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Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Miracles

My friend Katie is amazing.




We met in August 2008 the first day of graduate school. She was a recently returned RM and a stats undergrad. Basically amazing and super intimidating.

I remember when I first realized I admired her. It was in a during a presentation in managerial economics where she demonstrated supply and demand using her arms. Way more intellectually gifted than me.


I was lucky enough to be on the same team with Katie that semester. I learned so much from her and come to find out we were basically birthday twins (Oct. 26th/27th).


Halfway through the semester Katie came to class one Monday. We were chatting about the weekend, and I asked how her weekend had been. Completely non-chalently she said, great, I got engaged. Say what?! Yep, Katie was engaged to Fabio. Fabio is Brazilian, and amazing. He's also like 7 feet tall. Katie's basically like 5 fee tall. Perfect match? No doubt.


Because Katie was engaged, she was also moving going to be moving and leaving the program at the end of the semester... boo. It turned out okay though because Ryan was able to start the program with the empty slot.


It also turned out okay because Katie was moving to Tucson, and my parents still had ties there which meant we ended up there at the same time one random November weekend. It was fun seeing Katie in Tucson with Fabio, even before they were married.


After fall semester ended, in January 2009, Katie and Fabio got married in Salt Lake City. They had a luncheon first and were then sealed. Katie wanted the emphasis to be on the most important part: the temple. So she forwent a reception and a dress. I thought that was pretty neat, and the fact that her red dress, white coat, bouquet, and taxi ride were so completely classy.



Fabulous, right? 

I saw Katie a few times while we were finishing graduate school. She came up to Utah a few times, and worked for a government agency in Utah the entire time she was finishing her MPA at U of A f--she teleworked. Like I said, she's amazing. 

In Feb/Mar when I went to Arizona for work, Katie and Fabio took me out to dinner, it was such a treat, especially because it was the first time I'd seen her since finding out she was expecting! 


And, as luck would have it, I would get to see her again while she was still pregnant. 


After moving over 8,000 miles away, Katie had her baby in Singapore in early November. I had been dying to know if she'd had her baby (she was due on her birthday, October 27th) and considering there is a 15-hour time difference and no texting between 8,000 miles I had to sit and wait and wait. 


Finally, I heard the good news and a few days later she blogged with this darling picture of their complete family. 



How cool would it be to take your new baby home in a Taxi?!

Anyway, fast forward to last week when I sent an address request for Christmas cards. I hadn't heard from Katie. I sent her an e-mail, I wrote on her facebook wall, and finally went to send her a message when I saw that I already had it in a previous message. 

Then Wednesday, I get this: "Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you... I've been in the hospital for the past nine days. I'm in the mend now, don't worry. Long story, but you should know I'm definitely not ignoring you!"

What?! 

What could possibly have happened to Katie? Why would she have been in the hospital for 
nine days? Was her baby okay? And Fabio? Were they in a car accident? 

I responded immediately, but didn't hear back right away. (Curse you 15-hour time difference.)

I was a little panicked, despite knowing she was on the mend. 

In fact, yesterday morning when I was eating breakfast I told Ryan that I might look up her parents in Kaysville... it wouldn't be too hard, right? They would certainly know something. 

Then, during lunch my iPhone buzzed with a facebook message from Katie directing me to her blog

She wrote about the whole ordeal. She almost died. I couldn't help but cry. I cried for all that Katie must have been thinking, worrying about her little boy and husband. I cried for Fabio, thinking he might be losing his wife with a 6-week old son. I cried because I knew that God lives, that miracles are abundant, and that the heaven's are not closed, but that they are open. God speaks to man and priesthood blessings and praying and fasting can provide medical changes that can only be described as miraculous. 

After reading Katie's blog, I jumped on gchat to see if she was there. Sure enough 5am medications had her up and we talked for a little while. I learned more about what had happened, and feel blessed--even as a friend from far away--that I have been able to witness her miracle.  

Miracles are real, and I'm grateful for the prayers and fasting that brought Katie's Christmas miracle about. 


Merry Christmas

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