By Lindsay Robinson| Echo
Snow covered the roads in uncertainty, mimicking the perils that awaited Rod and Donna Boatwright when they reached the delivery room. In the midst of a snowstorm, Donna grabbed her delivery bag, snatched baby clothes and hurried to her brother-in-law's car. She had not been given an ultrasound or any other tests to see her unborn child, but something told her she would not be bringing a baby home this time.
The Boatwrights' 36-year love story began when they started dating in seventh grade. Together, between knowing looks and half-finished sentences, they seem to speak their own language, as became apparent as they told their stories.
Their paths seemed destined to collide. As kids, they went sledding on the same hill and lived in the same house at different points in their childhoods.
"He made me laugh," Donna said, remembering the first time she saw him walk into her homeroom.
The couple shared another similarity: both came from families with troubled relationships. Donna's parents divorced during her high school years, and Rod's father and stepfather were alcoholics. However, despite coming from broken homes, they started a family.
In high school, Donna realized she was pregnant. The couple married and had their first daughter, a healthy girl named Sarah.
At 20, Donna became pregnant again, but this time it felt different.
"Back then, we didn't get ultrasounds, but I knew in my spirit that something was wrong," she said. "I had shared that with (Rod's) mom. And she said, 'I just pray that it's not, because I don't think that he could accept a child that had a disability.'"
The day before the birth, Rod discussed a previous night's "Sixty Minutes" episode about disabled children with his co-workers. He said he didn't think he could handle caring for a child with a handicap.
When she was born, Jessica seemed to be an unusual gift for a family with a fear of disabilities. Barely able to pay living expenses while taking care of their first daughter, the couple seemed an unlikely candidate for a second child, especially one with a disability. The amount of medical attention she required seemed more than a young couple living out of a trailer could provide.
Jessica had spina bifida, a condition where the spine does not close properly. If not treated, it can render a child completely unable to care for himself.
As soon as doctors saw she had a birth defect, Jessica was rushed to special hospital that could better handle her condition, Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.
"I remember sitting in that (waiting) room after they had told me, and I was numb," Rod said.
The first three weeks of Jessica's life consisted of numerous tests. During one of the many informational meetings the Boatwrights attended, a pediatrician offered the couple a booklet illustrating in detail the journey that lay ahead if Rod and Donna chose to keep their child.
"I want you to know this won't be an easy road trying to do this at home, and the divorce rate is over 98 percent for families with disabled children," their pediatrician said.
Rod took the booklet home that night and handed it to his aunt, who was staying at the house. He explained that they could send Jessica to a home for disabled children.
His aunt threw the booklet away, telling him that the world's way of seeing things wasn't always God's plan. God would provide.
Donna and Rod spent the first months of her life between surgeries to correct the many health problems caused by the disconnected spine.
Although the Boatwrights were told Jessica's complications could tear their marriage apart, the trials only served to strengthen their relationship. It was never easy, but both discovered strength in each other and a stronger belief in God's plan. In little ways, God revealed just how fit they were to be this girl's parents.
"Every time we came across something that was bigger than what we thought we could do, God would show himself," Rod said.
What the couple lacked financially, they made up for in love. Donna wanted to be a doctor before having children. Although Jessica's medical complications were difficult to handle, Donna's interest in the medical field allowed her to make sure Jessica received the extra care she needed. Rod, not having a strong father figure of his own, modeled his parenting style off men in his church.
Jessica, now a married woman of 32, remembers her childhood fondly. Rod and Donna never treated her any differently from her sister. Jessica marvels at how her parents made marriage look so easy.
Rod and Donna said centering their relationship around God lead to marital success. They were an unlikely couple to parent a disabled child, but ended up being the perfect match for Jessica. Rod's aunt was right: God provided in the most miraculous way.
