Now I'm on a mission

Once the shock of mine & C's diagnosis as CF carriers wore off, my prevailing concern was for my youngest sister M & her husband who were trying for another baby. I desperately wanted her to go & get tested & then of course for her husband to be tested as well. M is a very calm, cool, laid back kind of person & so is my brother in law. My sense of urgency for them was just not urgency that they felt. I'm sure she will chime in soon & tell you how I was driving her crazy! =)

I don't remember the exact details of how this next milestone came about but I know it was about 3 months after my diagnosis. M found out that her husband's sister, who was pregnant with her second child, was a carrier of the CF gene. I don't know how long M knew before she told me but I'm sure she knew what my reaction would be. I begged & pleaded for them to go & be tested. Just to be prepared I said, just to know what the possibilities were. M always maintained that it didn't matter to them. It wouldn't change anything.

Here I will change direction for a moment & tell you a little bit about M & Big Chris. This is important because it is the foundation for what you will learn through the rest of The Story. M & Big Chris met as teenagers, only recently did I hear the whole story of their first date, perhaps M will tell it to you one day. They have been inseparable ever since. They truly are one another's best friend. I am humbled by the love that is so evident in their relationship. Don't get me wrong, they're not the super demonstrative, lovey dovey type around people. It is the little ways they have with each other that let you know where they stand. They consistently put each other first, always thinking about what the other might feel, want or need. Two more in-sync people I have never met. They are not big talkers in general & certainly not about how they feel for each other. Their actions demonstrate that they face the world as one entity, supporting each other, firm in the belief that they can handle anything as long as they are together & obeying God's will in their lives. It has been an honor to watch them grow as a married couple, loving one another & serving the Lord.

Okay, back to The Story....I don't know what transpired to convince M & Big Chris that it would be beneficial for them to find out if they are carriers but, to my unending relief, M scheduled her blood work. (They will only test the husband if the wife's test comes back positive.) As we expected, it was positive that she is also a CF carrier. She took it in stride as she does everything & made an appointment for Big Chris to be tested.
My husband & I make it a habit to take our kids on one big vacation every year and often times M & Big Chris will come with us. We all love it when they come & that year, in the 7th month of my pregnancy, we went to Disney World. A little while prior to the trip Big Chris went for his blood work. You would never have known that the two of them were waiting for such a potentially life altering test result. They had a blast! Going on all the rides, playing with my kids, picking up the slack for my pregnant self & just generally enjoying their vacation. Or at least that's how it seemed to me. I love them for that... Have I mentioned that my Brother in law is great with kids? He loves mine like they were his own & so does my sister. Since the day they started talking about getting married he has talked about having kids. It was so obvious that he couldn't wait for the day when he could hold his own child in his arms. I always thought it was the sweetest thing. My heart broke for them when they miscarried their first pregnancy and I knew how much he wanted to have another child. I felt at that time that it was like the end of the carefree innocence of their youth. The harsh realities of life had hit them early & I was sad for it. I prayed & prayed that his test result would come back negative. I desperately wanted them to be carefree again...

Thanks for listening! D.