alo's place: Answered Prayer

last week i was able to experience something really awesome...answered prayer. i have experienced answered prayer a lot lately, but this was AWESOME!!!!!

one of my best friends, piper, lives in traverse city, mi. with her hubby and their little boy corban. piper and i have been close friends since her freshman year (my sophomore year) of college. we have been roommates, traveled to australia together, been a part of each other's weddings...basically we have had a blast being friends for the past 9 years!! some days i cant believe it has been that long and other days it seems as though we have been friends forever! i love her hubby, doug...they are perfect for each other...and they are both amazing parents to one and a half year old corban! piper was such an encouragement to me, even from far away, when everything was going on with Charlotte. she and her mom came to visit and then the whole family was down in may for Charlotte's balloon celebration. between piper, sarah mack (the third friend in this trifecta) and myself, we have seen and done just about all of it! piper even held my hand for my first tattoo!! :)

so, several weeks back i got a call from piper that she and doug were pregnant again. i was so thrilled and had to call her back to razz her about getting pregnant at my house...she is still denying it, but i think it is true! :) fast forward a few weeks...piper and i had made plans that she would come down from T.C. to visit me at my mom's before i moved to houston for good. she was also coming for a haircut...nice perk, even if it was a 3 hour drive. well, just a few days before going to michigan, i got a late night phone call from piper asking me to call her back right away. she said "i am ok and the baby is ok, but there is a problem." needless to say, i freaked! i called her back as soon as i got the message. piper proceeded to tell me, very calmly i might add, that she had started bleeding the night before, was told to wait til morning to come in, bled some more that next morning, and went in for an ultrasound to find out what was going on (i am pretty sure she was about 13 weeks at that point). the doctor found that piper's placenta was sitting at the bottom of her uterus (placenta previa) and that the placenta was starting to lift off (placental abruption). NOT GOOD! the baby was doing great though...moving around and very strong heartbeat. the good news was that the placenta had not completed lifted off yet. if it did she would miscarry the baby. the doc put piper on complete bed rest immediately...hoping that the placenta would reattach itself to the uterus and not lift off any further.

while talking with piper, initially, i was very careful not to say too much, but i knew that this was pretty serious. i called both peter and lisa and told them...asked them to start praying. lisa and i cried together, both feeling so much of what we did when we got our results just months back. we talked about why this continues to happen to people who really want and desire to have families, and not to those who dont...all of those insecurities that have surrounded each of us for the past 8 months or so.

i was set to leave for michigan 2 days after talking with piper. of course because of the bed rest, there was no way that she could come to kalamazoo to see me, so my mom and i decided that we would make a day trip up to see piper that thursday. piper and i were both excited, even under the junky circumstances. before going, i was praying not only for this little baby and for piper, but also that i would not be too hard on piper, or too emotional. it all was seeming a little fresh, at times. piper was scheduled for almost 2 weeks of bed rest before her next doctor's visit and my trip fell right in the middle of that. when i got there, kelly (pipe's mom), corban, and pipe were all hangin out in the master bedroom...pipe pretty much was only allowed to lay in bed and get up to go to the bathroom...an occasional quick shower was acceptable too. we all "played", talked, and hung out before lunch, then i was able to have some girl time with pipe while corban slept and kelly went to get food. my mom pretty much ditched me to look around downtown TC...she claims she didnt want to intrude on my time with pipe, but i know that she just wanted to shop. by the end of the day, i had cut piper and corban's hair, given piper a pedi, and almost convinced kelly to chop her hair off...next time! i tried hard all day to keep it together for pipe, but before leaving, while praying together i lost it...we both lost it. my heart was hurting for my friend! i was so unsure of what God was doing, why He was allowing this to happen to my best friend, didnt understand what kind of impact this would have on the family. we prayed for complete healing, for strength, and for peace. we prayed that people around them would be encouraging and that God would work a miracle in piper's body. we hugged, several times (which is not normal for me, good thing i love you, pipe!) she promised to call me immediately after her appointment the next week about what the doctor said.

i didnt have to wait long to talk to pipe again...i realized 45 minutes down the road that i left my wallet at her house...great! of course, my mother refused to turn around, so i had to have doug overnight mail it to me...thanks, doug!! the whole next week i prayed for piper, doug and little baby radtke all the time. i knew how long days could drag waiting for information, worrying about your baby. pipe and i talked a few times through text, but we were both pretty anxious about thursday morning.

i heard from piper thursday at 10:34am that the doctor said that her placenta reattached itself!!!!!! woohoo!!! the bleeding had stopped, which is what they were looking for, the baby's heart beat was still strong, and pipe was right on track growth wise!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! we are still hoping that the previa "fixes" itself, meaning that it will move away from the bottom of the uterus. if not, pipe will have to have a c-section when it is baby time. in the big scope of things, that is the least of her worries! she was told that she still needs to take it easy, i think she called it "light bed rest"...basically, her 18 mo. old cant be bouncing up and down on her, no vacuuming, no lifting, etc.

i am so excited, they are so excited, her friends and family are so excited!!! this has been a huge answer to prayer!!! we are still praying, but this is an AWESOME start! :) please pray that the baby (which i think is a girl, btw, but they wont find out til delivery) continues to grow right on schedule, please pray that pipe's body continues to be a healthy and safe environment for this little one, please pray that the placenta moves as the blood source in the uterus moves!! we are so thankful for all that God has done so far and we are going to continue to be excited about what is in store!!!

here are a few pics...from most recent to oldest...!