Another paper that I wrote for school with in weeks of Serenity passing to Heaven Family Family is sometimes the only thing you can cling to when things go wrong. On September 14, 2011 I was shocked to learn I was expecting a child. I only bought the pregnancy test because I had thrown up and my little sister, Brandy, was teasing me saying, “You’re pregnant!” I thought I was going to prove her wrong by taking the test. I did not know what to think let alone what to do when the test immediately came back positive. I cried for several hours, because my youngest child was twelve and my oldest was nineteen. I kept saying, “What am I going to do? I can’t start all over and do this again.” Thankfully my family was very supportive. My mom and my sister both told me, “It’s going to be alright, you can do this and we will all be here to help you.” The pregnancy still didn’t settle well with me; because I still had to tell my oldest two daughters. I asked Brandy, “How am I going to tell the girls that I have a baby on the way?” She replied, “You’re just going to have to tell them and they are going to have to accept it because they have no other choice.” The next day I informed my older two girls that they were going to be a big sister again; and, they were very accepting of the news, much to my surprise. The girls were great and I know they love their sister and she will never be forgotten. On March 31, 2012 I had my daughter Serenity Mystery Fayth Hamell via emergency C- Section in Mason City, Iowa at 1:57 am. Serenity weighed five pounds five ounces, and was seventeen and a half inches long. She was very beautiful with tons of blonde hair. We were both transferred to Rochester Minnesota due to some health issues with Serenity. Serenity and my eighteen year old daughter, Merissa, flew by jet to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Rochester. I was transported by ambulance. My nineteen year old daughter, Jen, rode along with me. On April 2, 2012 Serenity had to undergo an operation to fix bladder and bowl outlet issues. Serenity didn’t handle the surgery well. After six hours of surgery her lungs began to fail. The doctors came to me and said, “Melissa, your daughter is not going to make it.” At this time I felt like the whole world was going to end. I even thought about ending my own life because I didn’t know how I would ever go on without Serenity. I started making phone calls and informing my family. When I reached my daughters, through the hysterical crying I said, “Girls I need you here now we are losing her.” Both of the girls were hysterical and on their way almost immediately. The two hours it took the girls to get there was the longest two hours of my entire life, or so it seemed. I was praying for a miracle. I continued to talk to my precious girl and I played with her hair. Much to my surprise the doctor came to me and said, “Serenity is responding to your voice and your touch. Continue what you are doing by talking to her and touching her because her blood levels are now normal.” I was in complete shock, but was thrilled with the news. When my family arrived the doctors met with us all and had no explanation for what happened earlier in the day except that Serenity was responding to my voice and touch. The family decided to head home knowing that Serenity was doing well, except for my mother stayed with me. My mom and I decided we need to try to rest so we talked to the nurse and the doctors about leaving and going across the street to the motel. The nurse and doctors reassured me that they would call if anything changed in Serenity. We went across the street to the motel around 1:30 am and tried to rest. I received a phone call from the nurse caring for Serenity at 4:30 am. As I answered the phone I was in a panic as I heard the nurse on the other end say, “Melissa, we need you back over here. Serenity has taken a turn for the worse.” In a frantic rush mom and I hurried as quickly as we could back to the NICU. Serenity’s lungs were failing again. They told me that I needed to call the rest of the family. Mom and I talked to Serenity and touched her. We also had her baptized, all while waiting for the family to arrive. The doctors didn’t think she would be able to hold on long enough for the family to arrive. The doctors said, “If she goes into cardiac arrest do you want us to do CPR on her?” I called my daughters and talked it over with them and we decided as a family that she had been through enough and we didn’t want CPR done.” Her blood pressure kept dropping lower and lower. Serenity held on long enough for the family to arrive. I wanted my girls to be able to hold their sister and to be there when the ventilator was shut off. I got to hold my darling daughter in my arms for the first time. It was joy and the worst hurt I had ever felt in my life all at the same time. I then let both girls hold her. There were many pictures taken of all of us holding our baby girl. We then turned off the ventilator. My angel baby passed on to heaven in my arms, the safest place in the world that she had come to know. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. This was by far the most painful day in my entire life. I am glad to have her memory today. The pictures that were taken our family will treasure forever. I am grateful that most of my family was at the hospital and got to experience Serenity’s life as well as her passing to heaven. Jen, Merissa, and I have vowed to always keep Serenity’s memory alive. We will also continue to push forward in our lives as Serenity would want us to do. Rest in Peace Serenity Mystery Fayth Hamell.