A Miracle named Morgan

BY VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS

Friday, June 19, 2009 12:22 PM EDT

Love is a many-splendored thing and love overflowed when my daughter Samantha gave birth to her second child. Blake, our first grandson is now three and Morgan Jade joined him.

Into our world came this perfect being.

My daughter had prepared every detail for Morgan’s arrival by caesarean section. Her bedroom was all “pinked up,” and her closet was filled with tiny pink outfits.

My daughter, Elizabeth, her husband Sam and precious 3-month-old Jonah had come from Los Angeles to greet our new family member.

It was a little “other worldly” as I went to her home at 10 a.m. to help her prepare and stay calm for her 1 p.m. delivery appointment at North Shore Hospital. There she was with Morgan inside of her, knowing the baby would be part of our world in a few hours. We took pictures to record forever the moments before the delivery.

I was delighted to accompany Sami and dad-to-be Spencer to the hospital. I wanted to be there to be sure everything went smoothly. I knew the special woman who is the executive director at the hospital, Susan Somerville, and can say how grateful I was at the tender, caring, attention they gave my beloved daughter. I love my grandchildren but my daughter will always be my first concern. As it was this day, too.

I had had four caesareans and each one had its own drama. I felt like life was in slow motion as the hours passed before Morgan’s C-section birth. Could everything really be going so smoothly? The only glitch was when the delivery had to be delayed because of several emergencies using the operating room. As the hours passed, my other children gathered in the waiting room. Since we are in the 21st century, Sami took her blackberry with her into the labor room and sent emails and made calls to us while she was waiting. There she was, almost prepped for birth, busy sending updates. Gone was the anxiety of ‘what’s happening now’ time. I must admit though that my anxiety was building with each passing minute. I’m of the school that “Man plans, God acts.”

It was another three hours before new daddy Spencer came out with the biggest smile his handsome face could hold. “She’s here, and perfect – 10 toes, 10 fingers and the top apgar (it tells you if the baby is healthy) score,” he shared ecstatically.

In five minutes, they wheeled Sami out of the operating room holding her dearest daughter. We all laughed and cried. It wasn’t until they wheeled Sami into the recovery room that I went into a private corner and just sobbed and sobbed. I was so relieved, so grateful that all went well.

I will hold onto that magical moment of the miracle named Morgan. I’ve learned to hold in my heart such treasured times.