Good always comes to those who have courage and are kind.
Once upon a time we dream of being adults, we plan our futures, and expect no less than a Hans Christian Andersen conclusion that we have heard time and time again as we drifted off to sleep as children. But, what is a fairytale without a plot twist? Alice down the rabbit hole. Cinderella locked in the tower. Ariel, voiceless watching Eric marry Ursula. The tragedy is vital to a good story. It lures us in, helps us love the characters and makes us even more excited when the good guys win in the end.
The Thomas family fairytale is no less of an exciting tale. We have our handsome, curly haired Prince Tyler who works hard, is obsessed with a green lawn, soccer and Ramen salad. Bree, with hair of pure silk, hands built for healing massage, a saintly maiden who (if Science allowed) would for sure have the gift of speaking to rats and singing joyfully as birds cleaned her house. A blind date made them lovers, marriage made them eternal and having a baby would change their lives in a way that no one could have anticipated.
August 24, 2009 angels rejoiced and the townspeople cheered as the teeny bundle of Brynlee Jade came into the world after 45 hours of labor. A cherubic combination of her parents and a welcome addition to a family that planned to raise five babies at least. Baby snuggles and newborn cuddling would have to wait- our maiden was in peril. A postpartum hemorrhage threatened to take her life- the bleeding would not stop, the doctor was concerned. 12 transfusions, two bags of plasma, and one bag of platelets were necessary to keep her from slipping away. Bree spent those first precious moments of Brynlee’s life; first bath, skin to skin time, nursing, gazing at a sleeping day old baby, seeing this little person that was once inside living and breathing on the outside- in the ICU as her body struggled to heal from the trauma that had almost overtaken. The doctors said that Bree was “one foot over the waterfall” and that taking her uterus was necessary to saving her life. The very medium that would carry multiple babies was gone. Babies became “baby” and the Thomas family became three. 12 days in the hospital, with Brynlee being discharged on day 2 and this new family was released to piece together those delicate fragments of happiness for the new life they were given and sadness/bitterness/grief/pain for what seemed lost forever.
Happy memories were made. Brynlee grew into the fairest in the land with her trusty “steed”, a miniature Yorkie Toby, by her side. Although life was good, sorrow would always find a way to creep in. Sorrow for a life that seemed to be damaged or unfulfilled. And then, in comes the magic.
Modern medicine has paved the way for this sweet family to have more babies. Babies that look like them, have their personalities and wispy hair like their sister. IVF allowed for three frozen embryos- the magic of science did what Bree’s body could not. Three tiny pieces of the Thomas family that are just waiting patiently in an icy slumber.
And so we wait. We wait for more magic. We wait for a sweet surrogate- someone willing to house these precious babies and give the Thomas family their happily ever after, a fairy God Mother perhaps. A woman that unselfishly and willingly will play host to these angel babies waiting to join their big sister. The sacrifice is monumental. The journey may be paved with challenge but in the end, we know that stories with the happiest endings are those where dragons are slain and good always comes to those who have courage and are kind.
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