The Story of Abby

Abby's story actually begins 2 years before she was born. Matt and I decided we were ready to start a family. Two months later a positive pregnancy test and ridiculous amounts of morning sickness made us incredibly happy. The doctor had us come in at 8 weeks for the first checkup and sonogram. Everything looked great so they sent us to the sono tech. I held my breath as the tech took a few pictures, and as I looked at the screen I just started to cry. It looked like a black hole. The tech didn't say anything, just sent us back to an exam room. By that point I was bawling and Matt didn't understand why. I told him there was no baby... I was certain something was wrong. Dr. W came in and confirmed my worst fears. She said I had a "blighted ovum"; essentially the sac attaches and grows but the baby never develops. Dr. W decided I needed to have a D&C as there was no sign that my body would miscarry naturally, after all I was 2 months into the pregnancy and my levels were still going up. Dr. W said this was a good sign for the next pregnancy; I took it to mean that my body wanted a baby as much as my heart did. So, we endured the heartbreak of a D&C. Then we decided that we would wait a year to try again so my body and our hearts could recover.
A year later we saw the beautiful + sign on the pregnancy test. We called Dr. W and she had us come in at 5 weeks to make sure everything was okay. We went into the sonogram room and we saw another empty black screen. We were devastated. Dr. W said that she would run the bloodwork and call the next day. She also let us know that blighted ovum rarely occured twice in a row and there was a chance our DNA just didn't match up, and we could pursue genetic testing. We both went to work the next morning. Crazy, yes, but I couldn't just sit and wait for the phone to ring. Dr. W said she'd call and if my hormone levels were near 10,000 then they definitely should have seen the baby. There was hope though- if they were below 10,000 then we might have just had the dates wrong and it was too early for a sono.
Dr. W called the next morning. She said, "I'm so sorry, but your levels are at 32,000. There's no way we wouldn't have seen a baby." Then she said we could go ahead and schedule another D&C for the next day. Then the most incredible thing happened. Without speaking first to Matt, without even knowing what I was saying, I asked, "I know our chances aren't great with our history, but could I just wait 2 weeks and see what happens?" Dr. W said she was fine with me waiting, she wanted me to feel comfortable, and hopefully I could miscarry naturally during that time. My friends at work surrounded me and we had an impromptu prayer session in the middle of the hallway. So much for no prayer in schools, huh?
The next 2 weeks were terrible. I had horrible all-day morning sickness, to the point that they gave me a medication they give to chemo patients (I had the same experience the previous year) and I would go home every night and cry and ask Matt why I was going through this hell when we wouldn't have a baby at the end of it. Matt was so patient, so trusting, so faithful. He comforted me and then when the 2 weeks were almost up, he helped me call and schedule a D&C for Friday.
Matt and I went to Dr. W on a Thursday afternoon. We were the last people in the waiting room. We paid our copay for the hospital and the surgery. We were given pre-op instructions. We were scheduled for a D&C for 9 the next morning. The sono tech took us back so that they could make sure everything looked the same and so that Dr. W would know how to proceed with the surgery. It was the same room and the same tech that had shown us black screens twice before. So, I refused to look at the screen. I was so ready to be done with the whole thing. She put the goop on my stomach and started moving the wand around. And then she said 4 words that changed our lives: "Have you been praying?" I said "Why?" at the exact time Matt said "Yes." Then she said "Because there's a baby there! Look!" I told her no. I wouldn't look at that screen again. So she said, "Fine. Then listen." And she turned a knob and the sound of a tiny heartbeat filled the room. Matt was crying. I was crying. The tech was crying. She went to get Dr. W. Dr. W came in and she was crying. I was so delirious that all I could say was, "We have a 9:00 appointment at the hospital." Dr. W told us we wouldn't be going the next day, we had about 7 more months.
They ran tests, and more tests, and more tests. Dr. W said she'd only seen this happen once before in her career. The dates weren't wrong. Abby was 7 weeks when they found her. I truly believe our Abigail is a miracle. The doctors didn't believe she existed. I didn't believe she existed. God knew. Thankfully He gave us the wisdom to wait on Him and the patience to wait for her.