Priya's Story

Just a few short days after Christmas, Jesse and Shanee were still with us, and Shanee and Jesse went to the doctor to have her 7/8 month pregnancy check-up and they received some very difficult, sudden and unexpected news about their baby, Priya: The doctors diagnosed Priya with fetal hydrops and said that Shanee needed to get to good medical care as soon as possible: The very next day she and Jesse were medically evacuated from Nepal and were brought to a great hospital in Delhi, India: Just 5 short days later Jesse wrote this email:

Priya Jean Snodgrass was born by C-section at about 4:30 on the evening of Dec. 31st. After struggling through the night she went to be with the Lord around 6 am on New Year's morning. She weighed about 5.5 pounds (1 pound of which was fluid), and she was unable to overcome the fluid that had built up in her chest and abdomen. She struggled throughout the night as her blood pressure kept dropping and the doctors tried everything to overcome it. Shanee and I were able to hold her and say goodbye to her with our mothers there by our side. Shanee is doing fine after her C-section. She should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow or the next day. Shanee and I are so thankful for your prayers and for all the support we've received here. Our good friends Nathan and Kari were here in Delhi and they were there with us at every step. Also, our good friends Glen and Marvella flew straight here to Delhi from Thailand and were like another set of parents to us throughout this ordeal. This has been, without a doubt, the most difficut thing we've ever been through. We are pleased that our daughter is through with the troubles of this world and in the arms of her Lord. And we praise Him. We praise Him. Job said it best in the wake of losing all that he valued on earth: "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." That conveys our feelings better than anything we could say. The Lord gave us Priya, and He has chosen by His gracious will to take her away. Blessed be his Name. Her life was an undeserved gift to us. We wouldn't trade one moment of the seven months we had with her. And we praise God for it from beginning to end. We don't know the reason why she was taken, but we know the God who made that decision. And He is enough for us. He is our glory and our strength. We want to praise Him right now as the God of all grace and comfort. He has been our truest and most constant companion in the midst of all this.

This was a very difficult time for us and it was so hard to watch some of our closest friends in the whole world go through this but we want to join with Jesse and Shanee and Praise God in the midst of trajedy and turmoil: He is enough for us!

If you would like to read more about Priya's story and see pictures you can do so on Jesse and Shanee's blog: http://www.snodsabroad.blogspot.com/