Five Minute Friday: The Tiniest Fighters

I began participating in Five Minute Friday a year ago and it has been a great outlet for freewriting for me.  I have gotten a great deal of inspiration from this.  Maybe you would like to try it....especially if your New Year's resolution was to write more.  So, let’s do this thing. Let’s write.
Set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.  Here is how it goes:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back to Lisa Jo's blog and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
Oh and Ahem, if you would take pity and turn off comment verification, it would make leaving some love on your post that much easier for folks!
OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::

FIGHT

Go
The word fight means many things to me.  To me, the high school teacher it is something we find students doing in the hallways and in front of the school.  This is especially true before a major break, like Christmas, Fall, or Spring Breaks.  The kids get tired of each other and begin egging each other on.  During my tenth year of teaching a fight started in the hallway just outside my room.  I went to break it up and as I reached for one of the boys his elbow hit me in the nose....breaking it.  It stopped the fight.....but it also left me with two black eyes and a gross looking nose for a few weeks.  The word fight also means to stand up for something you believe in strongly.  I was a teenager during the Vietnam era and fought for the rights of the soldiers to be treated with dignity when they returned home.  I still wear a POW bracelet for a Navy Pilot who never returned. Oh yes, I will fight for my rights when I feel called to do so....but beginning on October 1st I discovered a new definition of the word fight.  One of our church members, Magen gave birth to twins at 22 weeks gestation and the fight was on.  The girls were given a zero chance of survival if they were born before 26 weeks.  They took the odds and entered the world and our lives at 22 weeks, weighing in at a little over a pound each.  Their names were Ansley Kash and Avery Kruze and they were the littlest fighters I have ever known. 

The first month passed with some problems....but they fought.  The second month passed and they continued to fight.  They fought infections, brain bleeds, the fact that they were way too early....but they fought.....and hard.  Kash had a level 4 brain bleed and had to have a shunt put in.  During this procedure they learned she actually had two and had had a stroke.  She would be at Children's Hospital for a good while, so the girls were apart for the first time since birth.  Kash still fought a hard battle.  Magen and Keaton went from the NICU at UAB to Children's to spend time with the girls.  On the 21st of December we got a phone call that said Kash was not going to make it and her life support was going to be removed.  We made the 2 hour drive to Birmingham that preachers dread.  A long day passed and the decision was made by the parents to wait until after the Christmas holidays. 

During the day the girls were rejoined in the NICU at UAB.  Pictures were made of the two of them and family holding them.  It was such a tender day.  Christmas was bleak in Rock Mills.  More pictures were made of the girls and grandparents holding them. 

Family Christmas shots were made and Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit. 

On Friday, December 27th, as her parents held her little Kash gave up her fight and went to be with Jesus.  The viewing was on Saturday night, the 28th.  I have never been to a baby visitation with an open casket.  It was tough....but I found myself fighting to be strong for the family (my dear friends).  The funeral was Sunday, the 29th.  I fought tears as the pre-funeral music played and the songs the family asked for.  The family entered to "I Can Only Imagine", the congregation sang "Victory in Jesus", "Who Am I" was played, and the final song before the family left the church to go to the cemetery was "Roar" by Katy Perry.  Kash was such a fighter.  Someone put together this video for the family and I had to show you just what the definition of a fighter is.  Please click here and watch....be sure to have some Kleenex handy.  Kruze, her twin sister, is doing well.  She is weighing in at almost 5 pounds, in a regular crib, and precious.  Please keep this precious little family in your prayers.