On December 26th, 2004 Jacob and I were at his parents' house for Christmas. We exchanged gifts with his family, ate a lot of junk food, and watched Dodgeball. The next morning we got up ridiculously early and went to the hospital to induce labor. It was our first child and we didn't really know what to expect. Sure we had gone to the birthing classes and all that fun stuff, but even still, we were embarking on a whole new world.
After inducing labor the doctor discovered that Alex's head was shoved all the way back and stuck under my pelvis. He told us what was going on and said, "I would recommend doing a C-Section otherwise there is a good chance his neck will be broken in the birthing process. Would you be okay with doing a C-Section?" This question struck me as funny--if my child's neck could be broken then why wouldn't I be okay with a C-Section?
So, we went into the OR and had a C-Section. Alex was born at 10:16 am on December 27, 2004. He was perfect and very observant. He would just stare at Jacob as if he was sizing him up. One night while we were still in the hospital we noticed that Alex had stopped breathing and was turning blue. Jacob ran down the hall and loudly announced to the nurses that our baby wasn't breathing and was blue. Three nurses rushed in, said nothing, grabbed Alex and hurried him out of the room. The next few minutes seemed to take forever. We didn't know what was going on or if Alex was okay. Finally, after what seemed like hours, a nurse brought Alex back to us. She told us that they had to hook him up to a machine and clean out his airway--she then showed Jacob how to do it if this issue ever came up again. We ended up staying at the hospital 4 days because of all of Alex's issues--many of these issues he still struggles with today. His life is filled with occupational therapy, speech therapy, and doctors appointments. He rarely complains and is always ready to try his best no matter what the situation may be. He has taught us so much about persistence and staying positive.
I can't imagine a world without this amazing little boy in it.
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