Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Friendship & Faith - Mel's Show & Tell & The Riggs "Feel Good" Blog Hop

Today for show and tell I am sharing a story of unexpected friendship and Faith.


When I was pregnant with Peyton, my cousin Erica was also expecting her first child, a little girl, due at the end of September.
This probably conjures up images in your head of the two of us hanging out, shopping for tiny clothes and celebrating our impending babies' births together, which of course is how it should have been, but our situation was a little more complicated. The truth of the matter is that because of some "stuff" that  isn't worth mentioning here, our families hadn't spoken for about 15 years, and neither Erica nor I were aware of each other's pregnancies.




A few weeks after Peyton was born, and while we were entrenched in her battle with Leukemia, Erica gave birth to a baby girl, Faith Margaret, a little miracle born with HLHS. HLHS is a congenital heart condition that essentially leaves Faith living with half of a heart and eventually requiring a transplant,  and one which is complicated further by an even rarer issue that Faith has with narrow veins.  What are the odds? Two cousins, both new mothers to amazing little girls born the same month, and both watching our daughters fight for their lives. The irony goes even further. Erica has the same name as one of the infants that our grandmother lost, a baby girl whose birthday I share.


A few months after Peyton's death, in a move I could never have anticipated (or would have expected),  Erica reached out to offer me her condolences, throwing open the lines of communication between us via Facebook and email at first, and finally resulting in us sitting down to talk in person. Ours was a near instant connection, not because we are related, but because we just "click" in the way that one does with their very closest of friends. We "get" each other. Our journeys are different, my little girl is gone, hers is still here, but we share the experience of loving children with congenital issues, and can joke with each other in a way that only comes from having faced the unimaginable. In an ironic twist, and one that has not been lost on me, these amazing little girls have brought us together to support one another through our journeys, and we have forged a beautiful friendship.






Erica is a wonderful mother to Faith. Her outlook is one of unwavering optimism, ever thankful of the blessing that God has granted her in her little girl, and when in her presence, you can't help but find her upbeat attitude contagious. I am so grateful for our friendship. As difficult as it is for me to be around little babies, it has actually been therapeutic to watch Faith as a little miracle in making, her progress against the odds helping to restore my faith in the power of prayer once again.



Faith is currently in the hospital with pneumonia, her recovery complicated by her HLHS and small veins. A trip to the pediatrician last Wednesday has, thus far, resulted in a week long hospitalization, and the news I received today is that she has quite a few days left in her stay. This little girl has already endured and overcome so much, open heart surgery, catheterizations, multiple hospitalizations, and with this week's pneumonia, Faith has also had to have her chest  tubed and drained of fluid;  all of this occurring over the course of her first birthday. Please visit Faith at her blog here and offer Erica, Faith (and, of course, Daddy Billy too :) ) some support and prayers to help them overcome this latest obstacle.



To see what others are showing and telling, please visit Mel's 73rd Show & Tell here.

Or to participate in the Riggs Family Blog Feel Good Blog Hop enter below...
MckLinky Blog Hop

20 comments:

  1. Heading over to give them my good thoughts, but I wanted to say here how much this post touched me, even without having met the two of you.

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  2. How wonderful that you could reconnect. I wish your cousin and her family the best of luck, and a quick recovery from pneumonia for Faith.

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  3. What an amazing story.
    You and your cousin look like sisters.
    Prayers and good thoughts for Faith and your family.

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  4. What an awesome story! Thanks for sharing :)

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  5. This is such a wonderful thing, how your daughters brought you together again - it's beautiful! And I am glad that watching Faith has begun to restore your trust that there is power in prayer =)

    I am heading over to Faith's blog right now.

    XX

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  6. It's amazing how small those family things seem in comparison with what you both have dealt with. While Erica's child is still alive and yours is not, it does not take away from the pain and anguish she too has felt dealing with Faith's heart condition. I'm so glad your wonderful girls have brought the two of you together, family support must be wonderful to have. I love your blog by the way, and Peyton is so beautiful I just can't get enough of looking at her sweet face. Hugging you

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  7. Gonna head over! Thank you for sharing about such a special woman and little girl!!

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  8. Wow. I will head over there. Both of you have been through so much. It is so good that you both have each other to lean on. There is nothing like a BFF to help you through tough times. Especially one who understands illness in a child.

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  9. Sending prayers for Faith. Your daughters brought the two of you back together. That is so beautiful.

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  10. What a touching, beautiful story. Praying for little Faith and hoping she has a quick recovery.

    BTW, I went back and read the post about your grandmother's losses and was just so touched by it.

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  11. Once again, another amazing post.

    Sending prayers for Faith.

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  12. What a beautiful story. I will keep Erica and Faith in my prayers.

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  13. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story. I'm so glad you and Erica have each other to lean on during these tough times. My thoughts and prayers are with Faith and her family. p.s. I found your blog through the BlogFrog network and wanted to come by and say hello and welcome. I'm so glad to have discovered your blog - I will be following your journey.

    Holly (co-founder TheBlogFrog)

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  14. Little Faith will definitely be in my prayers! I will be heading over to visit in just a moment. I wanted to say, though, how it amazes me everytime I come to your blog to hear how Peyton continues to send blessings to you, despite no longer being physically with you. Its as though she and Faith conspired beforehand to reunite you and Erica. So amazing.

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  15. I'm glad that she reached out. The comfort that you will continue to bring each other will be so rewarding. It is a shame when family just can't get past certain things to be there for each other.

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  16. I left a little something for you on my blog!

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  17. Wow! That so is amazing. What a journey that you all have been through. Thinking of you all!

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  18. Wow, what an wonderful story. Its so good that you have someone who understands the journey you're going through. My thoughts and prayers are with little Faith.

    I left a little something for you on my blog!

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  19. I'm glad you two found your way back to each other.

    Headed over to your cousin's.

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