with more wisdom I now have from being older.

During that time period, when Sarah was around 3 1/2, she began having constant urinary tract infections. The doctors were puzzled, tests were ran, bath time turned into shower time, everything they said. Still more UTI's. This went on for a while, medicine was given, test continued, and Sarah was holding up well, except for those stubborn UTI's. Another year passes, and all seems to be well. This is when I began having health problems myself that went on for over 4 years (my gallbladder was the hiding culprit, but we did not know it until this past November) and I became unable to help Lowella and her family anymore. I was devastated. I missed that little girl (and Benji) so much I sometimes didn't even want to go stay all night (when I was feeling well) because I knew I would just have to leave for another month or whatever, etc. I regret that now, but at the time I thought I was doing what was "best" for me. (AKA: Easiest)

Sarah turns 6 and starts Kindergarten. She amazes her teachers and everyone she comes in contact with. She is just so special. Then she begins having more serious problems, swelling of her feet and legs that could not be explained. She was treated at a wonderful Children's Hospital in Ohio who did, and are doing, a regimen of test on her. Ruling out this and that, or determining one thing or another. Rheumatoid Arthritis, the latest scare, was ruled out, Thank God, and now her next hurdle to rule out is Chron's. I know for a fact that God has had His hand on Sarah Rachel since before she was born, and I know He is with her now. Whatever her walk on Earth will bring, it will be for God's glory, for why else would she have been prophesied and born? I pray and believe she will be fully healed, as I ask anyone who reads this to pray as well. But, just like with Benji, Sarah has her own window, and this moment in time is just a speck in it. We cannot see the full picture, but God has it hanging on his wall. Every last detail planned out.

So how did Sarah make me a "Nee Nee" you ask, if you saw that part in another post. She called her own Aunt D. "Nee Nee" because she couldn't pronounce her first name, and Nee Nee just "stuck" so when I learned I was going to be an aunt, I immediately decided to be a "Nee Nee." There is no greater honor.