Riding for Angelic Creatures

We often talk about the joys of riding on a warm sun shined day in the beautiful countryside of Northern California. God has blessed us with mountains overlooking beautiful San Francisco and small quaint towns like Sausalito, and Carmel. There are the beautifully historical vineyard towns like Sonoma, and Napa that tourists come from all over the world to enjoy a bit of wine tasting or a trip on the famous Wine Train.  Charming mining towns paint the Sierra Foothills in colorful history as they remind us of the past. We have builders like Arlen Ness and Ron Simms who have become part of what makes Northern California eclectic and full of character.

What we don’t have this week is an abundance of miracles. I am sure there were many but the one’s I prayed for just weren’t meant to be.

We have some very close friends who bring such joy to my life and the lives of the motorcycle community. We all love them dearly. They had everything they could want....except a child between them. After dealing with infertility specialists, our friends finally got pregnant with triplets! I can't express our excitement for them. And they were certainly overwhelmed! (I am going to honor their privacy by leaving their names out of this article).

Being a Chapter President of a motorcycle club brings a great responsibility, and a lot of hard work.  He had to worry about his members, work and his wife’s condition, which was very fragile according to her doctors. Sadly, during the pregnancy one of the babies died. His wife had to become high priority and he felt the pressure and worry of any overwhelmed husband. Things obviously began to get tense for the couple. Of course we were all devastated for them but we had hopes for the remaining twins.

The mother went into labor much too early, so they hospitalized her and tried to slow the labor down…but their attempts were unsuccessful. She delivered two angelic creatures…..tiny and pure and something only God could have produced. For days we all prayed and only their closet friends and family stayed with them at the hospital and relayed important information to all of us. We just held out breath.

I wanted to hold them. I wanted to do something…I was lost in my love for them and in feeling so helpless. How could this happen to such wonderful people? I wanted to hold my friends face in my hands and tell her how sorry I was, but I had no understanding or explanation to give them to soothe their sorrows. Who knows why God take’s some and not other’s but I have always tried to believe that God picks the most beautiful and special babies for a reason.

Today we were told there was a possibility that only the baby boy might make it but the little girl was still fighting for her life. As days went on the news continued to be disappointing. The baby girl fought hard to stay in the world with her family but her short little life ended. The baby boy was critical.

We spend days planning parties and runs without a thought for what other’s are going through. These folks are a major part of our motorcycle world and have given of themselves in so many ways. I can only imagine what they went through that last week. If I could take one small part of that pain away, I would. It must have been unbearable. We couldn’t call them or write letters because they were at the hospital devoting their time to what was important and they needed to be alone with their grief. And so all we could do was feel helpless.

Most folks had already heard, but I sent this letter out to the motorcycle community for those that didn’t know what was going on and as usual they came together quickly. A fundraiser was planned and all the clubs rode to Reno to benefit this family. They rode through the Sierra’s in the snow and freezing weather to get there. This was important to everyone.

Once there, you could feel the love fill the room. The parents looked exhausted and although they were present physically, spiritually their hearts were still at the hospital with their frail son. And although I am sure they could not wait to get back to him, they desperately needed this break.

The room was filled with so many friends and family and even those club member’s who were not close, came out of respect. Their friends comforted them and made them smile, but oddly it was the parents that seemed to help their friends cope by allowing them to comfort them. It’s terrible when you feel there is nothing you can do to help. The community needed to be close to the parents as much as the parents needed to be close them.

The motorcycle community came through for the family and rose far more than anyone could have imagined. Rumor has it that somewhere in the vicinity of $10,000.00 was given to the family to help with medical bills.

We all pray for their son and his health, but more than that, I pray that my friends find the strength to continue to be strong and loving for each other and their family. They still have a lot ahead of them.

Annie (Babydoll)