It was another beautiful day in Southern California. I was two holes away from completing a round of golf with a good friend of mine. As we approached the 16th hole I thought to myself “there’s no better way to spend your day off than to have good fellowship and good golf.” And then the text came… 

Realizing I had missed two of her calls, I immediately called and she told me that while using the restroom at home she felt a gush of water followed by blood. She attempted to call her doctor, however unable to reach him  she immediately drove herself to the hospital. When she arrived, the attending doctor did an examination and realized that she was fully dilated,  the baby was lying in a breached position, and that her water had indeed broken. They would need to perform a classical caesarean section in order to remove the baby. 

As she explained this to me I couldn’t help but notice how calm she sounded. It was as if she was not the least bit concerned. I on the other hand was frantic. 

Rushing to my car I drove as fast as possible to the hospital. It was the longest 30 minute drive I’ve ever taken. I couldn’t help but assume the worse… will we lose the baby?… is Holly ok?… why wasn’t I at home?… I should have been there!… My mind was racing, tears were flowing, and all I could say was “Jesus please!” 

Running into the hospital I found the nurses wheeling our daughter out of the operating room and into the NICU. There was a team of four nurses and one doctor who huddled around her working to stabilize her breathing. As I approached they parted and for the first time I saw her… Emilie Grace. 

After roughly 3 hours of intense treatment to stabilize her breathing and heart rate, she was then airlifted from the Kaiser hospital in Riverside to Kaiser in Anaheim about 30 min away. 

As I rode with my daughter in the helicopter I had no idea that our journey of faith had just begun.