Feb 3, 2009

The Hand of God in the Life of a Child - Part 1

This is the very first ever taken of my grandaughter Olivia. Isn't she cute? :) Olivia was born 3 months premature. These are the events that led to her birth and how God arranged all of the circumstances and cared for her all the way.

Before my daughter knew that she was pregnant, she was in a car accident. She was broad-sided by someone making a left-hand turn as she was driving through the intersection. The car was totaled but Nikki seemed to be ok. She didn't go to the hospital at the time of the accident but did go to the doctor shortly after that just to get checked out. Before her appointment, she discovered she was pregnant so no x-rays were taken and the visit didn't show any external injuries.

After finding out she was pregnant, she made an appointment with an OB/Gyn but could only get an appointment with the nurse practitioner until she was 3 months pregnant. It seemed this doctor was just too busy to keep up with her patients. Nikki kept her appointment with the nurse practitioner but no exam was done. Shortly after her first visist she started bleeding so she called to make an appointment with the doctor and to get an exam. The doctor's office still wouldn't give her an appointment with the doctor for at least two months. They told her she could only see the nurse practitioner so again she saw the nurse practitioner and was not examined, but she was sent for an ultrasound.

The ultrasound didn't show anything wrong so the nurse practitioner said nothing was wrong and told Nikki that it was normal to have bleeding when your pregnant and it wasn't necessary to have an exam. The office still wouldn't give her an appointment for an exam with the doctor for two more months. Nikki worked waiting tables and wasn't sure if she should continue working or what she should do so she asked the nurse practitioner who told her she could do whatever she wanted to do.

That weekend she began bleeding again and I took her to the ER. The doctor at the ER, who was affiliated with the doctor's group where Nikki had been, told us that it was normal to have bleeding when you're pregnant. At that point I had had enough and made it very clear to him that it might be common for some bleeding to occur but it was in no way normal. Then I asked him if it was his daughter or his wife, would he want them to be examined. He paused for a moment, knowing that he had said the wrong thing, and then sheepishly answered yes he would want them examined.

We left the ER without any explanation, satisfactory concern, or instructions for care. So I immediately found another doctor. I called and explained the situation and they scheduled an appointment with the doctor for an exam that Monday. Interestingly, the first doctor who had never seen Nikki, sent her a letter stating that she would no longer be her physician and was not liable for anything that may go wrong in her pregnancy.

The new doctor did an ultrasound in his office and didn't find anything unusual but wanted to monitor her so he scheduled weekly visits with ultrasound for some time and took her off work.

The bleeding stopped and all seemed to be well with Olivia's growth and condition so he put Nikki on regular prenatal visits but continued with the ultrasounds to keep an eye on things. As Olivia grew he noticed that Nikki's uterus was heart shaped and smaller than normal. It didn't seem to be a problem but unusual and he wanted to monitor that as well to be sure it didn't present a problem later on.

In a later visit as the uterus expanded to hold Olivia, the doctor noticed in one of the ultrasounds that a portion of the placenta had pulled away from the wall. We didn't know for sure but suspect that may have been what caused the bleeding in the beginning of her pregnancy.

God knew everything that had happened from the beginning and was also monitoring Olivia's progress. Come back tomorrow when I post the rest of this story to see His hand in Olivia's untimely birth. Did I say untimely? God's timing is always perfect.


Edie

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind ~ Luke 10:27

22 comments:

Debra Kaye said...

Oh Edie,

What a beautiful picture. I always love ultrasound pictures. They take my breath away!! I can't wait to read all about Olivia and Nikki. I can hear the love you have for your granddaughter all in your words.

Hugs to you, my sweet sis! Happy Tuesday!

Patty H. said...

Cna't wait to hear the rest of the story. I'm amazed at the u/s they have today-in 4D. They are amazing!!
Blessings

Angela said...

Hi Edie! I am glad you were paying attention when all of this was going on. I wonder why the doctors were so nonchalant about everything. I love you and I will be back tomorrow for pt.2!

Yolanda said...

I'm held spellbound...because God is good!

Yolanda
Higher Grounds

Greg C said...

Aren't doctors amazing. They are so worried about lawsuits that the forget that they are doctors and other peoples lives may depend on them.

Jody said...

Our God is a Great God. Looking forward to how He took care of your daughter and Olivia.

Kelly said...

I can't wait to hear the rest of the story. God's timing is perfect. Praising God for Olivia today!

Dorothy Champagne said...

What a good momma and grandmomma you are. What a stressful time for you - thank goodness you had God in your life to lean on.

betty said...

thanks for sharing this story, Edie, I look forward to reading more about the Lord's hand/timing in Olivia's birth

(it makes me soooo mad about those doctors/nurse practitioners, what despicable behavior on their part, that doesn't seem like the best way to practice medicine, not that I'm a doctor, but not to even examine a pregnant patient complaining of bleeding; I'm so glad you did find a doctor who did care about your daughter and grand-daughter)

betty

Tambrey said...

What an amazing story and I can't wait to find out what our awesome God does to show Himself faithful and merciful! What a great God we serve !

From the Heart said...

A wonderful testimony of God's love and how much He cares about what happens to His children. You, your daughter and granddaugter are truely blessed. Look forward to hearing "the rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey says).
Thanks for sharing,
AliceE.

Anonymous said...

You tell of God's goodness in a spellbinding way! I have to wait all the way until tomorrow? To hear.... the rest of the story.

Sharon said...

What a great story, looking forward to hearing the rest. The picture was soooo beautiful.

Wow, what a Awesome God!
Hugggsss and Love
Sharon

B His Girl said...

This is a great continuing story! I'll B back!

Unknown said...

It is nice to be reminded that everything happens in God's timing. Thanks. What true blessings you have!

Christy

Kathryn said...

Oh, Edie, a cliffhanger! I can't wait to read "the rest of the story". :-)

Cristine said...

The picture is beautiful. Sounds like this was a scary time for you and your daughter. A similiar thing happened with my daughter last year - the doctors just weren't all that concerned with bleeding... you may remember,my granddaughter was stillborn at 5 months pregnant. I'm praising God that such was not the case for yours. God knows what He is doing and the whole world is in his hands. Precious post.

God Bless you,
Cristine

LisaShaw said...

Edie, I hung on to every word waiting to hear so I'm looking forward to hearing the continuation of HOW OUR MIGHTY GOD MOVED. He is amazing!!!


I love the framed photo of Olivia.

Bless you.

Leaon Mary said...

Ohmigosh Edie...
I can't wait to hear the rest of the story.
What a beautiful "first" picture of Olivia. Gives me goosebumps.
What a magnificent FATHER we have!

nomore said...

waiting for the rest!

I know God is Good!

hugs,
Deanna

My ADHD Me said...

God really is amazing.
I'm SO glad you put your foot down and had her switch doctors. It's hard to believe they didn't even do an initial exam! That is RIDICULOUS!!

Looking forward to the next part of the story! :)

Mary Moss said...

Oh, my what a hair-raising tale! I'm so glad you were close by to advocate for your daugther (and grandaughter)