Graham's Story Part III

I realize that some people will be bored by these Graham stories, but I'm writing this down so I don't forget. I don't want to forget the days leading up to Graham's arrival, and I don't want to forget God's faithfulness. The Israelites put up stones as a memorial to reflect on God's deliverance and faithfulness. These blog entries are in a way, my stones. I want to look back years from now and say, see here....God was faithful,God is faithful. So read if you want, or don't read. These Graham stories are for me!

On Christmas Day a year ago, I scanned the hospital menu for breakfast casserole and frozen fruit. Unfortunately they didn't have my mother as the cook, so I settled on something else and ordered hot chocolate. Hot chocolate will make any meal feel a little more Christmasy. I wouldn't recommend Christmas in the hospital, but everyone around me made it bearable. The nurses brought in a small tree with Christmas ornaments that some children made, and my mom bought a huge tree that she decked out with lights and glittery ornaments. We had delicious food on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, there were presents galore, I was surrounded by family, and I was still pregnant. On Christmas evening, I went on my wheel chair ride (I was allowed one a day) and Jeff brought Steve up to the hospital for a visit. He stayed outside of course. And that concluded Christmas Day. It was definitely a weird Christmas, and I somewhat felt like I just skipped Christmas last year. I still had gingerbread dough in my freezer this year that I bought just before I went into the hospital. I baked the gingerbread cookies and it was like picking up where I left off last year...only this year there was a baby crawling around my feet.
Christmas passed and New Years too and still I was pregnant. Jeff and I met with the neonatologist and felt a little more at ease after discussing what was in store for Graham. One thing was sure- every week I remained pregnant reduced the risk of complications.
I learned how to hook myself up to the monitors and the nurses joked that they were going to start letting me do paperwork for them. I didn't really bother them. I could do everything myself, and for the most part, I felt fine. The only time I usually called the nurses was when I needed my Ambien at night. Boy was I thankful for Ambien during my hospital stay! I'd never used it before and haven't used it since, but it helped me snooze on those nights that could have been sleepless.
Around 5:00-6:00 every morning, a phlebotomist came to draw blood and my doctor came to check on me once or twice a day. I remained stable.
One day I asked my doctor if I could go see a movie for a couple of hours. I was feeling fine, and my blood pressure was under control. He consulted with the higher-ups and they would not allow it. It was a liability issue. I understood, but I just wanted to get away from that hospital for a little while. I really wanted to go home for a few minutes and take a bath, but that would have to wait for a while! And so life went on in the hospital. I was restless at times and there were days that were harder than others, but for the most part I was content. I couldn't do things that required a lot of thought. I had books to read, but I couldn't read them. I tried to learn to crochet, but that was short lived. For the most part I read magazines and watched HGTV. I guess thinking too hard would force me to reflect more seriously on my state and the possibility of complications with Graham's arrival.