sad news about soon-to-be nephew
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sad news about soon-to-be nephew
| Thu, 02-10-2005 - 1:53pm |
we got the news last night that my BIL's baby boy, who is due i believe in april, has some very serious health problems. they thought at first he would have downs syndrome, but apparently he has an 80% chance of not having it. that's good. my aunt has downs and she's so sweet, but basically a 7 yr old in a 40-something yr old body.
the baby will be born premature and with his intestines on the outside of his body. also his hand isn't developing at the right speed, and his foot is turned. not club foot, and this can be fixed by using braces for a period of time to turn it back. so the hand and foot will get better. as soon as he's born he must be rushed to surgery to put his intestines inside. he will have to stay AT LEAST 4 wks in the NICU, maybe as long as 3 months depending on how he does. he will be born at a hospital 2 hrs from here, a major-metro area where they have the right specialist and surgeon's to handle it. the local hospital is on alert to fly her up if she goes into labor before they are ready to take the baby anyway. basically they are trying to hold out as long as possible, because as we all know a baby born too premature has a much harder time catching up, let alone recovering from major surgery. IF he's born late enough, and of course by c-section, he has about 70% survival chance.
my thought is that babies at least are more capable of recovering from these things than older children and adults. they can regenerate cells and luckily have no memory of what they've been through. it will be very hard for his parents, i don't doubt, but i believe the baby WILL pull through. i should know, we went through enough with DS in the first 1 1/2 yrs of his life, very nearly losing him at 2 days old. he's a severe hemophiliac, his blood does not clot. he's been hospitalized several times, can have spontaneous internal bleeding (for no reason at all), has had intercranial bleeds, heck we even had him circumsized before we knew and that's how he almost died at 2 days! spent 1 1/2 wks in the hospital then, only to go back a week later...have spent weeks on end in hospitals 4 hrs from here...he's very nearly died at least 5 times and his 2nd bday is yet a month away...so yes i certainly understand my poor BIL and SIL's fears completely.
if you are a religious sort, please say a prayer for this helpless little life, that he survives and heals.
thank you.
~leslie
the baby will be born premature and with his intestines on the outside of his body. also his hand isn't developing at the right speed, and his foot is turned. not club foot, and this can be fixed by using braces for a period of time to turn it back. so the hand and foot will get better. as soon as he's born he must be rushed to surgery to put his intestines inside. he will have to stay AT LEAST 4 wks in the NICU, maybe as long as 3 months depending on how he does. he will be born at a hospital 2 hrs from here, a major-metro area where they have the right specialist and surgeon's to handle it. the local hospital is on alert to fly her up if she goes into labor before they are ready to take the baby anyway. basically they are trying to hold out as long as possible, because as we all know a baby born too premature has a much harder time catching up, let alone recovering from major surgery. IF he's born late enough, and of course by c-section, he has about 70% survival chance.
my thought is that babies at least are more capable of recovering from these things than older children and adults. they can regenerate cells and luckily have no memory of what they've been through. it will be very hard for his parents, i don't doubt, but i believe the baby WILL pull through. i should know, we went through enough with DS in the first 1 1/2 yrs of his life, very nearly losing him at 2 days old. he's a severe hemophiliac, his blood does not clot. he's been hospitalized several times, can have spontaneous internal bleeding (for no reason at all), has had intercranial bleeds, heck we even had him circumsized before we knew and that's how he almost died at 2 days! spent 1 1/2 wks in the hospital then, only to go back a week later...have spent weeks on end in hospitals 4 hrs from here...he's very nearly died at least 5 times and his 2nd bday is yet a month away...so yes i certainly understand my poor BIL and SIL's fears completely.
if you are a religious sort, please say a prayer for this helpless little life, that he survives and heals.
thank you.
~leslie

Hi Leslie,
my eyes welled up with tears at your message. I will pray hard for your dear nephew.
I'm in this board for the 1st time b/c I'm going thru a very difficult bout of post partum depression. Reading your message stengthens my thought that "I am blessed with a healthy baby". I believe God led me to your message to see how fortunate I am.
I am truly sorry for what your sweet baby nephew is going thru. My eyes are filling up right now again at the thought of what you and your family and the little baby are going through and what he will go thru once born.
Please stay strong. I have to thank you for showing me the light.
May God bless and watch over your nephew.
Patsy
we all go through some rough times now and then. i was lucky not to have post-partum, but believe me i have a lot of friends who've been there and it's not easy. yes you are very lucky to have a healthy baby. god knows, we thought our baby would be perfectly healthy too. hard to believe, after all that medical science has accomplished, we didn't know what could happen to our own DS. now he has a port that was implanted in his chest, runs a line to his heart. i have to stick him with a 3/4 inch needle, mix up his meds first, and inject them to put him on par with other children his age. without those factor replacement meds, he'd suffer far more. that surgery was the day after his first bday. man, that was awful. we had a great bday party planned for him, and the week before it he got an intercranial bleed and was life-flighted 4 hrs from here (i got to ride along thankfully). we spent his bday, as well as a while after that, up there. the surgery was hard for me to handle. i felt so guilty, even though i knew babies learning to walk FALL down! ack! i felt like i should have been more careful. but in the end, he survived, right? with no brain damage either. well, i guess he has had seizures a few times because of it, but not long-lasting and not too big of a worry. in the long run, he's been doing great since that surgery. giving him meds at home helps A LOT!
i just packed up all my best baby stuff to send to my SIL, with a note enclosed so she will know i am thinking of her and that i truly believe all will be well.
;)
~leslie
Ok Leslie, you have me crying again describing your son's condition (lol). I'm a very emotional person. You are one Strong Mommy and your family is lucky to have you for support for their soon to be son. Your strength gives me hope that I can become a stronger person and beat this ppd.
May God strengthen your son and always be by his/your side.
I will continue to pray for you and your nephew.
Patsy
i'm sure, patsy, that you WILL beat your ppd. a lot of women have gone through it and come out fine. don't be afraid to ask for help, see a counselor or psychiatrist, and perhaps even try an antidepressant. they just put me on lexapro and only 2 days of taking it, i feel a bit better already. it's worth a shot, right?
good luck.
~leslie
Leslie,
I have never figured out why this cruel world beats up on helpless children so much. I will be praying for your nephew and your son also. Luckily both have loving families.
you didn't offend me a bit. not sure how you could anyway! ;)
so don't worry about it.
(((HUGS)))
~leslie
I am so sorry, I have heard about this type of problems before in an unborn child and the surgery was a success, keep up with you positive thoughts.
Prayers for this child and family going up.
Lynette