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On Sept. 3, Nathan stood up in front of the church and announced that he and Tricia were leaving the next day for Durham, where she would undergo a month of physical therapy before being placed on the transplant list at Duke.

But when he got home, Tricia met him at the door with her own news. Three home pregnancy tests confirmed it: She was pregnant.

'Willing to trust God'

The next day, on the drive to Durham, the Lawrensons braced for the dire predictions their doctors would issue about continuing the pregnancy. But they were equally determined to keep the baby. As committed evangelicals, the Lawrensons believe that life begins at conception and abortion is akin to murder. More important, they believed God wanted this pregnancy and helped bring it about.

"Our choice simply came down to whether or not we were seriously willing to trust God," Nathan wrote later on his blog. "And really, what else did we have to hang on to at that point?"

For Nathan and Tricia, trusting in God, even when it doesn't seem reasonable -- even when life itself is at stake -- is what it means to have faith.

The couple's decision to proceed with the pregnancy meant that Tricia would be taken off the transplant list just when she needed it most.

As her uterus began to grow, it pushed up on her abdomen, further impairing her breathing.

By November, Tricia needed oxygen all the time.

By December, she was moving very slowly and sleeping a lot.

The birth of Gwyneth Rose

On Jan. 8, Tricia was wheeled into surgery, where no fewer than 50 doctors assisted in the birth of Gwyneth Rose Lawrenson. The baby was born at 24 weeks gestation -- at the very edge of what doctors consider viable. Weighing little more than a pound, Gwyneth was whisked into the neonatal intensive care unit. While facing tremendous health challenges -- none of her organs are fully developed -- she is unlikely to have cystic fibrosis. The genetic disease is passed from both father and mother, and Nathan is not a carrier.

While doctors tended to the baby, Tricia was strapped to a ventilator and put into a medically induced coma to help her body get used to the machine that would be breathing for her.

Soon after emerging from the coma nine days later, Tricia was put back on the transplant list. Her pulmonary specialist, Dr. Peter Kussin, said her condition is now stable, but her chances of surviving on the ventilator are low.

"Tricia would benefit from a transplant as soon as possible," Kussin said.

But there are nearly 100,000 people awaiting an organ transplant in the United States -- more than 2,100 of them needing lungs. On average, Duke Hospital performs 65 lung transplants a year. About 50 percent survive six to seven years with their new organs, transplant pulmonologist David Zaas said.

Life-and-death wait

Tricia is among eight people awaiting lung transplants at Duke, but because she's on a ventilator, she's at the top of the list. The irony is that someone has to die for Tricia to live -- a death for a resurrection.

That has made the Lawrensons, who are covered by health insurance through the Southern Baptist Convention, zealous proponents of organ donation. It has also led them to commit their lives to making a difference for others.

"Tricia believes that her purpose in life is to give God glory by allowing Him to use her cystic fibrosis to be a blessing to others," Nathan wrote on his blog.

Nathan is also embracing that mission. Last week, he helped collect $700 at a bake sale in the halls of Duke Hospital to benefit cystic fibrosis. Now he's busy with a much bigger fundraiser, a one-mile walk on the Outer Banks this fall.

As he shuttles through the hospital dividing his time between his wife and his daughter, Nathan cherishes the simple tasks: washing Tricia's hair, the only time he can touch her without sterile gloves; cuddling up next to her as she goes to bed each night; singing lullabies to Gwyneth.

The Lawrensons are ever conscious of their blessings: Nathan hasn't gotten as much as a cold all winter long. Tricia remains stable. Gwyneth has doubled her birth weight.

The days ahead will be precarious, but the Lawrensons will greet what comes with faith and joy. They know a new world, full of hope and love, lies ahead -- no matter what.

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