This blog was originally posted on 3/21/10 and minus a few changes, it was the first blog I ever wrote and posted. I will be re-posting these blogs over time, so that you might become better acquainted with our story.
From the time I was just a little girl, I always wanted three things:
1. To meet someone special to spend my life with. I married my very best friend, Rob.
2. To be a teacher. More on that later.
3. To have three or four children. My children, particularly my first son, Dylan, will be the primary focus of this blog. But, then again, who knows where the Lord will lead!
They say; if you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans. Our plan was to wait a few years before having kids. Rob and I had been married a mere seven months when heaven was roaring with the news of my pregnancy!
Dylan was born in the middle of my Jr. year at Bethany University...on the day of my Statistics final. I have always detested math and what better excuse than labor to get out of taking that final? He was not due for another three weeks, but, Dylan is Dylan and he has always had his own agenda. December 10th it was!
I pushed for 10 minutes before we got to see that beautiful head, full of red peach fuzz. Immediately, the doctor said his lungs were "wet" and that he would need to go to the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). They agreed to give me ten minutes to hold him before they took him away. They suctioned his mouth and nose as best as they could then placed him in my arms for the very first time.
Instantly I knew that something was not right. He was nearly three weeks early and struggling to breathe on his own, but I knew there was something else going on. I had no idea what. Neither Rob or I saw the Down syndrome and, if anyone else did, no comment had been made. The room was a whirlwind of activity but I felt completely at peace. I held Dylan for fifteen minutes or so before they whisked him away to the NICU. Rob asked if he should stay with me or go with Dylan to the nursery. This was a “Duh” moment. "Go with our SON!”
The birth room, once a flurry of activity, was suddenly calm and quiet. I ate dinner in my room, completely alone. I do not remember a lot about what happened next. Rob was in the NICU. Our family was observing as much as they could from a NICU window. My Dad came to my room to check in on me. I told him I was fine and that Dylan was in good hands. As the night wore on and I was transferred to the post-partum wing, the pediatrician came to deliver some news: Dylan was 90% dependent on oxygen. He was being treated for an infection because of the fluid in his lungs. He had a mild heart murmur and an x-ray of his heart had been taken, but nothing serious was detected. The goal was to slowly wean him off the oxygen, but it was hard to say how long that would take.
After the pediatrician left, we went to see Dylan. At almost eight pounds, he looked HUGE in the NICU. Babies weighing only one to four pounds surrounded him! There were cords everywhere and his head was under an oxygen hood. We held his sweet hand and prayed over him, asking God to hold our sweet boy while we could not.
You should know that I am a mother of a special needs child and I have learned to be open, honest and even candid. I want to openly share this part of my life in the hope that it will help others who may be going through similar circumstances or want to gain insight into the life of a special needs family.