I know every parent of a CP child has a story to tell, that gives background of how their child came to be. I thought I would take a minute to let my readers know ours. When I was pregnant with Regan, I suddenly went into labor at 24 weeks ( I know now that it was due to an incompetant cervix). The wonderful doctors and staff at St. Luke's in Houston tried very hard to keep her in, and boost her lung function, but she refused to stay in, and after three days she was born via C-section. She came into the world weighing 1 lb 4 oz, and we named her Regan Elisabeth.
She was transferred immediately to Texas Children's Hospital and placed in the NICU, where for the next 6 months she suffered from a cerebral head bleed, oxygen issues, ingrenal hernia, and other complications due to not having fully formed lungs at birth. It was a very long six months and we were told to expect developmental delays for the next few years.
In May of 1996, we finally took her home on Mother's Day, and she came still on Oxygen, and with a whole slew of medical equipment. For the next two years she was weaned off of oxygen, and was a talking, and happy child, but had made no significant strides in walking or crawling. We had no idea, that developmental delays can often be code for other things, that dr.'s do not want to diagnose too early in a child's life.
When I was pregnant with my second daughter, a physical therapist finally couldn't stand it any more, and sent us to a doctor to give us a label that they could work with to make better strides with her. We went to San Antonio, and a wonderful pediatric Orthopedist told us she has Cerebral Palsy. At first we were stunned, but I cannot tell you, how much easier life really is when you know how to identify what is going on so you can address it properly.
So now we have a wonderful 12 year old who just started junior high, and has a lot of the drama that comes with being a preteen. She does walk in a walker, and she has some minor learning and social problems, but otherwise we are completely blessed to have her in our lives. I hope that through this blog, I can share with you many of the tips and strategies we have used, to help her get this far, and I love talking with other mom's of CP children, and helping get them on the right track.
4 comments:
What a beautiful girl! Thanks for sharing!
That is a very touching story...she is just a doll!
Awww...she is precious! And thanks for sharing your story. I had twins at 27 weeks and they are now almost 2 years old, so far they are ok.
One of them is named Emma Elisabeth. And noticed that you also spelled your daughter's middle name Elisabeth, with an "s" rather than a "z". But I have to ask you, since you are such a reality tv buff, did you happen to get that spelling from the Elisabeth that was on Survivor and who is now on The View? Because that is where I came up with it. LOL Yeah...I'm a fellow reality tv junkie myself. Although, since I started blogging and had four kids, haven't found much time for it anymore.
Anyway, so glad I found your blog, and can't wait to read more!
Take care...
She is precious! I, too, have a little girl (about to turn 9) who was born at 24 weeks and weighed 1 lb. 2 oz. After 10 months in the NICU, she came home with a trach and on a ventilator. She is non-verbal and is fed through a J-tube, but is a happy and reasonably healthy little girl (with the exception of the CP issues, of course). God bless you and your family! Don't you sometimes feel "honored" that God would choose you as her mother? I often feel that way...other times I think "God, what were you THINKING?" LOL!
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