Prayers for Baby Berk Hardee

As many of you know the journey of becoming parents took a turn for our great friends Brad and Christy Hardee.   Just the same as every couple they headed to their Doctor to confirm their greatest dreams and even more exciting they were told they were having twins!  The first four months were pretty uneventful and then around week 17 they were told one of the sacs had a tear and she was put on bed rest for the duration.  Christy did exactly what the Doctor ordered and sat in one spot for the next 6 weeks, she knew it wouldn't be easy and there wasn't one second that she questioned anything.  At 23 weeks she was admitted to CMC in Charlotte, NC which is about an hour and a half drive from their home.  There she would get constant monitoring along with other things that could possibly help both babies to thrive in their environment as long as possible while making sure infection was at bay.  She was a little relieved to have the 24/7 monitoring and the team of doctors agreed she had passed some significant milestones.  Christy even celebrated her 40th Birthday her first few weeks in the hospital and when Brad asked her what she wanted her instant response was "Two Happy Healthy Babies". 
Brad was busier than ever trying to spend as much time with her while also continuing the daily operations of his business near their home.  He was willing to do anything for the continued safety of Christy and their babies.  
On July 21 Christy's water broke and at 7:09am their first love was born, Blake Arlen Hardee.  He was the baby with the ruptured sac and they would not know the status of his lungs until birth.  He could not have been more perfect.  He fought hard for over 12 hours but his lungs were severely under-developed.  Brad and Christy now have an angel above that has changed their lives forever.  There is no doubt Blake felt the love of first time parents as they were fortunate to get to hold him and tell him there is no stronger love in the world.
The doctors and nurses were able to hold off delivery of their second baby boy for almost 48 hours which allowed for a bonus round of steroids.  On July 23 at 2:51am they were blessed with the arrival of Berkley Goal Hardee, IV.  Berk has a long road ahead of him but everything seems to be on par for a 25week & 4 day old preemie.  It will be an emotional roller coaster as well as a physically demanding adjustment for Brad and Christy.  There will be good days & bad days.  There is the stress of traveling back and forth to the hospital to continue to care for Berk, and many other obstacles they will have to hurdle over to get to their final destination when they will be able to bring Berk home!  We are hoping to pull together and make this journey a little lighter on Brad, Christy, and Berk by raising money to help with all of the unexpected expenses.  They have both said countless times that they could never have gotten this far without their strong Faith in God, their amazing family and their many  friends!  Let's show them the size of army they have on their side!  We all can't wait to meet the Sweet Berk!