Hello Everyone!
It’s hard to find a place to begin. How can I possibly describe the miracle that has happened to us?
In the days following Owen’s diagnosis, Dan and I spent time preparing for the worst. We made arrangements to have our priest at the hospital, we discussed memorial service options & we looked into grief counseling. We also read all the books that Owen had received to my belly. We did however have some small hope that he may be OK. For that reason, Dan finished up the baby room and made sure to install the car seat.
Our hope was further strengthened when we found an amazing story on the internet. The story was about a little girl named Grace who had survived the same diagnosis that Owen had been given. Upon reading this article, I emailed Grace’s mother Sandi. Sandi called me the next day and we shared our stories. Sandi was told that Grace would die within 4 to 6 hours of birth due to lethal skeletal dysplasia. Grace was born screaming and crying and was given an APGAR score of 8 and 9 (10 being the best). She is now 4 years old and thriving. Sandi’s story kept our faith alive for the next couple of days.
As you can imagine, Tuesday morning was still quite difficult. We checked into the hospital confused and scared. Dan and I knew it would be either the best or worst day of our lives. The nurses and doctors did everything possible to make us feel comfortable and both our families were there to support us. Our priest was allowed in the operating room so that he could immediately perform a baptism. As soon as Owen was born, they showed him to me over the curtain and hurried off to an assessment room to examine him thoroughly. After a few minutes, the nurse practitioner informed me that Owen was crying loudly and seemed to be doing well so far. They had given him a little oxygen and would continue to update me. The subsequent updates were all positive. A quick X ray showed that his lungs appeared to be developed and he was breathing well. The nurse said he had some fluid in his lungs but that this was consistent with babies delivered by C section. By the time I was stitched up, they told me that Owen had an APGAR score of 8 or 9. I couldn’t help but think of Grace and it was then that we started to believe that he would live. Although the medical staff was still too cautious to say it, Owen appeared to be an 8 lb 1 oz miracle.
The next few days were a whirlwind. Owen was placed in the NICU for observation and testing. Our poor baby went through the works! X rays, blood work, an MRI, blood gas, lung tests, sleep tests, eye tests, hearing tests, and on and on. Pretty quickly it was determined that the only real problems that Owen was having were problems normally associated with C section deliveries. Dan and I were visited by a geneticist who said that they were still trying to figure out why Owen was diagnosed with lethal skeletal dysplasia and whether or not he still has a form of it. All of this and I was recovering from major surgery (thank godness for Percocet!). By Thursday, the only reason they were keeping him there was to finish testing. He was doing so well they were ready to release us that afternoon.
To say that the staff at U of M was wonderful would be the understatement of the year. Step by step, the doctors and nurses walked us through every procedure with compassion and understanding. Every staff member we came in contact with seem genuinely concerned for our families well being. We met people in those few days that we will never forget.
Owen may still have some problems that are yet to be determined, but for now he is simply our miracle. Despite the pain and heartache that we have endured, the things we have learned were worth it. We have become better parents, better partners, better sons and daughters, better friends and better people because of this experience. Every time we look into our son’s face we realize how lucky we are to have him.
We were simply amazed by the goodness in people. The way everyone pulled together for our son renders us absolutely speechless. We have no adequate words to thank everyone for their heartfelt support and encouragement. We have no doubt in our minds that the prayers said for our son kept him alive. We do not have enough lifetimes to express our gratitude Thank you so much to everyone and please come by to see Owen. We would love him to meet the people that saved his life.
Love
Catherine, Dan and Owen
It’s hard to find a place to begin. How can I possibly describe the miracle that has happened to us?
In the days following Owen’s diagnosis, Dan and I spent time preparing for the worst. We made arrangements to have our priest at the hospital, we discussed memorial service options & we looked into grief counseling. We also read all the books that Owen had received to my belly. We did however have some small hope that he may be OK. For that reason, Dan finished up the baby room and made sure to install the car seat.
Our hope was further strengthened when we found an amazing story on the internet. The story was about a little girl named Grace who had survived the same diagnosis that Owen had been given. Upon reading this article, I emailed Grace’s mother Sandi. Sandi called me the next day and we shared our stories. Sandi was told that Grace would die within 4 to 6 hours of birth due to lethal skeletal dysplasia. Grace was born screaming and crying and was given an APGAR score of 8 and 9 (10 being the best). She is now 4 years old and thriving. Sandi’s story kept our faith alive for the next couple of days.
As you can imagine, Tuesday morning was still quite difficult. We checked into the hospital confused and scared. Dan and I knew it would be either the best or worst day of our lives. The nurses and doctors did everything possible to make us feel comfortable and both our families were there to support us. Our priest was allowed in the operating room so that he could immediately perform a baptism. As soon as Owen was born, they showed him to me over the curtain and hurried off to an assessment room to examine him thoroughly. After a few minutes, the nurse practitioner informed me that Owen was crying loudly and seemed to be doing well so far. They had given him a little oxygen and would continue to update me. The subsequent updates were all positive. A quick X ray showed that his lungs appeared to be developed and he was breathing well. The nurse said he had some fluid in his lungs but that this was consistent with babies delivered by C section. By the time I was stitched up, they told me that Owen had an APGAR score of 8 or 9. I couldn’t help but think of Grace and it was then that we started to believe that he would live. Although the medical staff was still too cautious to say it, Owen appeared to be an 8 lb 1 oz miracle.
The next few days were a whirlwind. Owen was placed in the NICU for observation and testing. Our poor baby went through the works! X rays, blood work, an MRI, blood gas, lung tests, sleep tests, eye tests, hearing tests, and on and on. Pretty quickly it was determined that the only real problems that Owen was having were problems normally associated with C section deliveries. Dan and I were visited by a geneticist who said that they were still trying to figure out why Owen was diagnosed with lethal skeletal dysplasia and whether or not he still has a form of it. All of this and I was recovering from major surgery (thank godness for Percocet!). By Thursday, the only reason they were keeping him there was to finish testing. He was doing so well they were ready to release us that afternoon.
To say that the staff at U of M was wonderful would be the understatement of the year. Step by step, the doctors and nurses walked us through every procedure with compassion and understanding. Every staff member we came in contact with seem genuinely concerned for our families well being. We met people in those few days that we will never forget.
Owen may still have some problems that are yet to be determined, but for now he is simply our miracle. Despite the pain and heartache that we have endured, the things we have learned were worth it. We have become better parents, better partners, better sons and daughters, better friends and better people because of this experience. Every time we look into our son’s face we realize how lucky we are to have him.
We were simply amazed by the goodness in people. The way everyone pulled together for our son renders us absolutely speechless. We have no adequate words to thank everyone for their heartfelt support and encouragement. We have no doubt in our minds that the prayers said for our son kept him alive. We do not have enough lifetimes to express our gratitude Thank you so much to everyone and please come by to see Owen. We would love him to meet the people that saved his life.
Love
Catherine, Dan and Owen
2 comments:
Ah, I'm soooo super happy you are enabling my blog-junky habit!!! thanks cat! Your Owey is such a charmer! It will be wonderful to read your previous letters. If you want help adding a counter or map or anything, I'd be tickled to aide you;-)
Juyfully, the other Owey's mom, Renay
I meant JOYFULLY! That's what happens when you get up at 4am for your baby's surgery and are still up at 11pm;-)
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