Our birth story reconfirms God's hand in our babies’ lives. He has worked beyond our best expectations in the last 48 hours.
We got to Kaiser around 7:30 PM July 1. The whole way there, I was joking with Rebecca that this was just a dress rehearsal. Just practice. We were both a little nervous. I nearly missed the turn to the hospital; I hadn’t planned out the route. You’d think an expectant father would be more prepared! I thought, of course, we’d have more time to work out such details.
They admitted Rebecca, and I took a picture of her in the hospital bed. Hey, I joked, this will be a practice picture, and a great joke for the blog. The staff began to monitor the babies, who were fine. While we came in because Rebecca had been having contractions, the staff conducted some blood tests on Rebecca, and took her blood pressure. Her blood pressure was high, and her blood work was off; she’d had a decline in her platelets. This raised some red flags. “We’re gonna want to keep you for a few hours” they told us.
About midnight, they did more blood work, and took her blood pressure, hoping both would have improved. They didn’t. In fact, things were getting worse, on both counts. “You’re going to stay the night,” they said, and so we settled in. Rebecca was suffering from HEELP syndrom which is a severe form of pre-eclampsia, a serious complication that includes high blood pressure, protein in your urine, and damage to the mother’s kidneys, liver and other vital organs. They gave Rebecca a shot of steroids to help the babies develop faster in her womb. The plan was to wait and watch, and give her another steroid shot in 24 hours.
Looking back, we did not have a full appreciation of what was happening behind the scenes that night. A full squadron of medical professionals were assembling. Around 5 AM, just as Rebecca had gotten somewhat comfortable and started to doze off, the medical team came in. “We want to do an emergency C-section,” they said. When, we asked? I had thought we might have these babies in 24 hours; at least they’d wait for the morning shift to come on in a few hours! “15 minutes.” As it turns out, Rebecca’s blood count was moving in a very negative direction, quickly. We didn’t have much choice. Rebecca’s parents were at the hospital. Folks had already been praying for us. Rebecca’s mantra, as she went into surgery, was “Peace--I can do all things through God who gives me strength.” She kept repeating this over and over, until the general anesthesia took over.
The babies were delivered at 6:19, 6:20, and 6:21 AM. I was in the waiting room with Rebecca’s parents. We heard a call go out for more blood for the OR, which made Rebecca’s Mom nervous. Soon, we saw the babies go by on their way to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Still no word on Rebecca. We were calling and texting people to pray. There was still no word. This was getting scary. We had asked twice about her condition, and had heard nothing. As it turns out, Rebecca’s low platelets meant her blood couldn’t clot, and she was hemorrhaging in surgery. She was given 6 units of blood (the average human has about 10 pints or 14 units). I said to everyone, we need to pray... Bill and Glenda(Rebecca's parents) Edwin(Pastor) and Mary were in the room and we prayed, Lord, be with her, help her, save her. Thirty seconds later, there was a knock at the door. She was doing all right, but there were other complications that made it difficult to close her. We were able to go see the babies in the NICU, but still Rebecca was not out of surgery. A normal c section takes 45 minutes and she had been in surgery for nearly 3 hours! Things were a bit of a nerve-wracking blur. For instance, I couldn’t remember which baby girl got which middle name! Luckily, Bill had them stored on his mobile phone, and we later confirmed with Rebecca we’d gotten it right.
Finally, the physicians were able to get a handle on things, the surgery was completed, and Rebecca was moved to a recovery room. God was just over us in so many ways. The support of everyone who was praying was just incredible. In particular, I want to thank our friend and prayer warrior, Marge. Rebecca lived with Marge for three years while she was in dental school. Marge has an amazing perception of the Holy Spirit moving her to pray. She may only call every 3-4 months, but it’s always at the right time. The day after Rebecca had her car accident three years ago, Marge called. “I was thinking about you and just wanted to see how you were.” The day after we found out we were having triplets, Marge called to see how Rebecca was doing. Rebecca's response that day was, it is funny that you called today.. And Tuesday, July 1, Marge had called. She had some food for Rebecca and I and wanted to see how she was doing. Marge was the first person, after my parents, that I called that night when things looked grim. If there was one person I wanted to have praying for Rebecca, it was Marge.
As you may know, Rebecca herself was a preemie. She was born in 1976, at 2 pounds 8 oz, when her own mother had a version of pre-eclampsia. Rebecca’s survival was so amazing, she even made the local paper as a miracle baby. That strength and fighting spirit serves her well now. She’s still in pain, but she’s so tough, so strong! The doctors are telling us she is doing great. While her blood pressure is not yet at a normal level yet, they expect it to be soon.
Rebecca didn’t get a chance to see the girls before their transfer to Santa Clara. But Josiah, “Joe,” our biggest baby, but also the one who seemed to need the most medical assistance, couldn’t be transferred until he was stabilized. This meant Rebecca got to go down to the NICU and hold him. It was so, so beautiful. She just immediately connected with her son, and was so at peace, even while holding this super, super-frail baby. Eventually, Joe was also transferred (each baby had their own ambulance and medical team onboard). Rebecca was transferred Thursday afternoon. I grabbed some clothes, and followed the family to Santa Clara, checking in with friends and family en route.
So, we’re in Santa Clara! Rebecca will be hospitalized here 2-3 more days. The babies will be hospitalized until at least August 20. (Had they been full term babies, they wouldn’t be due to arrive until September 21). Texting is the easiest way to communicate. We’ve got our iPhones with us, so phone and email works, too. We’re open for visitors, as long as the crowd’s not too large. The babies will have breathing tubes for a few more days but they are getting lower settings of air with each pasing day. The Docs continue to be optimistic.
Please continue to pray for the babies. They have many challenges ahead of them. But we give thanks for the peace of what we have, right now. God's hand has been consistent through this entire process. Romans 4:4-5 is the verse that has been in my head for the last two weeks. I truly feel like He has done more than I could have ever dreamed of. I am in awe of His work in three beautiful, precious children!
Special thanks to Susan Kostal for taking incredible notes from my phone call on the way to Santa Clara... This is her Ghost writing for me. More eloquence and detail than I ever could have included.
PS: we will be staying in Santa Clara for next couple days. They want to transfer the babies back to SF once space is available.
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