February 17, 2024 is a day that we have been looking forward to for many months. This very special day is Evie Mac’s due date! Because of the diagnosis that we were given, the increase in blood flow to the placenta, the driving distance and a few other factors – our very knowledgeable Doctor listened to his heart (the voice of Jesus) and decided that January 29, 2024 would be the new date that we would lay eyes on our girl … Thank the Lord he listened because we witnessed one of many miracles the minute she entered the world on the new date that was chosen.
My heart became extremely heavy the night before Evie’s birth. All the time that I had experienced with my girl in the womb was coming to an end – her feet in my ribs, the sleepless nights, her kicks, her strong heartbeat, the sonograms, the weekly Doctor’s visits, the belly rubs and the belly hugs from Emeri Ann. Every little movement that we had the honor of getting to experience was going to be greatly missed and the realization of tomorrow was coming upon us …
The day had finally come. The many months of planning, making decisions, emotions, praying, trusting, believing, hoping, unknowns – the wait was about to be over. Evie’s strong heartbeat would fill the room loudly as the nurses continued to monitor her just moments before being rolled back to the operating room. We would laugh at how active she was as you could hear her every move on the monitor.
As they prepared me for the surgery, James entered the room all suited up with only his eyes peaking over the mask. My comforter, prayer warrior, husband, and daddy to our soon to be two girls knelt beside me and grabbed my hand ever so softly. We had done lots of research, read statistics and had been given somewhat of a guesstimated timeline, but we knew that the final say was up to the Good Shepherd. The room was filled with many nurses and doctors – all who became more than just nurses and doctors during our time there … they became family. Our anesthesiologist kindly asked if we would like him to play music during our surgery. This brought us lots of peace because we had an Evie playlist that we played every day for months and a few of the songs on the playlist felt like they reached Heaven with each time that we listened to them. We played “Holy Forever” by Jenn Johnson and “Hymn of Heaven” by Phil Wickham on repeat the entire time. The presence of the Lord was in this place. It was felt! At 12:57 pm the most incredible Doctor announced, “Here she comes – Someone take pictures”! He held her up – She was perfect. She was a tiny little thing with the most perfect nose, mouth, fingers, feet, toes … Every little thing about her was so pure and so sweet.
The many emotions and thoughts that flooded over us during that moment – Does she really have Trisomy 18? Were the statistics that we researched right? Were we going to get time with her like we so fervently prayed for? She was quickly rushed to a team of Doctor’s and Nurses and then after what felt like hours, we heard her first cry. It was the sweetest of any sound that we had ever heard, and we immediately began thanking the Lord for this precious gift of life. With her music continuing to play quietly in the background we held her proudly, loved on her with every ounce of our being, and can count on one hand how many times we put her down over the next few days. Emeri Ann was the first to meet her after us and she repeatedly would comment with the biggest smile on her face “She’s so cute!” … She was and forever will be one proud big sister.
This is only the beginning of a very emotional and exhaustive next several days – Don’t let those words fool you though. The emotions that dominated over those emotional and exhaustive next few days were faith, hope, love, peace and joy.
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. The same God that chose and trusted us to carry Evie, the same God that allowed 37 weeks and 2 days in the womb, the same God that healed a blind man, fed the 5,000, calmed the sea of Galilee, the same God that died and rose again … He never changes. He is good all the time. He will never leave us – He didn’t in the beginning of our journey, and He won’t now.
Writing has been a healthy way for me to express my feelings and emotions and helps me to remember some of the hardest but most special days of my life. Because I want to remember every moment of our journey, I am going back to the very beginning … My prayer is that the Lord is glorified through our story and that we never forget the mark that Evie Mac left on us! Please come back to read about our perfect little girl who had faulty cells … ❤
We love and miss you more than we can say, Evie Mac. Today is hard … But God is good!
#trisomy18 #eviemacsmark #february17 #duedate
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