Above Rubies Text

I sent in a story of our love for Hannah in action at our home and our families love on her.  Here is the basic text.  If you want to subscibe to this magazine it is free.  Just click here:Above Rubies

Here is the basic texts as I sent into Above Rubies.  I believe a bit was adjusted but it mostly remains the same. 

Our Sweet Blessing

By Sandi Kwant

Our faith was put to the test the day we got the news from my doctor that  your baby may have a severe chromosome disorder called Trisomy 18 which is described as incompatible with life.  They also said your baby will not live past birth!   The Doctors suggested termination many times throughout the remainder of my pregnancy. They were also so pushy with the abortion options but we always promptly said NO!  The doctors did not want to even go though the trouble of monitoring our baby in womb.  We fought for monitoring because we valued our daughter’s life even before she was born. 

Daily I would cling these veres Phil 4 :4-7 “⁴Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.  ⁵Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  ⁶Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  ⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I felt this peace daily as I committed my daughter to God.  I prayed my daughter would be just as God planned from the foundations of the earth.  I know God does not make mistakes and He chose our family walk this unknown road. 

Hannah Grace was born in early December.  There was many miracles and answers to prayer the day she was born.  She was born vaginally and was screaming.  The doctors told us she would have to be born with a c-section as her heart would be able to handle a vaginal delivery and she would not be breathing!  She only needed Oxygen assistant for a couple hours.  Her digestive system was working completely (not like we were told) She was so much better than the doctors ever predicted!  The only problem she had was she was to small to nurse from the breast or suck from a bottle so she had a NG tube in her nose.  A pump would pump breast milk into her tummy.  She was able to come home from the hospital after a week in the NICU.   What a joyful day when we brought Hannah home into the loving arms of her 7 siblings.  Unconditional love radiated from our home!  Hannah was the star of our home.  She was hardly ever put down.

We showed love everyday to our sweet Hannah.  Here are some examples of our love in action at home.  All the children made special receiving blankets for Hannah which she used daily.  The girls made skirts for Hannah and we are so thankful that Hannah got the where these special clothes!  Nathan, 5 yr old, he always wanted to hold Hannah when mommy took a shower.  He sat on a cute little chair in front of the TV, proudly holding Hannah.  Terri Lynn, 3yr old, was always wanted to hold Hannah.  She always was there when Hannah’s diaper was changed and when Hannah took a bath.  Martin, 17 yr old, everyday he wanted to be sure to hold and cuddle Hannah as he knew she’d be with us for a short time.  Sam, 15 yr, he showed such concern for Hannah in everything she faced as a special needs baby.  Sam was so proud to show Hannah off at church and elsewhere.  Cassie, 13y, she was a back up feeder.  Whenever I had to drive somewhere long and Hannah needed to be fed in the van; Cassie was my expert on the feeding pump.  Cassie also was so good to carefully change Hannah’s diaper and her clothes.  Heidi, 11yrs, proudly made Hannah a snow chair outside when we were blessed with snow one Sunday morning.  Heidi was so good to include Hannah in her play of babies.  Heidi was so good to show Hannah off to friends and family!  Valerie, 8yrs, she beamed whenever she held Hannah.  She was so careful with her.  She loved playing babies with Hannah using all the doll furniture!  Rick, Hannah’s daddy, loved sitting on his easy chair holding Hannah in his big arms treasuring every moment with her.  One day he lay on the ground exercising and right beside him laid Terri Lynn and Hannah exercising together.  It was so cute!  I loved every moment with Hannah.  Hannah slept with me nightly.  Hannah had to be fed every 3 hours around the clock.  I’d sleep a few hours get up and feed Hannah which took at least 1hour to feed her; which meant I’d get at the most 2 hours sleep at a time. I did not mind, anything to help my precious baby!

One day we come home from Children’s having just found out that Hannah was severely hard of hearing.  We did learn she could hear the sound of a chain saw.  It was amazing to me to see her to oldest brothers have Hannah in their arms, yelling at the top of their lungs, “Hannah can you hear us!  We Love you so much.”  That is a treasured memory.

We were so proud of Hannah, we would proudly share her with others, bring her places like church.  We wanted others to see and know our sweet Hannah.  She was doing so much better than the doctors ever told us she’d do.  Hannah is our living miracle! 

Many friends witnessed our faith and love in action!  Our family radiated love for the world’s unlovable.   Hannah spoke to us with her peace.  She radiated peace and that was a comfort to our family.

Her breathing began to be a struggle as she began to trun blue many times a day.  We took her to Children’s hospital. The staff at the hospital worked extremely hard to save her. But her heart and lungs were just not work properly together.  Hannah passed away in the our loving arms and is with Jesus after 64 glorious days with her family.

 She changed our lives forever!  We have no regrets as we did everything we could to save and give her quality life.    We can proudly say God chose our family for this special person.  She is forever in our hearts and one day we will get to see her again.  What a glorious day that will be! 

I am so so thankful we did not listen to our doctor’s suggestions for termination!  We would have missed out on all the love and peace Hannah shared with us, all the love shared by others, and all the love we poured out on Hannah.  Hannah impacted many people and we will only see the small picture.  God had a huge plan when He gave us Hannah!  Someday we will understand God’s plan and the pain of losing a child was worth it.

God did give me a precious treasure when He told me a few months after we lost Hannah. He said, “Well done thou good and faithful servant, what you did to the least of these (Hannah) you have done unto Me.” 

If there is anyone who is facing the unsure future with their precious baby, fight for your baby, love on your baby and trust God to get you through  it.