The first two days of the photo challenge are titled "how you found out," and "1st photo after diagnosis." I am going to address both at once. We lived on the coast in central Florida at the time. Hurricanes aren't frequently devastating there, but they are always a threat. We experienced a decent storm while we were there. We shuttered the house, prepared for the worst, and after the hurricane went back out to sea, enjoyed a calm, cool and unusually peaceful day. It was incredibly odd to sit in a house for hours while the wind raged outside and then walk outside, look to the sky, and see blue skies with a calm breeze gently caressing the palm trees.
How I found out about little boy #1's diagnosis and life post-diagnosis are my hurricane, though calm seas still come and go! I went to my OB appointment alone for what was supposed to be an innocuous appointment 45 minutes from home. Even though the doctor couldn't tell me specifically what was wrong, there was no question that the diagnosis was going to be bad. There was no hope that the house wasn't going to blow away in the storm, only hope that the occupants inside, my husband and I, would somehow be left still standing when the wind died down. I call the daddy of my unborn child to tell him he might never know that child, then we each drove a very long 45 minutes home alone.
Thankfully, when we met at home, we both found the solid foundation that is our family and the faith that continues to protect us from the storm. The winds may blow everything around us down but our foundation in God and then in each other has remained strong. The immensity of emotions and trying times that our son's diagnosis has brought are more powerful than any hurricane wind...but the calm after the storm has also been tangible. From his ultrasound photo to his newborn picture, little boy #1 has been my precious joy. You can't get much more peaceful than staring down at a sleeping baby, even if that peace only lasts for the moment. I would never give up that raging storm because I could not bare to miss the rainbow that I was blessed with afterwards.