Once the operating room calmed and the staff regained composure, the process of prepping my wife for surgery started from the top. It took another fifteen minutes and my wife was ready…or so everyone thought. Then, Dr. Bryars went to make the cut in my wife’s abdomen and announced that the surgical application covering her abdomen had been taped on and applied upside-down!
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” I screamed silently in my head. This was too much. I looked at God, however one does that, and I smiled the biggest smile. I knew he was playing with me. At that moment I KNEW we were going to have a little girl. Earlier, when the fly landed, I had a hunch He was up to something, but now I knew it. He was toying with me and I loved every minute of it. I whispered a silent thanks as I turned my attention back to my wife.
The dressing was removed and replaced facing the proper direction. It was the fault of an intern learning a lesson the hard way. She was apologetic and rather embarrassed. Finally, the surgery began.
And ten minutes later our child was pulled into this world by Dr. Bryars as he casually announced, “It’s a girl!”
The words echoed in our heads and in our hearts. My wife and I repeated them to each other. “It’s a girl! It’s a girl!” We both started to cry. ”It’s Hannah,” I said softly to her as the nurse handed our daughter to us. “She is beautiful. She is absolutely beautiful!”
We had the name Hannah picked out since our first child and now she was finally here. We could hardly believe it. It was a moment neither of us will ever forget, a gift beyond any gift imaginable. A little girl named Hannah was now a part of our family of five thanks to the One who works in amazing, magnificent, and memorable ways.
From my desktop to yours, it’s another Alabama memory.
