Homeschooling a Houseful

Jonathan's Story - part 5

2:49 PM, Jun. 2, 2006 .. Posted in Jonathan .. 0 comments .. Link

The think I was most afraid of was the anesthesia. When then anesthetists walked in I instantly prayed because his name tag said INTERN. No way, I told God, this is no good. I need someone who knows what they are doing. The anesthetist explained all the options, honestly being asleep sounded really good to me, but I said I have to be awake to make sure the baby is OK. I begin to feel at ease with this anesthestist, especially after finding out that he is a Christian. Isn't God just AWESOME. All the people that god put in place those last few hours were Christians.

I head off to the operating room in a wheel chair. Scared, but yet at peace too. I know that we are doing the right thing. I am really anti-medical intervention, unless it is necessary. I never imagined that I would be in this situation. God's grace is sufficient to carry us through whatever He has for us. My midwife Katie even came and stood right by my side. She really went above and beyond the call of duty.

It semed like forever before they were delivering the baby and I heard the words from my husband...it is a boy. Dan then turned his attention from me to Jonathan, which is what we had discussed previously. Katie described Jonathan to me saying he looked like his daddy. Jonathan wasn't doing well. They had to help him get breathing and I remember asking why he wasn't crying. After he was stabilized they wheeled him out to the NICU, stopping so I could see him from across the room. Oh, was that hard, I wanted to hold him and I couldn't even touch him. Dan left with Jonathan. After 10 minutes or so Katie went out to check on him too.

When Dan walked back into the operating room, fear hit me hard. Looking at him, at the look on his face, I thought that he was going to tell me that Jonathan hadn't survivied. That is not what he said. It was then that Dan told me that they think Jonathan has Down syndrome. Honestly, I felt relief. We had expected so much worse. I had expected that this baby would die, but he didn't and even better...he is VERY special and Jonathan is here only because of GOD's divine intervention.

As I was being wheeled out of the operating room, Katie called for a detour. They actually wheeled the bed into the NICU so that I could see Jonathan again. He was screaming and Dr. Garabedian was working on him. One of the nurses snapped a poloraid and handed it to me. I slept that night holding the photo.

I did not get to see Jonathan again until the next morning. The evening of the next day I was allowed to hold him for the first time. He was so tiny and fragile. He weighed 5 lbs 3 oz. at birth. Physically he was struggling with low platelets and really high red blood cell counts. He had pulmonary hypertension which they are assuming was caused by the ductus in his heart closing early and causing restriction of arteries. Now that he was born the ductus is not an issue because it is supposed to be closed after birth. We were told that had we gone to term with the pregnancy, he would not have made it.

Jonathan stayed in the NICU until December 21, 1996, at which time he came home on oxygen. What a Christmas present.

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Stay tuned for more to the story.

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