37 years ago

 

My life was changed forever … God blessed me beyond measure … He sent me my greatest gift, my daughter. 

 

I wish I had a picture of her on her birth day … the best I can do is share a photo taken her first day home when she was already 1 week old, our first day together.  She was born full-term, but she was experiencing some respiratory issues and kept in the nursery.  I’d had a C-section and was heavily medicated … but I can remember even to this day asking frequently to see my baby.  Unfortunately back in the day, a C-section recovery was significantly different than it is today … big-time drugs and heavy-duty restrictions.  Before she was able to leave the nursery to come to my room, she was transported to the NICU over at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis; as you can imagine, my mama’s heart was breaking.  Thankfully the doctors at Children’s were able to determine what her problem was … a double pneumothorax.  It took about a week for her to recover and breathe on her own … one of the longest weeks of my life.  I’d been home for less than 24 hours, when we got a phone call from Children’s … she would be released if she would take a full bottle for me.  Mind you, I’d been sent home with specific instructions to go nowhere until I returned to my doctor’s office in another week for the stitches to be removed … instructions I willingly disobeyed when it meant having my baby home with me!  (My doctor “scolded” me for disobeying his orders … and then told me that he wouldn’t have expected me to do anything differently.)  I did pay the price … 2-3 days after she came home, I had to go back to the hospital for a couple of days myself.   

 

 

I’m so thankful for my daughter … a piece of my heart that lives outside my body.   

 

Happy birthday, DD!