abby wrote a letter to the twins yesterday - something she has been meaning to do for 4 years now - detailing the amazing story of their birth and their grandpa's death.......which collided in the corridors of the ohio state university medical center.
here is the story - part of it, anyway - from my perspective:
abby was scheduled to have a c-section on friday, dec. 12th at 4 pm at riverside hospital, where she had been on bed rest for 8 weeks? 10 weeks? i forget. a lot of weeks.
on thursday, dec. 11th, at 5 pm, i get a call from one of abby's relatives - telling me that abby's father, david, was not expected to live more than 24 hours.
in other words, he was expected to die the same day she gave birth to her first (and second - because that's how abby and eli roll!) baby. babies.
i remember hanging up the phone and walking around in circles, saying to myself, think, nancy. think.
i called dr. melillo.
dr. melillo, i hate to bother you at home, but.........
what happened next is a GIGANTIC blur.
i remember walking into abby's room at riverside. as i did, i saw eli's mother visiting with her, having what i could tell was a tender and special conversation.
i'm not sure what i said. i know i said it badly. i remember hugging big-fat- almost-9-months-pregnant-with-twins abby and saying something to her. i remember dr. melillo standing in the hall, just outside the doorway.
what happened next is a GIGANTIC blur.
i don't remember who packed up all of abby's stuff. there was stuff everywhere. i don't remember who packed it all up.
i don't remember who drove her from riverside to ohio state, where her dad lay dying.
i don't remember what time it was.
it was dark.
not just figuratively.
next thing i know, i'm at kroger, and it's almost midnight. i'm the only one there. i am on a mission:
abby needs a hair dryer! :)
why abby needed a hair dryer, i don't remember. how abby had the presence of mind to know that she needed a hair dryer, i don't know.
but she needed one. and kroger was open.
and it was quiet.
and i was by myself.
they had dimmed most of the lights. my first thought was, how did kroger find out about all of this? how did they know to dim the lights in honor of david?
my second thought was, how pretty the little Christmas lights are in here.
how pretty and quiet. it's Christmas in kroger. even if it isn't Christmas at ohio state.
what happened next is a GIGANTIC blur.
i don't remember driving to ohio state medical center.
i don't remember parking.
(how did i ever find my car when it came time to leave?)
i do remember walking into the ohio state university medical center and thinking.........it's exactly like kroger in here.
it's quiet. it's dim.
there's a Christmas tree.
there's another one.
ah, and those wreaths. so pretty.
it's Christmas at the ohio state university medical center.
and it was. it was Christmas. because david didn't end up dying that day. (he lingered 4 more days.)
abby delivered olivia and charlie at 9.00 a.m.
and david was able to hold them.
(http://eliandabbybowman.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-2nd-letter-for-c-your-birth-story.html)
