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Christian Homes And Special Kids |
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Birth Parent's Line 1-800-266-9837 Contact CHASK 208-267-6246 |
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For Birth Parents
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The birth of our son, Daniel with Spina bifida What a blessing Daniel has been to our family. All of his brothers and sisters have learned so much from him. Yes, life has not been easy. Daniel was born the day before my oldest sons’ 18th birthday. From the very day I started carrying him, I felt that this baby would be a special person for the Lord. After seeing the doctor on numerous occasions and then being told I needed to go for a High Risk Ultra-Sound, I was even more convinced that the Lord had a special plan for this baby. When I was told to get a High Risk Ultra-Sound it was as though she was saying. “You can have this done and if something is wrong with this baby then you can get rid of it.” To us, this was not even an option. We accepted this baby even with the risk of having something “wrong” with it. When Daniel was born, two of his sisters were at a camp. We had to inform them over the telephone about their brother. It just so happened that the following week end they got the opportunity to come to visit. When Naomi, his oldest sister, saw him her reaction was “If you did not see his back, you would not know that there was anything wrong with him.” This was so true. To me his back looked like there was a burned patch in his back. My husband said that you could see his open back bone. Within 24 hours of birth, he had been transferred to a different hospital and had gone through surgery to close his back, and to place a reservoir in his head, as hydrocephalous also occurs in Spina Bifida patients. With the spine open, the fluids that normally circulate from a person’s brain have no way of doing this. With Daniel, however, he did not have the great amount of fluid build up that some have. I stayed with him for the three weeks that he was in the hospital. Right before he came home, the doctors put a shunt, tube that takes the fluids from the brain into the stomach cavity, in just in case the fluid would start to build up. The diagnosis for Daniel was also very bleak. The doctors gave him absolutely no chance of control for him below the waist. In other words, Daniel was never going to be able to walk. My oldest daughter, who was 20 at the time, was very disturbed with the fact that the doctors would not sit down and really explain what was with Daniel to me his mother. At the camp, she was taken under the watchful and concerned eye of the nurse who had worked at a children’s hospital and had enough books on the subject that Naomi learned more than I did and I was sitting with Daniel. We immediately started working with Daniel. We put lots of love and work into him. All of the family pitched in. After awhile we started seeing special things happening in this little body. The joy and love that he gave back to us was incredible. Then we saw his legs starting to move. The doctors tried to tell us that that was his stomach muscles (even that was a miracle at work). We got him standing and walking with braces. We changed doctors as all the first doctors wanted to do was operate, operate, and operate, with nothing expected but that “he will not want to walk when he is 14 anyway”. Last week one of my other daughters and I were talking to an acquaintance about Daniel. She said that she really is impressed how he accepts everything that comes along with pleasure. It got me to thinking, and wishing that I could accept every experience in life as he did. He waves at everyone, yells “Hi man” in the stores, always has a smile for everyone. Life is a parade to him. Life has not been easy, but I would not trade the experience of having Daniel to not having him. My oldest daughter, came home one day, less than a year after Daniel was born. She was working at a college. She would tell someone about something that happened with Daniel and people would reply “I’m so sorry about your brother.” She told me that at times she just wanted to punch them out. She said “Mom, I do not feel sorry. I feel grateful that the Lord blessed us with Daniel.” Sometimes I think back, and am so glad that I did not terminate my pregnancy just because some doctor felt that Daniel would be no more than a vegetable. Life is so priceless. Even these little ones that may be born, physically under developed (if that is the thought) are sent to us to teach and be a blessing to all who come in contact with them. Daniel is now going to be 10 years old this year. His oldest sister is married and has two children of her own. She has been able to minister to others that have physically challenged children. His oldest brother loves his brother so much that he wrote a report on him when he was away at school. His next oldest sister is married and has 3 young ones and another on the way. She too benefited from having Daniel as a brother. He has two brothers at home that help take care of him, and two other sisters that dearly love him and help him to grow more and more independent all the time. We are living on a small farm. Last September, Daniel attempted to show a goat in our local fair. Mom was afraid that he would have problems in the sawdust so she was going to stand behind him to help him if he needed the help. He got very upset and his determination to be independent should have gotten him a ribbon, if nothing else. He walks with braces and now would like to walk without the braces. (This is something that we will have to work on as his legs do not function as we think they should, but he is determined that he wants this independence and will work toward this goal.) He did not talk until about three years ago and we struggle in many areas. As far as I can see the good things about our experiences with him have by far out weighed the discouragements.
Susan Lantz 41 Tulla Trail Norman, Ar. 71960 1-870-356-3853
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