Today is the first ever Proud Parent of Preemies day. You can read more about it here http://www.parentsofpreemiesday.org/main.html and more about the founder and his family’s story here http://www.grahamsfoundation.org/home.html
We have so much to celebrate! Our sweet 24 week micro preemie has grown so much from her meager one a half pound beginning. I think that Dr. Seuss had it right “a person’s a person no matter how small.” And now that Blythe has grown to be a toddler I remember something else Dr. Seuss wrote “why fit in when you were born to stand out.” If you can not tell already I think that he is a brilliant writer! Why fit in when you were born to stand out… I love that. SO much about Blythe used to stand out. Her O2 tank, her apnea monitor, the fabric and cords that went around her abdomen, the nasal canal that went in her nostrils, her (I didn’t see it at the time but can see it now in photos as I look back) slightly “bugged” eyes, and her inability to look Left. We all, and when I say all I mean all. Britt, my parents and family, Britt’s parents and family, OT, PT, speech, Tennessee Early Intervention, Blythe and myself worked very hard to wean her from her O2 needs, monitors, and decrease her developmental delays. You know she is breathing with out a canal, sleeping without monitors and has the ability to look and use her left side!! Blythe does still have her developmental delays. They are not quit as obvious, but they are there. We have so much to celebrate! We have so much to be grateful for!
There are other parents that have bigger challenges then we do, or then we did in the beginning. They need to be celebrated and recognized. They still have the monitors and tubes attached to their babies. They still have to carry all the “preemie accessories” to the multiple appointments. Or, they are still visiting their babies in the NICU’s. They know the pain and disappointment of leaving the hospital after giving birth with pump gear rather then their sweet baby. They still long to have their babies home, well, and happy. They still have to wake up to an empty nursery. They drive day after day to the hospital to see their babies. They hear and continue to hear “bad news.” These parents need to know that their strength is admirable. That their baby and family’s are in our prayers. They need to be reminded that that they have a special baby, and are special parents.
I think back on our NICU experience and realize that it could have been a lot different. Blythe was and still is such a fighter. She fought her PDA and avoided heart surgery, she fought her chronic lung disease to progress from the vent, to the c-papp, to the nasal canal, to now room air. She fought her grade 3 brain bleed to walk, cross midline, throw, color, point, and climb. Even now she fights holding our hands while walking on uneven surfaces. She amazes me with her want to challenge herself and her resilience when the challenge is just a little too hard. She tries again.
So again, we celebrate her today and all the other babies born too soon. She is my hero! Britt and I know that it is a privilege that she is our daughter and that we are her parents. She brighten our life and is so much fun to be around and care for. She is our little micro preemie and always will be. “Why try to fit in when you were born to stand out.” That is our sweet Blythe. She does not know the word defeat, or can’t. She is full of life and determination.