Thankful That We Are Not Alone - Guest #18

Please let me introduce my final guest for the Thankful That We Are Not Alone project. Guest #18 is Heather, a friend from church. Her daughter Gabi is the star of one of my 31 for 21 entries. She is also one of the reasons God nudged me into doing this blog. Enjoy!

"Before my first visit to the doctor with all three of my pregnancies I worried about miscarriage. I never worried about anything being "wrong" with the baby. For some reason I had the "that would never happen to me" mindset. I didn't think I was the kind of person that could have a special needs child. Apparently, God knows me better than I know myself.

At my first appointment with my third child they did an ultrasound and noticed that there was a thickness in the nuchal fold. When I heard the words "Down Syndrome" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Again I thought to myself "that would never happen to me." I was sent to a high risk doctor and given a 2% chance. My mind was at ease thinking the odds were in my favor. Then I remembered something. The week I had found out I was pregnant I was working at VBS. One morning we were in the music room and a little girl in front of me turned around and wrapped her arms around me, looked up at me and smiled. I remember hugging her back and smiling too. I believe that smile stayed for a while. That little girl was Tiffany's daughter Elise. The moment I remembered that happening I felt a chill and that was the moment I realized that 2% chance was 100%. I realized that she knew before I did, before I even knew I was pregnant. I will never forget Elise's hug. I will also never forget Tiffany who was a stranger to me at the time but still was so warm and caring once my baby was born. She has gotten me through some rough patches and made me realize I wasn't alone.

My baby girl, Gabi is now almost 10 months old. She is the sweetest baby. She is such a good baby. She has the best smile. When she smiles, her whole face smiles, starting with her eyes. Her smile is contagious. She is doing very well. Her therapists go on about how strong she is and her doctors are amazed at how vocal she is. Good thing I named her Gabi! ;)

I don't know what the future will bring. I know this is the easy part and the harder part is yet to come. I also know my rough patches are far from over. I still have my moments and I'm sure I always will. But I know it will all be worth it, just for Gabi's smiles."