My post about Reagan's hospital stay was long enough, so I wanted to dedicate a post to the immense blessing we received from both our families and our church family.
First, we are more than grateful to Andy and Katie than we can ever put into words. They simply agreed to watch Reagan and Kyleigh while I was in the hospital with our newest addition. Little did they know what they were getting into. Their constant support, sacrifice, and prayer for our family during this time is something our family will never forget. The number of hours Katie spent in the hosptial either with me, with Ryan and Reagan, or with Reagan alone in order to give Ryan relief is beyond countable. We are so blessed to have such selfless friends who turned their week upside down in order to serve our family.
We are also grateful to Ryan's parents who made a last minute decision to fly out here after a difficult phone call with Ryan. They made the last few days at the hospital bearable for Ryan. He struggled a lot and was exhausted, but knowing he could leave the hospital for several hours at a time (without taking advantage of Katie) encouraged him to push through.
We are grateful to my mom for being here as a support for me during this time as well. Although she offered to come out here earlier than planned, I encouraged her to keep the original plans, especially since we didn't know how serious Reagan's condition was until the day Mom arrived. Having her at the house with me and helping me with Kyleigh and Rylan those first few days was a life saver, especially since Ryan was at the hosptial. I don't know that I would have survived those first few days being alone most of the day.
Sue was another huge help to us during this time. She came and visited me at the hospital the night Rylan was born, but after that, she made daily (I think) visits to Ryan and Reagan. If nothing else, she was another person for Ryan to talk with during the long days in Reagan's hospital room. She also made a very timely visit on the most difficult day to give Ryan an hour of relief at his breaking point.
Last, but certainly not least, our church family rallied around our family like I could have never imagined. People were in constant in prayer for us. Several people were receiving updates via Katie (and I was appreciative to Katie for fielding all those phone calls and texts) and checking in on us. After I came home from the hospital, I received texts from people offering to bring food, go to the grocery store (thanks, KR), pick up diapers, anything that needed to get done, people were willing to do. Again, I just felt so grateful to all these people (KL, KR, FJ, AG, JS, HF, CE, just to name a few; I'm sure I've missed someone and if I did, The Lord knows your willingness to serve our family) - their prayers and support helped us get through this time. We also received cards from people wishing Reagan well.
Late Friday night into Saturday, we had a big snowstorm - probably 6" or so. Ryan had shoveled the driveway so we could take Rylan to her newborn checkup. When we came home, we noticed that the walkway AND both sidewalks had been shoveled. When we walked into the house, I asked Mom if she went out to do it. She said no, but that Katie came over and did it for us. When I texted her, she told me she just did a little bit, but that Adam had done most of the work. They didn't use their snowblowers, but actually shoveled it for us. This was a HUGE blessing to Ryan, as it was one less thing on his plate to complete.
People have told me how a church family can be supportive during a difficult time. Never could I have imagined what that means; it was always a hypothetical for me. While I never want to experience this again, I now know how a church family supports its own. Thank you, OSEFC!!!
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