Jacob Thomas Birth Story I was 18 when I got the news from the doctor that I was pregnant. Suddenly my life took off in a very different direction than I planned, but, I was/am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. With that said, let me go back a few years, my 6th grade year to be exact. I am sitting in the principals office, for like the third time that year, listening to him going on and on how I just cant go play next door whenever I feel like it. My big offense you ask, well, back then there were separate schools, one for those of us that are typically developing and for those of us that are not, in other persons with physical and intellectual disabilities. Well, I much preferred the company of the latter, so i would march my butt next door at recess to play with those kids. Jumping to my freshman year, I was in the ROTC, and it was required that you volunteer in our community. Well, you guessed it, I volunteered for Special Olympics, I stood at the finish line at a track and field meet as a hugger, it was an actual real position. I LOVED IT! Forward to 18. Not going to get into details of my personal situation, just simply put, it was not ideal. Anyway, my due date was Sept 30 1991. One day in mid July after coming home from my job I was feeling quite sore all over, so I called the doctor to inquire about what would be safe to take as far as something to ease the discomfort. He said might be a good idea for me just to come on in to the office to get checked out. Well, turns out I was in labor, not good, way to soon. After several failed attempts at our small local hospital to stop my labor, I was shipped off to Boston Brigham & Womens Hospital. They managed to get things under control but they would not release me, I had to stay there on complete bed rest. A week into my stay I have had several roommates (varying degrees of crazy) and plenty of time for it to dawn on me that oh my goodness I am having s baby! Week two I am completely bonkers from bed rest and finding ways to sneak little walks down the halls without being caught by Nurse Ratchet. One night towards the end of week two I am feeling lousy and feverish, Nurse Ratchet came in, yep, had a temp of 102. It was group B strep infection. They stopped dosing me with the meds that were keeping my laboring at bay and within a few hours I was in labor and this time it was for good. They said the infection could pass to the baby and cause heart problems so it was better I have the baby. About 4 hours into labor, the teeniest of teeny little doodlebug came screaming into this world. They held him up for a very quick peek and then they rushed him off. Worst /best moment of my life. After listening to everyone telling me for 3 hours that You can go see him soon dear I marched myself out to the nurses station and made some demands. This was when I was informed that he was brought next door to Boston Childrens Hospital and You can go see him soon dear Ahh, no thank you and proceeded to walk next door to Childrens. Wasnt sure what to expect , and I was not prepared for what I saw. My baby was in an incubator and had IV lines coming out of both feet, both hands his forehead and a tube down his nose. Good news was that he was breathing on his own. Immediately a nurse came alongside me and explained what all the IVs and tube was for, then she said a doctor will be in soon to talk with me. I said is this bad, is he going to live? She said oh yes, we have come a long way with preemies but that is the least of your worries The doctor came in, and said they suspected he has Downs Syndrome, the chromosome blood test was already sent out for confirmation, also they are sending in a social worker to talk with me about the different options I have about what I wanted to do with him, yes, his actual words. I said no need for this worker, my only option is seeing to it that he gets stronger so he can come home, with me! He got stronger, Jacob Thomas came home 3 days before the original due date, and so our journey began. And it been a beautiful road. Love, Mom
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 07:30:31 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015