A Not So Fun 4th and Tough Week for Faith

-
Image
The other day Faith and I were standing in line at the pharmacy, and someone asked her, "How was your 4th of July?" She responded quite honestly, "Terrible!"  Yes, it was definitely not a very fun 4th. In fact, this whole week has been one challenge after another. The only thing we really did for the 4th was go to Art in the Park in Mandan, which was last Friday. Faith found a new tie-dye t-shirt, and I enjoyed a yummy root beer float.  Art in the Park in Mandan on the 3rd I had actually gone with the goal of getting an Indian taco, but it was so humid, I didn't feel like eating anything hot. Because it was so warm, we only stayed for an hour before heading back to Bismarck. That night, I noticed that Faith seemed uncomfortable in her chair, almost like she was having pain. She told me she needed to get out and lie down. I thought maybe being out in the high humidity had been too much for her or that she was having muscle spasms. After she lay down for a bit...
Post a Comment

Faith's Kindergarten Milestone

-
Faith is super excited to start Kindergarten! 

Faith received her immunizations yesterday for kindergarten. On Thursday, she starts school. I, like moms everywhere who have kids reaching certain milestones, am asking, "where or where has the time gone?" One of my Facebook friends wrote on her wall that it seems like she just gave birth to her kindergartner. Her message brought me back to Faith's seemingly untimely birth. Instead of being a joyous and happy occasion, Faith's entrance into the world was one of the most stressful and scary times of my life.

When I was just 26 weeks pregnant, Faith was doing her best to come into the world - way too early. Since we lived in Watford City, a community of about 1500 people, we doctored in Williston, about 45 miles away. My husband and I drove there thinking my little bit of spotting was no big deal. I remember feeling relatively calm, until we got to the doctor's office, and they strapped a fetal monitor around me. I was having contractions eight minutes apart. I was beginning to feel a bit nervous. They couldn't give me the magnesium they usually give to stop preterm labor because of my heart condition. All they could do was try to hydrate me through an IV. Because of my heart condition, the pregnancy was high risk which is why my doctor made the decision to airlift me to Mayo Clinic, where I had my fourth heart surgery just four years prior.

Faith stayed in her little home in my womb for another three weeks. After my placenta abruption, the obstetrics team along with my cardiology team managed an emergency c-section and at 4:36 p.m. on October 25, tiny little Faith came into the world. She weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz. and was about 14 inches long. I was only able to see her for a couple of minutes. I was allowed to reach into her isolette and touch her tiny hand before they whisked her away to the NICU. It wouldn't be for another week that I would be able to hold her.

Two weeks later, she was transferred to Bismarck, which made things much easier for me and my husband. We lived at the Ronald McDonald House for the next two months. She was discharged from the NICU on her original due date - January 5th.

That was almost six years ago. Since then, we've made many changes in our lives, including moving from Watford City to Bismarck so our daughter could get the best care possible. When she was six months old, we found out she had spasticity, likened to cerebral palsy. Since then, we have had to adjust to many new things from therapy to orthotics and wheelchairs to feeding tubes.

It used to bother me when she delayed in reaching certain milestones or didn't reach them at all. But now I know that even through the most difficult times, God had a plan and even when it didn't look like He was answering our prayers, He remained faithful. And now, after everything we've gone through, our daughter will be reaching one milestone right on time, starting kindergarten.





















Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

My Tetanus Shot Ordeal: A Real Pain in the Arm

-
Image
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm.  The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
Read more

A Not So Fun 4th and Tough Week for Faith

-
Image
The other day Faith and I were standing in line at the pharmacy, and someone asked her, "How was your 4th of July?" She responded quite honestly, "Terrible!"  Yes, it was definitely not a very fun 4th. In fact, this whole week has been one challenge after another. The only thing we really did for the 4th was go to Art in the Park in Mandan, which was last Friday. Faith found a new tie-dye t-shirt, and I enjoyed a yummy root beer float.  Art in the Park in Mandan on the 3rd I had actually gone with the goal of getting an Indian taco, but it was so humid, I didn't feel like eating anything hot. Because it was so warm, we only stayed for an hour before heading back to Bismarck. That night, I noticed that Faith seemed uncomfortable in her chair, almost like she was having pain. She told me she needed to get out and lie down. I thought maybe being out in the high humidity had been too much for her or that she was having muscle spasms. After she lay down for a bit...
Read more

Tuesday Tidbits

-
Image
I must say, after the long weekend, I am feeling a bit guilty. We didn't have too much going on, so we mainly stayed indoors, and I let Faith watch way too many videos. When Sunday finally rolled around, she was bored and a bit cranky. Before having kids, I always told myself I would not be one of those moms who lets the TV babysit their kids. Things sure turn out differently when you actually have kids! When Faith comes home from school, that is all she feels like doing. She is so tired from her long day, which not only includes classroom time but also working hard with her special education teacher, driving her power chair and any other therapies she might have for the day. By the time she gets home, she is spent.  I don' feel as guilty letting her watch so many videos after school but over the Thanksgiving long weekend, I am going to try hard to limit her video-watching time and find other things for us to do. I don't mind Faith playing on her iPad but it's too eas...
Read more

Faith and Friends

-
Image
If I were to ask people who know Faith what one of her favorite activities is, I am pretty sure they would all say the same thing: socializing. Faith absolutely loves people. She has been a social butterfly ever since she was little.  She has always enjoyed going to therapy because she loves meeting new people, even those in the waiting room. Doctor appointments are also great because she gets to meet new nurses. She pretty much makes friends wherever she goes!  Faith and friends blowing out birthday candles when she turned 7  During her first years in school, she easily made friends with her classmates. Sadly, though, as the kids got older and since she was limited in her mobility, these friendships faded. When we pulled her out of school altogether in order to homeschool her, the hardest part was not having any friends.  Thankfully, we lived in a building that had a community room. Faith and I would often hang out there for a change of scenery. She would sit and wa...
Read more