The Making of a Hero

18 December 2015, the Day She Got Sworn In

My husband raced as fast as he dared to the ER in rural Kansas. It was a snowy night deep in winter and we were losing our baby. I was rushed straight back once we got to the hospital, the ER doc grim as he told me I'd probably abort the baby sometime in the next 24-48 hours. With another little one at home, Brad had to leave me there alone. His pained expression said what his words could not. "I don't want to go but you know I have to," his sad eyes told me. It didn't matter. His work was to protect the life we already had at home, while I waited in fear, mourning the one we were losing.

I was stoic in the dark room, standing at the window watching fat snow fall on the sleeping Kansas city. I picked up the phone and called my father. He answered sleepily on the third ring. "I'm losing the baby," I said on a sob. He was silent for a long time. What could he say? What could he do? He was hundreds of miles away and there were no words of comfort that would ease what I was facing. "It will be okay, girl," he said in his big, gruff voice. I nodded but what else was there to say? We sat in silence on the phone for a long time before he said, "Try to rest and call me if there's any change." "I will," I told him, but I knew I wouldn't 'rest'. I did fall asleep sometime after dawn, but was woken fairly quickly by the voice of my own doctor. "Let's go take a look and see what that baby is doing," he said cheerily. "Wait," I stopped him. "You mean the baby is okay?" He smiled. "Probably, but telling you isn't the same as showing you, so let's have a look."

The ultrasound showed the child I was terrified to bond with, fear of losing her holding me back as hard as I could. But there she was, safe and sound, and it was too late for holding back anymore. I was lost. I prayed as I watched her, begging God not to take her. And he didn't. Five months later, out she came...screaming, healthy and very much alive!

Flash forward almost twenty-three years into the future...and this evening I will pack my bags. Wednesday I will drive to Rhode Island. And Friday, that baby I nearly lost will become an officer in the United States Navy. After she graduates, she will head off to pilot school and learn to fly! My fighter, my defiant, strong-willed, whip-smart little girl has grown into one of my heroes! And really, all I can think to say to that is, God is GOOD!