Shortly after my last post, I was hospitalized for Pancreatitis for the second time. Pancreatitis is a slow healing problem that does not care what your schedule is, so the fact that I would soon be hoping to travel to Florida to welcome a new baby into the world was irrelevant. I spent day after day in the hospital, sometimes making progress but mostly staying the same, or even getting worse.... during that time we would hear from our agency that things with the baby seemed to be getting close, although we kept praying that he would wait to make his entry into the world after I had gotten better.
Fast forward to Wednesday, July 25th, at which point I'd been in the hospital for just short of 2 agonizing weeks. The decision was made to transfer me to a larger hospital where I'd be seen by a specialist, and I arrived at the new hospital around 1:15 PM. Andy arrived to be with me around 1:30. At about 2:30, we saw the doctor about a procedure I needed to have the next day. At 3:15, we received a call from our agency that our birthmother would be induced the next morning. At 3:25, we were on the phone with our agency explaining that I would not be able to travel yet and asking if there was any way the induction could be held off a few days. At 4:15, we received word that the induction would indeed be happening and that our birthmother wanted Andy to get to Florida as soon as possible. By 4:30, Andy left the hospital and I started making plans for someone to travel with Andy, as well as booking flights for their journey and trying to stay calm. This was so unexpected and heartbreaking and exciting... just a thousand feelings all at once.
Thursday, July 26th: Andy and his mom and sister, Katie, left Minneapolis for Florida right away in the morning. At noon, the doctors started the procedure that would hopefully improve my Pancreatitis. At 12:18, our birthmother gave birth to the most perfect little boy. A few short hours later, Andy arrived and got to meet our new son, Caleb Edwin, for the first time.
Over the next two hours we became parents. We held the baby, and we spent some very special time with our birthmother. Words cannot express what a gift she has been to us, and what an incredibly special young woman she is... I would try to say more but I don't have the words... I doubt I ever will. It also feels very sacred, our time with her, and I want to protect that and treasure it. It was emotional, and very, very special. By 2:00 all the papers had been signed (our birthmothers as well as our own) and the moment we had been waiting for for months -- years, in fact -- was finally here... this little boy was officially ours.
We will never be able to understand the timing of what we went through and things most definitely did not happen the way we had been anticipating, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is that we have our health (slowly but surely, things are improving) and most importantly, we have this incredible gift... this sweet little boy that we can call our own. We have never known such love, and we can only dream of what amazing things lie ahead for our family, now complete.
We are so, so incredibly blessed.
Thank you, once again, to every single one of you who has supported us, cheered us on, sent us positive vibes, and prayed for us -- especially over these past three weeks. It was the worst of times for us, for sure, but also the very best.... we could not have gotten through it without the love and support of our family and friends (and even some complete strangers... it's been incredible). Thank you. THANK YOU.
Love to you all. xoxo
Andy, Kristen, and Caleb
