The Modern Day Miracle Family

An unexpected baby, a weak, unconscious mother, a world renowned hospital, 65 roses, a husband with a desire for the best for his girls and thousands waiting in limbo. This is the world I stumbled upon just three short weeks ago.

While in complete boredom at my full time job, I was scoping out different groups on one my favorite blog sites and came across the story of Nathan, Tricia and Gwyneth Lawrenson. At the time I "met" them, it was just Nathan and Tricia with Gwyneth waiting to make her arrival.

I began the intimately detailed journey through the site http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com/ where Nathan has dutifully typed up a play by play of his family's continuing journey of faith, hope and love.

The story began with a surprise love affair that drew together Nathan and Tricia in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They fell in love and were joined in marriage on June 27^th, 2004 with the love and support of their families and of God. Also intertwined deeply into their lives were 65 roses embedded in Tricia's body: Cystic Fibrosis.

They journeyed through the trials that CF can cause, and were determined to bring a child into this world. After some time, they decided not to keep trying, and focused on becoming healthy enough for a double lung transplant that could extent Tricia's life an average of eight years. One evening, when Nathan went to his church to ask for prayer that this lung transplant would be God's will, Nathan came home to find out exactly what God had in store for them: Precious Gwyneth Rose.

The next few months entailed leaving their dreams of a double lung transplant to focus on the new life that was to join theirs. At just 26 weeks, Tricia was induced into a medical coma and Gwyneth Rose was delivered via emergency C-section.

I have followed their journey for three weeks now where I have come to know many things, the deepest of which is the amazement of faith and the power of love. The power of love is always seen as a cliché, but in these quiet moments at my desk reading about others lives being touched through three amazing beings, one only weighing one pound, four ounces, you cannot express it any other way.

Tricia is finally out of her coma, and every one of us are celebrating her efforts that have put her in a regular room and out of the ICU. Gwyneth is doing well and her parents are looking forward to seeing her blossom into the beautiful rose she is. Nathan is living out of a hotel and in every waking moment sits by his girls' bedsides and documents their lives so we can pray and celebrate the amazing steps that they have taken.

Their entire journey has focused on their faith in God and their powerful love and trust in each other. While thousands read faithfully, many are beginning their own journeys of faith. Whether you believe or not, this family has transformed a portion of the online community in a way no other has. Nathan has opened their lives up so that all who wish to be involved can be: through blogging with him, donating to their trust fund http://65roses4pattysue.com/, and through their prayer and support.

I do not believe any of us can imagine the feelings of knowing that the birth of a child could lead to the death of a mother. I, for one, began with a negative approach when I stumbled upon their story. I thought to myself, if you knew the risks of getting pregnant, and were awaiting approval for a lung transplant, how could you be careless enough to get pregnant? However, as many others have found, my feelings of anger towards the situation turned to feelings of hope and encouragement that this family would pull through and not lose sight of their dreams.

I have grown tremendously through their story and developed a faith for the disbelief. Some have called their journey a message from Satan, not from God. However, would you believe that a woman suffering from severe stages of Cystric Fibrosis could come out of a medically induced coma after delivering a premature baby and be moved to normal room within three weeks and already be in the qualifying stages for a double lung transplant? It's not belief; it's a miracle. Modern day.

You cannot help but tell your friends and family about the lives you are following daily and feel as though you are a deep, sincere part of their extended family. The hospital where this family is staying has overloaded the free card printing service that the hospital offers. They said they have never gotten a response of, at one point, over 150 e-cards for this family, in one day. Can you imagine?

Joining together this blessed baby, a strong, recovering mother, an outstanding hospital, a husband who is now filled with the love of his complete family, thousands waiting prayerfully for their full recovery, all holding miracle roses. That is what this modern miracle family has done for us; something that hasn't moved a community to such faith since the birth of a miracle baby thousands of years ago.