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| A GRANDMA'S STORY |
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| God carried Tiffany over three big hurdles - living through the night, leukemia and cystic fibrosis. There were many, many hurdles to come. Hurdles that kept coming for a long time. Tiffany was hooked to IVs and monitor. They even put IVs in the top of her head. Her veins started collapsing from so many IVs. Tammy had to make a tough decision as to whether to let them put a central line in or not. I told her to pray and let God help her make the right decision. I also prayed that she would make the right decision. I believe she did. Tammy let them put a central line in the side of Tiffany's neck to replace the many IVs. The central line was in about a week until Tiffany got hold of it and yanked it out. They had to go back to IVs. Tiffany's bowels weren't working without suppositories. They said they were undeveloped and that she would need corrective surgery on her bowels. The very morning they were going to do the surgery, her bowels moved on their own. Tiffany didn't have to have the surgery after all. God is merciful and always on time. Tiffany had a lot of apneas where she'd get too tired or forget to breathe. She'd also go into low heart rate where her precious, little heart would start getting too tired to beat. They'd put oxygen on her occasionally so she wouldn't wear herself out so much by laboring to breathe. It also burnt a lot of her calories which she could ill afford to loose. The doctors became concerned that she would suffer a detached retina from being on oxygen. For the longest time, Tiffany didn't seem to gain a bit of weight at all. Several days passed where she would either lose a little or just barely hold her weight. The rare days that they'd say she gained 1/10th ounce caused us to rejoice and praise the Lord for it. We were clinging to each 1/10th of an ounce that she had started gaining. We claimed it as victory and continued to pray for her without ceasing. They starte putting a feeding tube down Tiffany's nose and throat into her stomach and feeding her that way. She was too premature to know how to suck. they fed tiffany on pedialyte for a long time at first because she didn't have any electrolytes and was still so dehydrated. Tammy and the nurses would work with Tiffany a lot with a pacifier teaching her how to suck. Eventually tiffany graduated from the feeding tube to a bottle but the bottle was so small that it looked more like a test tube than a bottle. It seemed to take forever but eventually Tiffany started gaining about 1/10th ounce per day. We claimed the vistory with more enthusiasm. So little of a gain meant so much! Weeks passed. It was approaching the day I'd planned to have Tammy's baby shower. I'd planned the shower ever since I head she was pregnant and had called to reserve the large building at Camp Barbe 4H grounds months and months ago. During the planning and preparations it never crossed my mind that the baby would be here before the shower. The shower was scheduled for Saturday, June 15th. The baby wasn't due until August 1st. Yes, I knew I was going to be criticized a lot for going ahead with a shower for a baby that doctors and most of the world didn't think was going to make it. I wasn't doubting she'd make it. I was really lauching out into the deep like Jesus told His disciples to do. There were times I almost doubted that Tiffany would make it. Satan, the doctors, most of the world, circumstances and common sense often screamed at me, "Tiffany's not going to live. You might as well prepare yourself to give her up." During these times I'd cry, "No, no, she is going to make it!" It'd drive me to my knees where I'd pray harder than ever before. I'd pray the prayer of faith. I'd pray all the way through to heaven no matter how long it took to do so. When I felt my prayers reach heaven, I'd be strengthened and assured that Tiffany would make it. He, Who spoke the heavens and earth into being, was more than able to keep my precious granddaughter alive. I had the blessed assurance and peace that He would keep Tiffany alive. My comforter did surely comfort me during these times of severe testing. We never missed church to go to Charleston. On Sundays we'd attend church before we would go to Charleston. As much as we love Tiffany, we never used her as an excuse to miss church. We did not love Tiffany, the gift, more than we loved God, the Giver. Our heavenly Father had given us Tiffany, the most beautiful gift in the world. We weren't going to forget Who to thank for Tiffany. We would not, could not, have missed church for anything. Praising, worshipping and serving God meant more to us than it ever did before. Hospital said they'd release Tiffany if she ever gained enough to weigh four pounds or by her due date of August 1st, whichever came first. I kept believeing she'd be released before August 1st. Satan kept trying to tell me that we'd have to return all the nice gifts from the baby shower to the people that bought them. He kept saying that Tiffany would never get to use any of them. I said, "Satan, you are the father of lies! You are not going to cause me to doubt. I walk by faith and not by sight. I have the peace of God that flows like a river. It's much stronger than you are and you're not taking it from me!" continued |
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