A cold March wind danced around the
dead of night in Dallas as the Doctor walked into the small hospital room of
Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as
they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10,1991,
complications had forced Diana, only 24 weeks pregnant, to Danae Lu Blessing.
dead of night in Dallas as the Doctor walked into the small hospital room of
Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as
they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10,1991,
complications had forced Diana, only 24 weeks pregnant, to Danae Lu Blessing.
At 12 inches long and weighing only
one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature.
Still, the doctor’s soft words dropped like bombs. I don’t think she’s going to
make it, he said, as kindly as he could. “There’s only a 10 percent chance she
will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does
make it, her future could be a very cruel one.” Numb with disbelief, David and
Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would
likely face if she survived. She would never walk, she would never talk, she
would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic
conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. “No!
No!” was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin,
had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of
four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.
one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature.
Still, the doctor’s soft words dropped like bombs. I don’t think she’s going to
make it, he said, as kindly as he could. “There’s only a 10 percent chance she
will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does
make it, her future could be a very cruel one.” Numb with disbelief, David and
Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would
likely face if she survived. She would never walk, she would never talk, she
would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic
conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on. “No!
No!” was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin,
had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of
four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.
Through the dark hours of morning as
Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of sleep,
growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live, and live
to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to
additional dire details of their daughter’s chances of ever leaving the
hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the
inevitable. David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making
funeral arrangements. Diana remembers, ‘I felt so bad for him because he was
doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just
wouldn’t listen, I couldn’t listen. I said, “No, that is not going to happen,
no way! I don’t care what the doctors say; Danae is not going to die! One day she
will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!”
Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of sleep,
growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live, and live
to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to
additional dire details of their daughter’s chances of ever leaving the
hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the
inevitable. David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making
funeral arrangements. Diana remembers, ‘I felt so bad for him because he was
doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just
wouldn’t listen, I couldn’t listen. I said, “No, that is not going to happen,
no way! I don’t care what the doctors say; Danae is not going to die! One day she
will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!”
As if willed to live by Diana’s
determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every
medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure. But as those first
days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Danae’s
under-developed nervous system was essentially raw, the lightest kiss or caress
only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn’t even cradle their tiny baby
girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could
do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of
tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little
girl. There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger.
determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every
medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure. But as those first
days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Danae’s
under-developed nervous system was essentially raw, the lightest kiss or caress
only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn’t even cradle their tiny baby
girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could
do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of
tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little
girl. There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger.
But as the weeks went by, she did
slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last,
when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their
arms for the very first time. And two months later-though doctors continued to
gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind
of normal life, were next to zero. Danae went home from the hospital, just as
her mother had predicted.
slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there. At last,
when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their
arms for the very first time. And two months later-though doctors continued to
gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind
of normal life, were next to zero. Danae went home from the hospital, just as
her mother had predicted.
Today, five years later, Danae is a
petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest
for life. She shows no signs, what so ever, of any mental or physical
impairment. Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more-but that
happy ending is far from the end of her story.
petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest
for life. She shows no signs, what so ever, of any mental or physical
impairment. Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more-but that
happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the
summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her
mother’s lap in the bleachers of a local ballpark where her brother Dustin’s
baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her
mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.
Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, “Do you smell that?” Smelling
the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, “Yes, it
smells like rain.” Danae closed her eyes and again asked, “Do you smell that?”
Once again, her mother replied, “Yes, I think we’re about to get wet, it smells
like rain. Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin
shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, “No, it smells like Him.
It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest.” Tears blurred Diana’s
eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children.
summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her
mother’s lap in the bleachers of a local ballpark where her brother Dustin’s
baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her
mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.
Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, “Do you smell that?” Smelling
the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, “Yes, it
smells like rain.” Danae closed her eyes and again asked, “Do you smell that?”
Once again, her mother replied, “Yes, I think we’re about to get wet, it smells
like rain. Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin
shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, “No, it smells like Him.
It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest.” Tears blurred Diana’s
eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children.
Before the rains came, her
daughter’s words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended
Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those
long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were
too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest and it
is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
daughter’s words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended
Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those
long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were
too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest and it
is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
