Hold your babies closer.....

Let me tell you right now to bring tissue. I have a few stories that need to be told that remind us of the fragility of life.

Last month I shared a special story about some friends of C's and I that will soon enjoy the twin side of life. Well our friends The Palmer's are now proud parents to TWO bouncing baby boys born on Monday. However, while the story is so precious where two spectacular lives were brought to this world, their lives start with a struggle no child or parent should bear!


A few weeks ago, Mrs. Palmer was admitted to the hospital so that her OBGYN and Neonatologist could monitor the babies during the remainder of their gestation. This is standard operating procedure for any high risk pregnancy, and especially a twin pregnancy. So for the last few weeks the poor lass has been a resident of the hospital. On Monday, while under standard monitoring of what is called a Fetal Non-Stress Test which monitors the babies after a certain stage in the gestation, Baby A began to show signs of stress. Those signs include an elevated heart beat, now this can happen briefly if Mom is doing something like straining (lifting, sex, walking if ordered bed rest) or if the baby is flat out in distress. For one hour the baby showed signs of distress and Mr. Palmer was called to the hospital. When he arrived, looking desperately for his missing wife, he was handed a stack of hospital scrubs and ordered to sit on a stool just outside the OR (operating room). He was whisked in just as the doctor was delivering his boys. Had traffic been any worse for Mr. Palmer he would have missed the birth altogether! The boys were delivered very prematurely! From my math I am assuming and I apologize if I am so wrong, but she cannot be any more than 30 weeks or so into her gestation. The boys weighed just over 2 pounds each and literally fit into the palm of your hand. These boys will spend a lot of time in the NICU gaining strength and weight before going home to mom and dad.

We were told, for everyone one day in the womb is equivalent to roughly 3 days in the NICU!! You do the math on that.......

So the boys were delivered and normal babies are always a little purplish because of the shock of the event. However, Baby A was more purple for a reason. He was born with a blood cot in his leg. This clot was obviously blocking blood flow to his lower appendage which the doctors determined that the little newborn would need blood thinners. While I am sure you are sighing in relief, blood thinners to a newborn can be very harmful. Remember the story of Dennis Quaid and his twins.....they almost died from the blood thinners. So, while the correct dose has been administered to Baby A, he has developed a brain bleed. Yes, a brain bleed which could cause irreparable damage to this poor child. The doctor's have assured the Palmer's that this is a "good brain bleed" because of the location in the brain, the way I feel, especially if the situation were my child.....a brain bleed is still a brain bleed and still carries risks. But the heartache does not stop there, he has a few brain bleeds. So this little baby boy, weighing just over two pounds is fighting and I know these folks need your prayers again!! So if you have a few to spare I am sure these folks and their newborns would be eternally grateful! Baby B appears to be doing well considering he was the smaller of the two, and if you re-read their story you will be overcome to know this baby is doing well.

Now.....here is my second and final story and this has to do with G.

Today, was like any other day for school. Up and eating the unusually made bowl of oats (we don't microwave here.....just hot water and a good stir...I know weird....but we like our oats like that!) and putzing getting ready. By 8am we are all set to go, G gets his hair spiked by me, a good look over by Dad, a hug and a kiss and off we go. So he and I head to the school and I park and I walk him to where he lines up in the mornings with the rest of the school. He drops off his backback at his kindergarten line area and off he goes to the playground. I watch him lovingly enjoying the moment with the cool morning air and he is playing. Then the bell rings and I smile uncontrollably as he is just itching to get down the slide in time to line up with the rest of his friends. He runs as fast as he can with sand being thrown from his sandals and he lines up. His teacher herds her kindergarten sheep and my G and off they walk in a messy line to class. I walk back to the car in and get in just in time to drive along the side of the school to watch him walk all the way to class so I know he is safe in his classroom. I then head home and go about my usual day.

The day was text book normal until about 10:30am when the school nurse called. At first I had no idea as to why the school would be calling since no events were going on and then I thought....okay....what did G do today that he is in the office. My heart sank when the first words muttered by the school nurse was "G is okay." OKAY???? WTF happened that he is okay to begin with.....he was okay when he left.....so my mind finally stops to ask her "What happened? Is anything broken?" She began to tell me how he had an accident on the playground. SO I figured that he fell and he was a little scraped and scratched, not what she told me next.

"G had an accident on the playground and he basically hung himself on the slide." I can't speak. "He was sliding down and somehow he got his shirt caught on the slide and he slid up around his neck as he was sliding down and it was choking him." Still can't speak...I say something that resembles OK so she continues. "He didn't lose consciousness" (THANK GOD!!!!) "But he is shaken and he has what appears to be rope burns as if someone had tried to hang themselves. So we iced his neck and calmed him down and were joking with him by the end of his stay here in the office and he said he wanted to go back to class." I asked if he was OKAY to which she said "His airway is clear and he was smiling so he may be weepy when he gets home."




I hang up.....I think I am still in shock because I tell C and my Mom the story so matter-of-factly.

C picks up G from school and when he walks in I want to cry because his neck is exactly as if a noose was slipped around his neck and around the back behind his ears. C then begins to tell me the story as the Principal of the school and his teacher witnessed the event.



G was going down the slide and somehow his right arm sleeve got caught on something behind him on the top of the slide which caused him to basically hang suspended by his shirt down the spiral slide. His whole shirt is supporting all 55 pounds of this boy and the majority is around his neck with the shirt. The Principal thought odd that someone lost their shirt on the slide and went to check when she heard the patter and kicking of feet against the slide. No screams or cries for help. NONE! My baby boy was being choked and hanged by his shirt. Somehow he also got turned around so he was face down, arm sleeve twisted, shirt choking him and hanging him dead center on his wind pipe. The Principal sees him kicking and fighting and tries to push up on him to release the pressure and get him free and this doesn't happen. So in two steps his teacher runs up the slide and hockey shirts G to get the shirt of his neck and allow him to breathe. They get him off the slide and he is okay, not saying anything and totally bewildered. Then he breaks into tears and they rush him to the nurse.




(The picture doesn't do justice for how bad it really is!!!)

After I heard this story I lost it! I picked up my boy and hugged him tighter than I ever could! All day I wanted to hold him because if the Principal and G's teacher had not been so aware and diligent on the playground I couldn't imagine the alternative. So remember to kiss and hug your babies everyday as I do and always tell them you love them......even when you are mad as hell at them.......let them know you still love them!