Almost There

I woke up a little earlier than usual despite spending most of the night wide awake. I made my way to the hospital as usual via light-rail, still bearing a heavy heart from the previous days. When I arrived at the hospital, Chanel was already awake and lying in bed watching television. She told me that she had been discharged from the hospital and could leave when she was ready. She continued to explain that today would be quite busy. We were going to a local funeral home to prepare transportation and work out some of the details of our flight back to Arizona. We relayed information on the phone between our families, the hospitals, and funeral homes both in Arizona and Missouri. We decided we would fly home Wednesday, mid-day, along with the casket carrying our precious baby. As the funeral home general manager talked to us he learned inadvertently that we were members of the LDS faith. He explained how he too was a member of our church. How blessed we already were to be in Missouri, but what a miracle it has been to run into so many members of our church. Just a week before Chanel was admitted into the hospital, we ran into missionaries at the Ronald McDonald House. While I had been traveling between there and the hospital, I continued to find missionaries on the light-rail and even between buses. But the encounter that I will always remember came the morning Isabella passed away. One of the nurses in the intensive care unit approached us. He asked if we were members of the church and we said yes. He explained how he was a High Priest in a local stake in St. Louis and could offer a blessing if we so needed. We do not know how he knew we were members, and we never asked him. We still can not recall what his name is, both of us being too distraught with grief to remember and despite much debate. What we do remember is feeling the spirit of God ever so fervent as he laid his hands on Isabella's head and blessed her, and again moments later to comfort Chanel. What a miracle to have the Priesthood bless us so far away from home and regardless of our situation. After we had finished speaking with the funeral home, we went to Fazoli's, a restaurant chain that no longer exists in Arizona. It was a childhood favorite for Chanel and I, and was conveniently located next door to the funeral home. Afterwards, we picked up a few groceries and headed "home" to rest. Tomorrow's another day and there is still plenty to plan for the funeral. We did decide to hold the funeral on Monday, the 16th. Being a holiday, we know our friends and family will have work and school off to help celebrate the life of Isabella. As always, we will keep everyone posted with the details as they are decided upon.