Wiersma Family Blog

WIERSMA FAMILY BLOG
A glimpse into our lives as a family with micro-preemies. Our twins boys (Lovingly referred to as our Miracle Men) were born almost 16 weeks early.

Our journey continues when our son Max was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 3. This is his story....


Monday, March 23, 2009

A good day

God has answered our prayers for a quiet day...not quite a boring day yet, but a quiet day. The doctors moved Kate back up to the OB Special Care floor this morning around 11:00, which is always a great feeling. Mentally, Kate and I love being up here. The food is not as good and our room is less than 1/4 the size of the delivery room we get on the 2nd floor (they have it reserved for us unless they absolutely have to use it), but we love it. It means that Kate and the boys only require monitoring twice a day instead of 24 hours a day, and the doctors do not feel that delivery is imminent. I was able to get back to work for a half day today, and that was awesome. I have to say, Macatawa Bank has been phenomenal to Kate and I through this process. I have not worked a full day since two weeks ago tomorrow, and they have been nothing but supportive of our situation. My co-workers have picked up the slack to allow me to take time off to be with Kate through these trying times. My boss has even talked with a few of our offices/branches in Grand Rapids to see if they had an open desk that I could work at if I felt I needed to be closer to Kate than Zeeland (where I normally work). What a blessing to work for an organization that cares that much about their employees, particularly in the current economic climate in West Michigan.

Kate had a really good day. She feels like her contractions are spaced out to 2-3 per hour, and the contraction monitor confirmed this tonight. What an absolute answer to prayers. God has been so faithful through this whole experience. In the times when it felt like He was distant, I now realize that our fears were blinding us from seeing His loving arms carrying us through. God has used the doctors and nurses of Holland Hospital and Spectrum Health to stop Kate's labor symptoms 4 times in 12 days. Our boys have gone from having essentially no chance if they had been born at 22 weeks and 3 days when this whole journey began, to now being "viable". Everyday they grow and develop in Kate's womb is a blessing from God, and one we hope to never take for granted.

Also, I get to sleep on my new Aerobed tonight...and I am really excited about that. It appears to be longer than 5 ft, and it is high enough off the ground that I don't think I will have to wear socks to keep my feet from freezing. Kate is concerned that she will not be able to wake me up to help her to the bathroom because I will be too comfortable. I told her that is why she has a "call" button on her bed...the nurses would love to help her out.

We cannot say thank-you enough for the prayers. We have felt the presence of God surrounding us and prayers have been answered. The cards, emails, posts, visits, volunteering to bring food, offers to help around the house...it all means so much. We are so overwhelmed by how many people have taken it upon themselves to pray for us and share their personal experiences with us. Thank-you all.

15 comments:

  1. PRAISE THE LORD!!! Thank you Father for hearing us and answering!

    So glad for a calmer day and the encouraging news. Praising God with you!

    HOlly

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  2. What a wonderful answer to prayer!! Glad to hear you had a quiet day! We will pray for many more! :)

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  3. One word - AWESOME! I've been keeping up with your posts everyday. I am so glad to hear you all had a good day. The Lord is hearing your prayers (and everyone else's too)!
    Enjoy that bed!

    Jennifer Overway

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  4. Thank you for sharing! Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow!!!!

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  5. Mark and Kate

    Thank you for sharing with us how BIG God
    is. I will pray that you will continue to feel
    God's hands on you and your baby boys. Your
    testimony to God's greatness even in the most trying times
    is touching believers and nonbelievers.

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  6. Sleep tight Mark:) We hope you enjoy your new bed and hope it offers you more comfort and rest than you have been getting! We are so very thankful for a good day today and will continue to pray for them to keep coming! God is Good!!!

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  7. Our God is truly an Awesome God!! We praise His Name for answered prayer on all accounts. For reduced contractions, for a move from the labor and delivery floor, for a quiet day, for a more comfortable bed, for a good employer and co-workers, for the many prayer warriors who continue to lift your family before His throne of grace. He alone is worthy of all honor and praise and glory!!

    I continue to pray that this blog would touch all who read it and the posted comments, and that Mark and Kate's pregnancy will cause those at the hospital to see the love of Christ in action.

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  8. What a great posting. What a delight to see just a trickle of normalcy start to appear in your comments. Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King. His love endures forever. For He is good above all things. His love endures forever. Sing praise!!

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  9. Mark--
    Your Dad just let me know what has been happening in your lives in the past two weeks. We'll be praying that those two little boys stay where they belong for a while longer! You are in our thoughts and prayers.
    Kathi Bates

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  10. That's great news Mark. We won't stop praying though! The kids keep praying "help Mark and Kate to have a good time at the hospital"!

    Matt

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  11. What great news!! We'll keep praying for more days like this one!

    Great is Thy faithfulness!! Thank you Lord!!

    Michelle

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  12. Thank you Jesus for good news!!! Just watching you all has made us so much more aware of how precious each day is. We continue to pray today for another quiet and uneventful day:)

    Jason, Mary & Bella

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  13. Wonderful news for a quiet day. I hope both of you got some much needed rest and your days continue to be "uneventful". What a blessing with your job that they treat you so well! Praying for the 4 of you! :)

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  14. Just found your blog through a mutual friend and wanted to say 'Hi.' Hope and pray that your little boys will stay cozy for at least a few more weeks if not more :)

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  15. Mark, Kate, and boys, Annie and I are keeping you close to our hearts and in our prayers. We remembered you and the extended family in our congregational prayer this past Sunday. The saints of Fairfield CRC are also interceding for you. Thank you for generously sharing your experiences in your posting. It helps us better follow the Apostle Paul's admonition to "rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep". Grace and Peace

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