I awoke to the feel of the stiff white sheets. The feel was familiar. I had been here before. I felt pain but it was different this time. Memories of the night befire entered my mind. I remenbered the doctor’s urgent voice yelling at me, or so it seemed. He kept repeating, “Push harder, Push harder, or I will have to perform surgery.” The pain was intense. I couldn’t move. I wanted to. I kept trying, but nothing was happening. I thought Lord am I going to die? Next came blackness, and a peaceful sleep. I awoke to find myself in a semi- private room. In the bed near the window was a young woman who began speaking to me . She told me her name and asked how I was feeling? A nurse entered the room. She seemed to be in a hurry. I had many questions I wanted to ask her but only one came out of my mouth. Is the baby alive? She smiled and said the baby is fine. You had an emergency cesarean section, their were some complications. The baby was large for your size, nine and a half pounds. We were concerned for you both. My eyes immediatelly filled with tears. I silently said a prayer of thanks to the Lord, for sparing our lives. The nurse told us to prepare because she was returning in a short while with the babies, for their first feeding. I wanted so much to ask her if I had a boy or a girl but I didn’t want to be disappointed so I kept quiet. My previous four children were boys. I desperately wanted, and prayed for a girl during my pregnancy. The nurse brought in the babies. They were in little baskets on wheels. The babies were wrapped in blankets. Pink and blue. The baby in the blue blanket was first. I closed my eyes and prayed, Please Lord let it be hers. When I opened my eyes in front of my bed was the baby in the pink blanket. I screamed out. “Is she mine?” I have a girl.” “Yes, the nurse said.”Didn’t I mention you had a daughter?” Tears of joy filled my heart when I looked at this beautiful baby girl and I said” Thank you Lord for you have given me my greatest gift.”
