One year ago today my niece Madison was born. She was 3 months premature and weighed 1 lb. 9 oz. The hospital said hope for the best but prepared for the worst. They even tried to prepare my sister for the unimaginable but she wouldn't hear of it and neither would we. I remember the book the hospital gave her about dealing with the loss of a child. I also distinctly remember telling my sister to throw the book away, being the person I know she is she hadn't planned on reading it anyway. We come from a strong Christian family and we knew that no matter how skilled the staff was that ultimately things were in God's hands.
Madison had to remain in the NICU at Long Beach Memorial for 3 months and finally came home on what was her original due date. She endured surgeries on her heart, eyes and a number of transfusions, not to mention being connected to all sorts of machines and poked and prodded day in and day out. It was all for her good but you couldn't help but cringe at the thought of everything. She was often times heavily sedated so she wouldn't pull out any of her tubes and be in too much pain. The NICU staff was amazing and Madison's parents got to visit her each day. The swine flu was in full swing so we couldn't visit her for a while, but we were provided updates and pictures daily.
When Madison finally came home she was surrounded with all the love a child could ask for and more. I consider myself especially lucky because I've been able to spend a portion of almost every day with her since she came home. She is our miracle baby and living proof that God answers prayers.
So to Madison, on your first birthday you dear sweet little girl, I wish you many more happy birthdays and lots of love.
