Eighteen months ago, God surprised us with our third pregnancy. We already had two children and though, at one time I had wanted a third, I was content. God wasn’t done with us yet.Fast forward 7 months and the doctor discovered I had a lot more amniotic fluid than I should. Natalie had a blockage of her intestine that was not allowing her to process all the amniotic fluid. They said it was a soft marker for Down Syndrome. I remember coming home and sobbing the news to my parents who happened to be visiting. I pushed it to the back of my mind thinking everything would be fine. The doctor decided to prepare for her coming early in the event that the excess fluid caused me difficulty breathing. On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, I got a steroid shot to prepare her lungs. Three weeks later, I mentioned to the doctor that I was having a little trouble breathing while laying down and they decided the next day would be Natalie’s birthday.
Natalie arrived on January 18th. Since it was a c-section, I was unaware of what went on in the operating room but David knew as soon as he saw her that she did have Downs. I only got to glance at her before they took her to the NICU. I saw her that night after some recovery time but was still hopeful that she did not have Down Syndrome. The next day, when David was home with the big kids, the geneticist came to tell me that, though the tests were not back yet, she was pretty sure that Natalie had Down Syndrome. I still hoped for a miracle. “She didn’t even have the test back yet, how could she say such a thing?” I thought. Though it was not the miracle I hoped for, God still gave me one in our Natalie Grace just exactly how she is.
At 3 days old, she had surgery to connect her stomach and intestines and then she stayed in the NICU 25 more long days to learn to eat. I decided to sing “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” to her when I visited so she would start recognizing my voice. We were amazed with how many people were there to help us. We had meals coming to the house, people shuttling me to and from the hospital, people picking up the kids from school, friends babysitting the kids so David and I could go to the hospital together, gracious teachers loving our Zach and Julia when I had so little left to give them. Life seemed a blur for the first few weeks. As much as I panicked when I sat at home worrying about her future, as soon as I was with her again, the peace of just loving my new baby was with me.
Now, 18 months later, I’ve learned more about Down Syndrome than I ever wanted to and I still have a long way to go. Natalie was the first person with Down Syndrome that I had ever met. I tell people that being so blind to disabilities made Natalie’s diagnosis a lot scarier for me than it had to be. I think this is a reason why the Buddy Walk is so important. Sure, it’s a fundraiser for the national and local down syndrome association. Since Down Syndrome receives a very small percentage of federal research dollars, the fundraising IS very important. In addition to fundraising, however, the Buddy Walk is also meant to “ignite a new way of thinking about people who have Down syndrome. Over the past decade, the Buddy Walk has served as a national portal for disseminating positive messages and inspirational stories within the Down syndrome community to the general public.” (from Buddy Walk website). I feel one of the best ways I can help my sweet girl is to let people get to know her as a person, not as a ‘Down’s kid.’ I once read that one of the worst things for a child with Down Syndrome is for parents to have low expectations. We should treat her no different than our other kids. She WILL do almost all the same things they do but IN HER OWN TIME. I’ve come to realize that, though it might take her longer to reach typical milestones, I appreciate all the small steps that she takes so much more.
For all our children, I pray that they would become what their names mean. Natalie Grace means ‘birth of blessings, favor, and elegance.’ I pray for Natalie that her presence in the lives of others would be a great blessing. Even in such a short time, we can already see God answering that prayer. Thank you to all our friends and family that are so supportive of Natalie!
Our Charlotte Buddy Walk is October 6th, 2012 in Freedom Park. If you’d like to support Natalie and others with Down Syndrome, come walk with us on Team Natalie's Ninjas! Please see our team page web page to join or contribute.
If you are not close enough to make it to the Charlotte Walk, there are Buddy Walks all over. Here is a list of Buddy Walks in the United States.
A Collection of our favorite Photos from Natalie’s 1st 18 months
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