Heart Rates? More like Heart Greats!

So Grandma and Grandpa Perkins as well as uncle Dan (all my side of the family) came over for dinner this evening. Maw brought some good victuals (Lane, you pronounce that "vittles"...Like what your family from Beaumont eats...) as well as some great company. It's fun getting all this attention, even if it's mainly because we have a baby that people like to hold. It's still OUR baby which is really fun. Eli's been doing great with people...Let's hope it keeps up!

One thing I was thinking about today...I have a little story. So our labor (I say that because though Darby was the one doing the bulk of the work, we all put our time in) was pretty long and hard. We wanted to do it naturally, but after 24 hours, we feared Darby might not have enough strength to push him out if we went much longer....So we went with an epidural. We don't really have a problem with using drugs to ease labor, but it just felt right to us to avoid it if we could. Anyway, right after the epidural, Darby fell asleep. I think the relief from the back labor (Eli's head was turned so his shoulders and head dug into Darby's back, slowing labor and causing most of the pain in the back) was too welcome for her to stay awake. However, as the epidural took effect on Darby it also affected Eli. His heart rate dropped from the 150's (normal) to the 90's in a gradual decent. I listened to the beeps slowly drop in frequency and the nurses alarm increase accordingly. In order to raise his heart rate, the nurses thought it necessary to stimulate his head (basically scratch it). Remember he's still in the uterus so it looked awfully violent to me. My thought was that we had killed our kid or at best would require an emergency C-section and Eli would be brain-damaged. I was already imagining pushing Eli to the park when he is 30 so we can sit outside to play checkers and feed the pidgeons. He would wear tan pants with white tennis shoes and say things like, "Dad...All these pidgeons like us. Dad, they really like us!" and I would say, "yes, Eli, they do. Now put the bread down and lets clean your diaper..."

Anyway, his heart rate eventually came back up, but I was a wreck inside. At first I just thought, "how could this happen to me!", but soon after that thought....I got control of myself a little and thought about our good friends Byron and Carla whose son Bo was diagnosed with cancer as a child (Bo's 18 or 19 now). Byron and Carla must have lived with that fear for YEARS! Not just minutes. YEARS! What's more....They have a great attitude about it...Like they REALLY paid attention to the tragedy and soaked it in for all it was worth. They seemed to refuse to believe it was all awful. In fact...To be honest....I think it's one of the things that made us such good friends. I would never want Bo or Eli to experience a tragedy so I could have good friends...But...I think what's most important is that when that tragedy occurs we HAVE to pay attention to it. To be a wee bit cheesy...That's how I think God is good....Not that tragedy doesn't happen, but when it does happen....Some people are able to pay attention to it and those people are brought to the minds of others in a tragedy and THEY pay attention and.....

Eli just pooed...I gotta go pay attention to that tragedy....

jp