heart by RitaE via Pixabay, CCO
About the Author: Allison Gingras
Allison Gingras is a social media and digital specialist with the Diocese of Fall River, Family Rosary, and CatholicMom.com. Kelly Wahlquist wrote the foreword for her "Encountering Signs of Faith: My Unexpected Journey with Sacramentals, the Saints, and the Abundant Grace of God" (Ave Maria Press). She created the Stay Connected Journals (OSV), including "The Gift of Invitation" and "Seeking Peace." www.ReconciledToYou.com
Day 17, a time when I gave. God blessed my gift, and the receiver was twice blessed with my gift…My daughter’s 8th month of her second pregnancy was not going well. Preterm labor. She was hospitalized Nov 10, then again Nov 30. She lives in a very small town (5 sq mi) in western NE. (45 min from CO border.) After 3.5 days in the community hospital, she was taken by ambulance to the closest town with a NICU-52 miles away.
On the way there, her oxygen levels kept dropping. When she reached the hospital in North Platte (same place that ‘Heaven is For Real’ transpired), their NICU seemed to have freaked out, and a couple hours later she was on a helicopter to Denver-to the top 3rd NICU in the nation. That was Dec 3, 2016. I was on a flight Dec 4th, and didn’t return home (MO) until Feb 16th, 2017. I was scheduled to go help yet not a month early.
The week before, we had just heard in Mass how Mary said YES to God, then went in haste to help Elizabeth. God calling me to say YES to him, and my daughter. I have some health issues that cause fatigue, muscle spasms, et al. Plus, I’m not supposed to lift more than 20 pounds since neck fusion surgery in 2001. My almost three year old granddaughter weighs 34 pounds. How would I be able to lift her?
When my daughter returned home to NE on the evening of Dec 5, she needed lots of help. She was on so much medicine to abate the contractions, that it left her sleeping all day. She would not have had the ability to take care of Josie, my granddaughter. I was nanny, cook, maid, grocery shopper, errand runner, etc. Through it all, none of my MS-like symptoms emerged. Only by the grace of God!
I knew I was where God needed me to be. Coralee was born Jan 4. She is beautiful. My daughter hemorrhaged after her C-Section and needed a second surgery a couple hours later. She really went thru the wringer. She has a large hematoma in her abdomen-it will take at least four months for it to absorb in her body. Meanwhile, she endures a lot of discomfort.
She really needed her mom. It just so happened that this was the first time my daughter had patience with me. She has always been snarky, but this time she really was different. Only once was she crabby. I told her I wanted my nice daughter back. We both laughed, and I believe this is a turning point in how she will interact with me going forward. This is a miracle; one I’ve prayed for over three decades.
God took great care of me. He helped me get up at the crack of dawn when Josie would lean over from the bunk of her trundle bed and say, “Hi Nana!” Only by the grace of God was I blessed with an over-abundance of energy, stamina, peace, endurance, and perseverance, to carry out this act of service done from the heart. And I was able to carry Josie, pick her up, etc. Only by God’s unending love did all this fall into place. Praise God!
WOW Judy… just wow!!!