3 Hearts Made 1 Baby: Our Story of Hope After Transplant

We stood in the chapel on the sixth floor of Duke University Hospital.  Hands clasped, heads bowed, and eyes closed.  The circle tight – there were seven of us in all, some related by blood and some related by spirit – our hearts focused as one.

Each person’s turn shared the same begging to God – please help John recover from his heart transplant, please help his organs wake up, please let him wake up, please don’t let him die.

Then it was my sister-in-law’s turn – John’s sister. She prayed for all of these miracles just like the rest of us, and then she prayed for something extra – something a little more.  She prayed for new life – not of the soul kind or of the life-span kind, but of flesh and blood, a new life that may just possibly come from this man who lay down the hall with a different heart in his chest than the one that was there the day before.

“Please, Lord” , she asked, “please, bless Brenda and John with a baby one day.  Maybe even many babies”.

And there in the depths of despair and feelings of hopelessness there was hope.

So through the next several weeks when I sat daily in the same chapel on the sixth floor, alone and quiet, I, too, began to pray for a flesh-and-blood life to come out from the new heart John received.

Today that child is here with me in this room tucked deep inside my womb, a prune length size, only eleven weeks old.

We’re going to have a baby . . .  The miracles continue . . .

The man whose life ended abruptly, without warning or hint that his time had come, gave his heart to John to live some years longer here with me.  And now, that same heart made it possible to create a brand new life – of the flesh and blood and soul kind.  Who knows how much more life his heart left behind will create as it now pounds in John’s chest.

And our donor’s family. How I wish I knew them by name.  Just to show them how their selflessness in the middle of agonizing grief produced miracles – more than we can count.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your continuous grace upon our lives and for giving us the precious gift of this baby.  We give you every ounce of the praise, glory, and honor.

The month of April is Donate Life Month. Are you registered to be an organ donor?  I encourage you to please consider it.  I am happy to answer any questions you may have based on our experience.  You can email me at brenda@triplebraidedlife.com.  And please visit Donate Life America for more information.

So now I begin preparing to be a mommy. I can’t wait to share this new journey with you. I know I will need more of your words of wisdom than my words here can give, so please offer them graciously! And if you have a spare prayer, we would be most grateful for prayers for our sweet child!

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