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Today I am praying hard for Clara. Sweet baby girl, with a beautiful name, fighting for her life. For the last three weeks I have been following her story (she is in North Carolina) as well as Pearson's who is at Shands Hospital in Florida, where we were treated. Both babies were born around the same day. Both went on ECMO shortly after birth. Both had to have their surgeries on ECMO. Pearson has Right-sided like Dakota, Clara is left-sided. When I first started following them and praying ...
I don't know how long I will do this for, but this is my second year and I still find myself reliving Dakota's days in the hospital, especially momentous days. I have been doing it like crazy the last week .... not even trying, but my mind just flashes back to emotions of that time. This is going to be a ramble, but I need to get it out. Of course on Dakota's birthday, I relived the stress of her birth, and saying goodbye to her ... but I also remembered how I was eerily calm that night. I remember ...
It is not fair in any way!!!! I hate when any angel is lost to CDH. I think a baby lost after only an hour of life, or a day, or even in the womb, is a huge tragedy. The parents and family loses all the hopes and dreams for their angel and it breaks my heart. But I tell you, the loss of an angel who has already been home haunts me even more. The stories I hear where a baby survives for a month at home, or a few months or even a year or more, terrify me and devastates me to the core. I think ...
I am happy to be writing this entry while Dakota is almost 22 months, rather than writing it a year ago. About 2 months ago, Dakota suddenly developed a cough. I did not see symptoms of a regular cold before the cough, it just started as a juicy, mucousy cough. I waited a week and then called the pediatrician on the phone. I told her that Dakota was doing okay with it but that she had thrown up several times from coughing, but no fever and was otherwise acting normal throughout the day. She ...
So I just took Dakota on her first plane ride/vacation. She turned 19 months while we were away. My husband had to stay behind and watch the hardware store for my dad. I travelled out alone with Dakota to Las Vegas, and met my parents and my sisters to stay in my parent's timeshare. I was nervous about travelling with Dakota, especially by myself. It was awesome! I have the best baby in the world. I don't have any comparison since I do not have any local friends with babies, but I think Dakota ...