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Our Family Story

There once was a girl named Sara who moved to what she thought was a big city when she was a sophomore in high school. One day soon after moving there, her parents told her she would have to walk home from school.  The big school and the big city were very scary to her and she thought for sure she would get lost on her way home.  A nice young boy named Paul (who went to the same school) was walking in the same direction so he helped her along her way.  This young boy really made an impression on the girl but she didn’t see much more of him until a little later on.

This boy and girl ended up working at the same grocery store during high school – she worked in the bakery and he worked in the kitchen.  When his shift was over, he would come over to the bakery and help her mop the floors so she could get off at a decent time too.  She thought he was the nicest young man she had ever met and they ended up becoming good friends.  They went to their senior prom together, fell in love, got married in Hawaii their senior year of college and moved away together to an actual big city that was very far away.

This move was exciting for them as a couple but the girl missed her family and her dog very much.  Over time, they started to appreciate their new state and all there was to do there.  They decided they may like to stay and bought a house.  They shouldn’t have done this.  In this big city, the housing market was booming at an all-time record pace.  The only home they could afford was a fixer upper and they spent ALL their time, resources, and effort fixing this place up.  This got old really fast and the excitement of the big city quickly started to wear off.    

One day, the boy arrived home early from work and found the house they had worked so hard on had been robbed and much had been taken and damaged.  This was IT for the girl and she did not feel comfortable in this place any longer.  The boy was offered a job back home so they moved back and said good-bye to the big city.  It took a VERY long time for their house in the big city to sell because the market boom was followed by a very big CRASH.  They took a HUGE loss on their home but were grateful they got it sold so they didn’t have to move back.    

The boy and girl had wanted to have a baby for awhile and now that they were back home they really felt it was time.  Since it had been a couple of years and they weren’t successful, they met with a Dr. who said they would be unable to have a baby without extra hormones.  The funny part is that the girl was pregnant (without any help) at the time the Dr. was telling them this -- they just didn’t know it yet. 

The baby didn’t cooperate real well while “cooking” and the girl was put on bedrest.  The baby decided to arrive 6 weeks earlier than anticipated so in November of 2008 a little baby girl named Alexa was delivered by emergency c-section. The boy and girl had now become Mommy & Daddy.  The Mommy and Daddy were so happy to have this little one in their lives that it made the fact that she was a very difficult baby a little easier.  The baby girl was colicky, had very bad reflux, didn’t want to eat, and couldn’t tolerate milk or soy products.  With patience and persistence and the eventual necessity for the Mommy to quit working full-time at a job she liked very much so she could stay home, that little baby girl grew out of her “difficultness” and became a sweet little girl that her Mommy and Daddy cherished very much.

Since the little girl was such a difficult baby the Mommy convinced the Daddy that if they were to have another baby it would be an “easy” baby.  The Mommy knew many other parents that had these easy babies and thought for sure it was her turn.  After a lot of convincing the Daddy agreed he would consider a second baby.  Before they even started “trying”, baby #2 was in the cooker. 

Baby #2 didn’t cooperate either and the Mommy was put on bedrest again.  The mommy’s symptoms were really no different than they were with the first pregnancy so she didn’t worry too much about things.  At the Mommy’s 33 week check-up, things didn’t look quite right to the Dr.  They couldn’t find a good heart rate for the baby and sent the Mommy to the hospital for testing.  A few hours later, the Mommy was lying on the OR table minutes away from having an emergency c-section.  Two Dr’s had a disagreement as to whether or not it was time for the baby to arrive and the decision was left up to the Mommy and Daddy which was a lot of pressure on them.  They decided to stay in the hospital and be monitored closely and were soon sent home.  They returned back to the hospital the next day because the  baby was not moving much anymore and this time the Mommy did have an emergency c-section and a baby boy named Parker was born in August of 2010 at 6 weeks early.

Everyone knew something wasn’t quite right and it only took a couple of days for the Mommy and Daddy to be told that baby Parker had a very rare genetic disorder in which he was missing some genes on his 6th chromosome.  They were told this causes a lot of health problems.  This was nothing that could’ve been prevented and just happens randomly sometimes.  No other baby in the world is known to be missing the same genes as baby Parker so the Dr.’s couldn’t really tell the Mommy and Daddy what to expect.

The baby ended up staying in the NICU for 8 weeks and the Mommy and Daddy found out numerous health issues and concerns with baby Parker.  The biggest struggles he had at that point were that he couldn’t breathe well on his own and he had a very difficult time with eating.  With a lot of patience, persistence and prayer baby Parker made some remarkable improvements and he got to go home. 

Baby Parker was home for 7 weeks before ending up in the hospital again.  He had to go to Children’s Hospital at the end of November and ended up with 9 surgical procedures in 1 day.  He now had a trach and a g-button and a whole LONG list of more medical issues and problems.  Once again, this little boy showed great strength and he got to go home again.  The little baby has a whole bunch of Dr’s involved in his care and he’s definitely a remarkable little boy. 

The Mommy and Daddy were flooded with more emotions than they had ever had to deal with the first few months after baby Parker was born.  They learned quickly that Parker was a true blessing from God and he has a reason for being here way beyond what the Mommy and Daddy can even comprehend. The Mommy and Daddy have learned to appreciate the little things, not get worked up about small worries or inconveniences, to love BIG, to not take life for granted, to be more selfless, and to feel grateful for the gifts God gives. 
 

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your story Sara. Remarkable!

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  2. great story Sara! love the blog.

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  3. Thank you for sharing your story with us! God bless you and your beautiful family!!!

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  4. Awwwwwww, what a precious story!

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